At least we have got one large company on boardhttp://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/railway-fuelled-by-donation/1595744/?utm_campaign=News+PM&utm_source=Gympie+Times&utm_medium=email
Albert wrote..........If you can't afford to run those pristine vehicles the potetial for income is nil.Tezza wrote......Who said they have to run the full line ? Static museum pieces also earn income , once theyre sold , scrapped , gone , thats it
Albert wrote..........If you can't afford to run those pristine vehicles the potetial for income is nil.Tezza wrote......Who said they have to run the full line ? Static museum pieces also earn income , once theyre sold , scrapped , gone , thats itFactor in the cost to keep them pristine and you are back to square one. I'm am yet to see a static railway museum self sustain itself let alone expand with no outside help.
Factor in the cost to keep them pristine and you are back to square one. I'm am yet to see a static railway museum self sustain itself let alone expand with no outside help.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't they selling stuff to stay operational, not just for the sake of selling it to recover restoration costs?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't they selling stuff to stay operational, not just for the sake of selling it to recover restoration costs?
Nothing has been publicly stated, however I suspect the purpose is twofold. Put a bit of money in the coffers and have a long overdue cleanup. I don't understand the reasoning behind disposal of useful rollingstock however.
Rattler trust wins support
Shelley Strachan
18th Feb 2013 9:19 AM
AN INDEPENDENT community trust will oversee the Mary Valley Heritage Rail under a recovery plan devised by a special Gympie business advisory group.
The advisory group was put together last year by Gympie Mayor Ron Dyne and MP David Gibson in an effort to salvage the embattled tourist operation from serious issues of track safety, finances and in-fighting.
The plan was presented to the MVHR management committee last Saturday and Mr Gibson said it was well received.
Read more at: http://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/rattler-trust-wins-support/1757889/
One giant step for Rattler
Craig Warhurst 18th Apr 2013
IT MAY have been the shortest train trip in Australia but it was an important step in the resurrection of the Mary Valley Rattler.
Yesterday the Silver Bullet took the historic train organisation's first customers in over six months after a minor derailment at Dagun shut down operations due to track safety concerns.
About 60 members of the Ulysses Motorcycle Club, which is holding its national convention in Maryborough, journeyed south to Gympie for the train trip.
It was just 600m, up to the end of the Old Gympie Railway Station yards and back, but it gave the visitors a little taste of what the Mary Valley line had to offer.
Volunteer general manager Jim Walker said the train trip was supposed to take passengers further along the rail corridor toward Gympie North, but bridge works over the line on Stewart Tce stopped that from happening.
"It's just a small step but it's very positive," Mr Walker said. "Getting the wheels turning is very important to us."
Driver Kevin Power said it was great to get behind the wheel of the train again.
"It's my first run since September," he said.
Mr Power was expecting to take more groups from the Ulysses convention on trips over the next two days.
He said the rail motor was used because the steam engine was undergoing major work on its boiler.
The Rattler is planning to start scheduled trips toward Gympie North once the bridge work had been completed and they were working hard to get back to the Valley.
Mr Walker said the group was hopeful funding applications submitted to upgrade the track would be successful and enable the historic railway to resume operations along the Mary Valley line.
Gympie residents have a chance to catch a quick trip on the Silver Bullet this Saturday night at the Twilight Markets. Mr Walker said the rail motor would be running from 6pm with rides costing just $2.
Valley Rattler back on track thanks to Qld budget funding
THE Valley Rattler will be back on track in 2014 with a $2 million funding injection.
Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney said the money would go toward recommissioning the Mary Valley Line to get the heritage tourism train running again and bring economic benefit to the Gympie region.
"The Rattler is a local tourism icon.
"This funding will help get it back on the tracks, but its long-term viability will be reliant on revenue from both ticketing and external funding to meet operational expenses, such as ongoing maintenance and asset replacement costs," he said.
Mr Seeney said he would also work with the Gympie Regional Council, as well as other government agencies and stakeholders to fund the rattler beyond 2014.
"It will be team effort, but recommissioning the Mary Valley Line and getting the Valley Rattler back on track will boost local tourism and provide a lasting legacy for the Mary Valley community."
)
the lines past Anamoor will end up getting ripped up for some stupid rail trail
Finally: The Rattler's rolling once again
9th Aug 2014 6:00 AM
MILESTONE: Member for Gympie David Gibson and Rattler Railway Company director Tony Hallam help “reboot the Rattler” with the Infrastructure Department’s Stuart Pickering (left), Rattler chairman Paul Barnaby, director Garry Davison and secretary Gaylene Smith.
MARY Valley Heritage Rail president Tony Hallam admits it was not easy. But yesterday he handed ownership of MVHR assets to new owner, the Rattler Railway Company. And is everybody happy?
"Oh yes," he said.
But addressing the concerns of MVHR members and volunteers had taken time - months, in fact. "There was a complexity of issues needing to be identified and discussed," he said at the Old Gympie Railway Station.
"This is a big event," he said, after publicly signing over the assets - leases, spare parts, engines, rolling stock and tools - which the company will need.
MP David Gibson signed on behalf of the Queensland Government, while Infrastructure Department director general of major projects, Stuart Pickering, looked on, as did Rattler company chairman Paul Barnaby, secretary Gaylene Smith and director Garry Davison.
"This is a significant milestone in the rebooting of the Rattler," Mr Gibson said.
The next milestone would be "getting the track up to standard so we can see the Rattler running from Gympie back into the Mary Valley."
And yes, he said, he believed that would eventually mean running all the way to Imbil. But that would still be some distance "down the track," he said. Recently discussed development of foot and bike paths on "unused railway land" in the Valley would be in the other section of the former government railway line, from Imbil to Brooloo.
"By 2015, I hope we will see a fully scheduled regular operation in place.
"The MVHR needed funding and today's agreement allows that funding to be provided," he said. He described as "a significant event" the signing of hand-over documents by the three bodies - MVHR, the Rattler company and the state Infrastructure Department.
what if a qualified operated operated mvhr track and got income from various freight
As reported in the Gympie Times today the Rattler Railway Company has been granted and accredited Rail Infrastructure Manager and Rail Operator status of the Mary Valley line.https://www.facebook.com/thevalleyrattler?fref=pb&hc_location=profile_browser
THE LAST STOP? Volunteers were locked out of their workshops at the old Gympie train station yesterday as the Rattler Railway Company shut the whole thing down in an attempt to get some answers on the fate of the tourist icon. The volunteers were told early yesterday morning they had until 4pm to remove themselves and their personal items before the locks would go on. A press release issued by the Rattler Railway Company Inc said the Rattler board "in conjunction with" the council, was reducing activity at the Old Gympie Station until the Labor State Government decides its fate. The LNP allocated $2 million to restore at least some of the Rattler's ageing tracks two years ago, and then another $600,000 to upgrade its rolling stock. Only a tiny portion of that money has ever been seen. Now, with a new government in charge of the purse strings, the vast bulk of it may never be seen. Post election attempts to get some indication of the fate of that $2.6 million have met with silence. "The start-up and future operations of the Valley Rattler were dependent on the $2.6 million allocated from the previous State Government," RRC director Garry Davison said yesterday. "Following the Queensland state election on January 31, 2015, the RRC has made numerous attempts to obtain advice from the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning on when the funding will be released," he said. RRC have not yet had a response, however, we will continue to pursue the funding to support the business plan submitted to the department in October 2014. "We appreciate the efforts of Tony Perrett MP and Mayor Mick Curran who have both made representations to the Queensland Government in respect of the funding." Mr Davison told The Gympie Times the RRC was not prepared to continue to tread water while expenses continued to build. "We have just got to the stage where we are not going to do that any longer," he said. "We know where we want to go, but the stuff we are doing might not be worth doing. "We are just putting things on hold until we get an answer from the government. "Once that happens we will put everything in full swing. By drawing a line in the sand it might get us a quicker answer." The RRC met with volunteers later in the day yesterday. The RRC board consists of Mr Davison, acting chairman Ian McNichol, secretary Gaylene Smith and Tony Hallam. The council's role is via its representation on the holding company, which owns the assets to be used by the RRC. Cr Curran, council CEO Bernard Smith and Gympie MP Tony Perrett comprise the board of the holding company. The Mary Valley Rattler facebook page status yesterday was "may be permanently closed".Then on 1 May 2015 appeared the following:
A NEWLY formed volunteer association has clear goals to restore the Valley Rattler as the region's iconic tourist attraction. The Valley Rattler Volunteer Association was formalised Wednesday night following its first official meeting. Members met face-to-face and discussed the future of the Valley Rattler. VRVA chairman Ken Coulter, with more than 20 years involvement with the heritage railway, said the meeting was a success. "The Valley Rattler is totally unique to this region and we should cherish it and do everything we can to get it up and running again," he said. "I used to go and clean the carriages when they were in the museum and before they were moved to the railway." The new association now has what it describes as "immediate aims". They include having the workshops re-open in Gympie, starting fundraising activity to raise funds for boiler repairs on locomotive #967 and starting the clearance of vegetation on the track corridors with the help of the numerous Mary Valley communities. Mr Coulter said the volunteer association sought to be professional. "Everything (we) do will be on a strictly professional basis so everyone can see that we know what we are doing and can get the Valley Rattler up and operating once more," he said. Public support had always been a backbone of the Valley Rattler's success, and community involvement, Mr Coulter said, would be necessary for the Valley Rattler to again grace the Mary Valley's landscape. "To achieve this, we need assistance of the Valley communities and these days any (work) has to be safety assessed," he said. "We already have a volunteer qualified in the training and instruction of safety assessment." The work itself will include the clearing and burning of vegetation on the track along with killing weeds. A meeting room has been offered to the association, but the group hopes to find a small office to act as a base. There are also plans to have monthly meetings rotate between Gympie, Dagun, Imbil, Kandanga and Amamoor to be inclusive. Re-opening the Valley Rattler's workshops is also of importance so work may begin on the steam locomotives which the group estimates will take months, if not years, to complete. "Once we get approval we will be looking for a great price or donation of two cranes to lift the boiler from locomotive #967 on to a special wagon the volunteers have built so they may assess the boiler and firebox," Mr Coulter said. Meanwhile, the former Newman Government's pledge of $2 million for track repairs and an additional $600,000 for rolling stock remains in doubt with the new Labor Government yet to commit.I found the post on their Facebook page most disturbing, more so as I could not find any such article in the Gympie Times.
This table lists the accredited railways in Queenslandread the table Graham. I have complained to ONRSR about how misleading and deceptive their "list of accredited operators" is and even wrote to the Ombudsman, to no avail. Useless bureaucrats misleading the public. Qld are separate from the national regulator but are just as incompetent.
Mary Valley Heritage Rail Museum* Gympie 23 April 1998 Rail Infrastructure Manager and Rolling Stock Operator
Ravenshoe Railway Co Ltd* Ravenshoe 3 October 2006 Rail Infrastructure Manager and Rolling Stock Operator
The Big Pineapple Corporation Pty Ltd* Nambour 2 April 2013 Rail Infrastructure Manager and Rolling Stock OperatorI find that amazing.
Mary Valley Heritage Rail Museum Assn Inc MVH x x x x x x QLD
Cooma-Monaro Railway Incorporated CMN RSO & RIM x x x NSW x x 20 January 2013
New England Railway Incorporated NER RSO x x x NSW x x 20 January 2013
Glenreagh Mountain Railway Incorporated GMR RIM x x x NSW x x 20 January 2013
Ravenshoe Railway Co Ltd RAV x x x x x x QLD
Zig Zag Railway Co Op Ltd ZZR RSO & RIM x x x NSW x x 20 January 2013
The MVHR is an incorporated association....This association has fixed assets which are owned by the Mary Valley Heritage Railway Museum Association inc. The MVHRMA inc. as owners of these fixed assets.Gympie Times 9 August 2014:
MARY Valley Heritage Rail president Tony Hallam admits it was not easy. But yesterday he handed ownership of MVHR assets to new owner, the Rattler Railway Company.So we assume that a new company called "Rattler Railway Company" exists, but is it a Pty. Ltd. company incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) or a not for profit "Inc" registered under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld). Who is to say. They are supposed to use their correct title, and no name vaguely close appears on the Dept of Transport site register.
Subscribers: LadyGuard, troublegrub
We've disabled Quick Reply for this thread as it was last updated more than six months ago.