|
News
21st October 2007
Hello Everyone!
October as been a busy month so far for the GCHR. It all started on the long weekend when John Bradney, Beverly Brennan, Manfred and Albert Melchert journeyed to Goulburn with their Wickhams to participate in the annual Goulburn Lilac Festival parade. They meet at the Goulburn workshop where they prepared for the parade. They then made their way to the staging area. The wind was blowing a gale nearly resulting in losing the GCHR banner off the back of Albert’s trailer. As the parade got under way is was by chance that they got lead by a Scottish marching band. Many in the crowd welcomed the GCHR this year. It has turned out a bit of a tradition for the GCHR to attend the parade, this is the 6th consecutive attendance.
The 6th of October rolled around. The members turned out in force for the combined meeting/woodchop working bee. With a slight change in plans the meeting was held at the station instead of the work site. We had the pleasure of welcoming a new member John Baxter who made the trip to Crookwell to see what the fuss was about. Following the meeting fantastic BBQ lunch was put on. About 2pm we made out way out to job site where GCHR where a donated felled tree for the up coming raffle was waiting. James Evans, our competent woodsman made short work of the 50foot tree with his chainsaws. The members then loaded the cut wood into Claude Collins ute and trailer. All said and done in 1.5hours. The members then meet back at the station for a cuppa and cookie.
7 days later, members of the GCHR were at it again. This time in the main street of Crookwell in the beautiful weather that was provided the wood raffle was held. The Ladies had been busy baking for the cake stall, they must have been good because they were all gone in the first hour. Beryl and Silvia sold tickets at the stand while John, Keith, Claude sold ticket in front of the local IGA. Matt and Vanessa manned the food side of things, offering Dutch pancakes, hot dogs, fruit kababs and drinks. 12pm came around all to quick and it was time to pack up. The raffle was drawn by a local woman and won by the Crookwell Top Pub. The members then gathered back at the railway station to discuss the day and solcialise and count the take. Days like this will ensure the GCHR will survive and the support for the Heritage Railway is growing.
It has been tough, effectively the GCHR has rebooted to start fresh with new and competent leadership and reachable goals. The current membership has a strong desire to make GCHR work.
The GCHR is open for all to join. If you can’t join you can still help with a donation.
3rd September 2007
Hello Everyone!
Long time no news, well there has been news just haven’t got around to posting it up. As you would have read in the last installment that we has a couple of resignations, this was followed by a few more effectively bringing GCHR to it’s knees. However, The remaining members stayed on to make a go of it. This paid off, just in a couple of months (at the AGM) GCHR is now back up to full strength with all new top end. Many new members signed on to replace the ones we lost plus more. New contact details for the GCHR are on the contact page, please update your records.
The old saying goes “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone” rings very true. With the possible closure of the GCHR, the local community and Council have stepped up with their support, still more is needed. To run the track vehicles again GCHR has to fulfill the requirements of accreditation under the 2002 Rail safety act and National Accreditaion Package. Our members are working through it slowly but we can use more help, if you are able to please contact us.
October will be a busy month starting with the long weekend. As usual GCHR will be part of the Goulburn Lilac Parade on the 30th September. The 6th October is a Working Bee/Meeting to gather fire wood for the raffle on the 13th of October. Other activities are also being planned.
The following is a news paper article from the Crookwell Gazette.
The general meeting of the GCHR Inc. held on August 4 2007, was convened at 23 Spring Street Crookwell, it was well attended by 13 members who experienced the warm hospitality of Claude and Beryl Collins. At this meeting, Michael Arnall accepted the position of Track Maintenance Supervisor, and has already inspected part of the track. We welcome Mick to the GCHR and we are grateful for his valuable time and expertise, thank you. We would like to acknowledge the wonderful support given by the manager of ARTC in Goulburn, Darren Warner. Through his efforts we have been able to source the required number of sleepers to repair the line from the railway station to Harley 2 Road Crossing. This is a remarkable achievement and all members are very grateful to you Darren. There were also a number of people who worked hard to recover the sleepers to Crookwell. Thanks to Mick Arnall, Gordon Thorn, Claude Collins and James Evans for your efforts in sorting, lifting and transporting the sleepers. Dates to remember The following General Meeting will be at 10am sharp, October 6. Meeting at the Crookwell Railway Station. This will be a combined meeting, wood cutting, working bee and BBQ. BYO everything. October 13 will be the wood raffle and street stall at the kiosk, Crookwell main street. Would members kindly plan to contribute in anyway possible for this very important fundraising date. A hamper has commenced to be raffled and non-perishable item are required as a donation. Beryl Collins has started the ball rolling by stamping all raffle ticket in readiness for the big day. All new members welcome.
The more people and support the GCHR has, we can achieve great things and offer something that no other heritage operator does.
19 March 2007
Hello Everyone!
Our long serving President Neville Graham and his wife have resigned from their respective positions with GCHR for personal reasons.
The members wish to thank them for their support, financial and manpower, they offered over the years.
Due to this the GCHR office mailing address will be changed. For further information on how to contact the GCHR please email one of the members on the contacts page.
In other news, GCHR have submitted some of our new paperwork to ITSRR to gain authority to operate the trikes again.
Regards to all Albert Melchert GM GCHR
20 February 2007,
Hello everyone!
Since the last news update ITSRR have been and gone. The result...we are not running just yet. Laws and regulation have changed since we were running. We are now going blind on paperwork.
Australia Day was a complete success. GCHR raise much needed funds and we all had great time. Thanks go out to all those that attended. It was also interesting how many people that looked at the trikes actually work with and/or on them in Goulburn. VW gang cars, Villiers quads and TIC/SICs were all manufactured in the Goulburn Railway Workshops.
Our next activity is the Crookwell Country Weekend (Feb 3-4th). The station, Museum will be open and track vehicles will be on display on the track.
Until next time…
Albert Melchert General Manager GCHR
18 September 2006,
Hello everyone!
Just a little bit of news to update you all.
ITSRR have contacted us to arrange a time to come to Crookwell so we can obtain our accreditation to resume operations. This will take place in the second week of October.
If you ride a train passed Goulburn Station and look to your left while heading south (right if traveling North) You won’t miss the new sign on our workshop. A big thanks to Peter Try of TRY SIGNS (02) 6226 4333 for painting this sign for us.
It is of interest to note that the shed we occupy is the former Trike Maintenance Workshop when in use by the Railways.
With a group effort just this last Saturday (16th) The GCHR can add another vehicle to it’s fleet. A DHD VW gang car was brought back to life after suffering a limp and burnt out wiring. We also now know the CORRECT firing order of a VW engine. Many thanks go out to all those that attended this working bee.
A reminder to you all out there that the Crookwell Station is an operating Museum. Don’t hesitate to come and have a look. The best time to come is the first Saturday of the Month. That’s is the when we have a our meetings and someone will be around.
Would be even better if you got in on the fun. A membership form is only a click away….right here in fact.
Wishing everyone the best
Albert Melchert General Manager GCHR
6 July 2006,
Hello everyone!
GCHR recently had it’s Annual General Meeting. Even though we have not been able to operate our Trikes the GCHR had a successful year. The biggest thing to happen was the replacement of Harley 1 and 2 road crossing in Crookwell. With council help the GCHR members that attended had the crossings done in 2 days, both crossing were replaced and connected. The project spanned 6 months, most of it was preparation of the rail panels that actually went into the road. A BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL INVOLVED!!
Now (if you have had a ride before) there is no need to change trains to get to McAlister, it’s now a straight run.
The GCHR is insured for another 12 months. This means the Railway Station, Goods Shed and Yard are open for the public. Trike rides are still not available, however not for much longer. New accreditation rules have been put in place by ITSRR. Once GCHR jumps this hurdle, operations will recommence. It’s a matter of “when” not “if” anymore. A big thank you to all those that stuck it out. November will mark 4 years of no Trike operations.
We recent acquired some of Crookwell's History from the old mill. Much of the antiques are turn of the century, from farming to communications, hospital equipment and more. It is not a large display but very interesting. This coupled with the Railway Museum at the Station makes one collection worth a peek not to mention the drive from Goulburn and the town are worth taking a look.
The website will be updated more often so keep checking back.
The GOULBURN CROOKWELL HERITAGE RAILWAY is still here and will be here for long time.
Albert Melchert General Manager GCHR |
|
Goulburn - Crookwell Heritage Railway Inc. |
