Viv Markham, Tarrangower Times
Many thanks to VGR volunteer Brendan Barry, who took this photo recently of the self-propelled Bluebird (but coloured red!) diesel rail car being loaded up to leave the yards at the Maldon railway station.
Weighing 37 tonnes, the car was lifted off its bogies and onto a low loader.
Bought from South Australian Railways by a VGR member, the rail car is being restored and will eventually be used as a crew car (‘motel on wheels’ for the workers) on an outback train. It will be replacing a crew car that was destroyed in an accident where a road train ploughed into a train.
The bogies from the Bluebird will be used during the restoration of a very special carriage: the Mount Lofty Pullman car. The [Tarrangower] Times spoke to Max Coxhead who is one of the three owners of the Pullman.
According to Max, there were only ever three Pullman cars exported from North America and they all came to Australia. “They still exist,” he said. “There’s the Macedon Pullman, which was bought by Victorian Railways and is now part of VGR’s rolling stock. The other two were bought by South Australian Railways. One is in the railway museum in North America and is like a time capsule, right down to the cups, saucers and carpets. It’s the most original Pullman in the world. And then there’s the Mount Lofty Pullman, which is the one that we’re going to be restoring.”
Since arriving in Australia in the 1920s, the three Pullmans have had an interesting life. While Macedon and Mt Lofty were sleepers, the car in the museum in Adelaide was a dining car.
At one stage, the Macedon and Mt Lofty cars formed part of the Tea & Sugar train, which ran between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie from 1915. The last Tea & Sugar train ran in 1996. The train stopped at all the small settlements along the way – it brought water, food and other goods. It also gave people living in these isolated communities the opportunity to visit a post office, do some banking, watch a film, see a nurse and even visit Santa at Christmas time. It was, reputedly, the slowest train in the world!
The Mt Lofty Pullman will be restored at the Seymour Rail Heritage Centre. It is hoped that the restoration will see the addition of an observation deck to the carriage. “We’re looking forward to seeing the restoration completed before Christmas next year,” Max said, “and our carriage will be the best in Australia.”
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 14 July 2023.
