The 3801, greeted by thousands of sightseers and enthusiasts
wherever it goes, is regarded as the best working example of a steam locomotive
in Australia.
But after being cared for by volunteers and enthusiasts for the past 20 years,
its future as a working locomotive is now in doubt.
Its many supporters claim the NSW government is determined
to rid itself of the train because it wants the valuable inner-city land on
which it is housed. Plans are already on display for a I2-storey apartment
development on the site of the 1890s heritage listed rail shed in which it is
housed.
The 3801 steam locomotive, built by Clyde Engineering in
western Sydney,
came into service in 1943. Regarded as an engineering triumph, it remained in
service until 1967. It was a rusting heap at the NSW
Rail Transport
Museum at Thirlmere south of Sydney until 1983, when it was restored by apprentices in
the Hunter Valley. In 1986 it came back to service
with a specially formed volunteer heritage company called 3801 Ltd., which was
given a 20 year lease. That lease ends in November. Since 1986 the 3801 has
carried more than half a million passengers.
The company has more than 130 active volunteers. Chairman of
3801 Ltd., former dean of Engineering at Sydney University John Glastonbury,
said the trains operations were now at risk because the NSW government refused
to renegotiate their lease. “We are one of the most successful rail
heritage operators in Australia,
yet the NSW government is trying to break up a group of devoted volunteers for
bureaucratic convenience and real estate money, Glastonbury said. “Look at episodes of
Yes Minister and it ceases to be funny. All we are asking is for the government
to let us continue to do what we have done well”.
Typical of the enthusiasts grouped around the 3801, former
tours operator for the Railway Historical Society, Ken Butt, said the loss of
the train would be terrible. “It is the only one of its kind left, it is
in top order and people just love it,” he said.
As those with any direct experience of the steam age die
out, the company has trained up a younger generation. Fireman and maintenance
expert Creagh Maywald, 30, said they had to draw on the skills of the men who
originally drove the train. “Just look at her,” he said. “It is
a beautiful machine, absolutely beautiful. Railways, wool, wheat and coal, that
was what Australia
was built on.”
Glastonbury
said the NSW government could step in and resolve the issue with a stroke of
the pen. But NSW Transport Minister John Watkins has refused to intervene. Last
Friday RailCorp Chief Executive Vince Graham issued a statement which horrified
3801s supporters; claiming the operating future of the locomotive would be
guaranteed but refusing to clarify the ownership dispute.
He said he would offer 3801 Ltd an extension of time at its
current location subject to the company meeting building maintenance
responsibilities and undergoing a financial audit.
Peter Berriman, President of the NSW Rail Transport Museum
at Thirlmere, 3801’s likely future
home, expects to take possession on 27 November. He said the train was
returning to its natural home. He acknowledged it was unlikely to run as often.
“We would argue that as a single product business 3801 have operated it
without any real regard for conservation considerations,” Mr Berriman
said. “They don’t have a
conservation policy, they don’t have
guidelines or protocols for operating heritage equipment. We think we can
provide a more sustainable future for the locomotive.”
John Glastonbury
chair of the 3801 Ltd. hasn’t had
some of his questions answered He asks “Why take locomotive 3801 off the
not-for-profit company 3801 Limited when we have looked after it so well for 20
years? Why won’t the government
negotiate a new lease for the locomotive, its heritage carriages and the shed
directly with 3801 Limited?
Why did the Minister for Transport announce a $20m rail
heritage package which did not include the operation of the locomotive 3801 by
3801 Limited? “This goes back to our basic question, why change what is
already working? What have we done wrong?”
[South Sydney Herald September 2006]