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Annual Report Blue Mountains Division Transport Heritage NSW AGM - 2015

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Blue Mountains Division of

ANNUAL REPORT

24th Annual General Meeting

Blue Mountains Division of Transport Heritage NSW

ACN: 000 570 463 / ABN: 25 000 570 463

Date: Saturday 14th November 2015

Time: 11:00am

Venue: Valley Heights Locomotive Depot Heritage Museum, Tusculum Road, Valley Heights NSW 2777


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AGENDA FOR 24th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Apologies Chairman’s Address Minutes Acceptance of Minutes of the 23rd Annual General Meeting held on 15th November 2014 Business Arising from Minutes Annual Reports

Treasurer’s Report – John Carter Chairman’s Report –Bruce Coxon Publicity Manager’s Report – Keith Ward Membership Officer’s Report – Jeff Russell Building Services Manager’s Report - Ted Dickson Building Restoration Manager’s Report – David Grove Grounds Maintenance Manager’s Report – Stephen Dive Perway Maintenance Manager’s Report – John Stanley Retail Manager’s Report - Steve Corrigan Exhibits Manager’s Report – Rod Hawkes Small Exhibits Curator’s Report – Bruce Coxon Model Railway Manager’s Report – Ray Beharrell Workshop Manager’s Report - Terry Matchett

Acceptance of Annual Reports Election of Main Office Bearers

Chairman Secretary Treasurer Publicity Manager Membership Officer Building Services Manager Building Restoration Manager Grounds Maintenance Manager Perway Maintenance Manager Retail Manager Exhibits Manager Small Exhibits Curator Model Railway Manager Workshop Manager

Election of Sub Committees - (to be appointed by Manager) Election of Honorary Positions

Honorary Historian Honorary Librarian

Election of Patrons Nomination of Honorary Members Notices of Motion – 1) Amendment to Museum Membership Fees Address by Representatives General Business

All correspondence to: The Secretary Blue Mountains Division Transport Heritage NSW Limited PO Box 484 Springwood NSW 2777

ABN 25 000 570 463

Blue Mountains Division

of Transport Heritage NSW

ACN: 000 570 463 / ABN: 25 000 570 463

24th Annual General Meeting

Saturday 14th November 2015

NOTICE OF MOTION Amendment to Museum’s Membership Fees. The committee of Valley Heights Locomotive Depot Heritage Museum is seeking the members of said Museum’s endorsement to increase the Museum’s Membership Fees. The motion is - That the members of Valley Heights Locomotive Museum endorse the increase of membership fees from the current Adult fee of Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) per annum to Twenty Dollars ($20.00) per annum and Child’s fee from Eight Dollars ($8.00) per annum to Ten Dollars ($10.00) per annum. Both increases to take effect from 1st January 2016

Bruce Coxon Ross Stenning Chairman Secretary


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MINUTES OF THE 23rd ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Held Saturday 15th November 2014

The Meeting was opened at 11:00am by the Chairman Ted Mullett. Apologies: Louis Markus, Roza Sage, Daniel Myles, Ross Stenning, Peter Neve, Peter Stock, Phil Robinson, Dennis Brown, Barry Henry, Sam Wyatt, Glenn Hargrave, Stan Huckel, Grant Robinson, Ted Sage, Michael Jessop, Peter Kerr, Avid Batho, Charles Hazelwood, John Taylor, Jim Ferguson, Heather Dickson, Bob Dickson, Peter Lowry, Phil Pedley, Sue Fulton, Bruce Allen, Lindsey Howes, Peter Goodman, Roslyn Reynolds. MOVED: Andrew Tester SECONDED: John Carter that the apologies be received. Chairman's Address Welcome: Chairman Ted Mullett opened his address by welcoming all in attendance to the Museum’s 23rd Annual General Meeting. Thanks: Ted thanked the government support we have had and also all who helped us achieve so much this past twelve months, those in evidence at the Museum and also those active behind the scenes. Ted thanked STARPS and the Blue Mountains Christian Group for their contribution made by their members. The camaraderie continues with a core group of 15 to 25 volunteers regularly on site. Centenary: The depot was 100 years old this year so a Centenary Celebration was organised. Andrew Tester took on the mammoth task of organising it and with the support of THNSW a spectacle was put on that is still being talked about. Thanks to THNSW a special train was run from Central with dignitaries arriving by rail. “Mario”: Ted then went on regarding the acquisition of “Mario” our road/rail vehicle with a boom crane and the need for it to do the heavy lifting particularly in helping our per way Team. The machine has been named after our train mover. At the moment it is being utilized as a road vehicle only as a risk management and a manual needs to be done before accreditation can be carried out. Ash: Pit one of the Departure Road ash pits has had its timbers replaced with half of the second one also done. It will continue to be under review. The track between the pits and the points were also refurbished as we found most of the sleepers were life expired. Sleepers: After about 2.5 years we have finally received 200 sleepers Chairman’s Position: In closing his address Ted officially informed all that he was standing down as Chairman. Minutes The Minutes of the 22nd Annual General Meeting held Saturday 16th November 2013 have been circulated. MOVED: Dave Hunt SECONDED: Andrew Tester that the minutes are taken as read and confirmed. Declared Carried. Business Arising from Minutes Nil Annual Reports Annual Reports were received from the Chairman, Treasurer, Publicity Manager, Membership Officer, Building Restoration Manager, Building Services Manager, Grounds Maintenance Manager, per way Maintenance Manager, Retail Manager, Small Exhibits Curator, Model Railway Manager, Presentation Manager and Workshop Manager. MOVED: Ray Beharrell SECONDED: Jeff Russell that the reports be received and adopted. Declared Carried. Election of Main Office Bearers At this point in time, retiring Chairman Mr Ted Mullett declared all positions vacant and called upon Andrew Killingsworth to act as Returning Officer and conduct the Annual Election of Office Bearers. As there was only one nomination for each of the following positions, the nominated person was declared duly elected.


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Position Nomination Moved Seconded Chairman TBA …………. ………… Secretary Ross Stenning Bruce Coxon John Carter Treasurer John Carter Steve Dive Ray Beharrell Publicity Manager Keith Ward Andrew Tester Ted Mullett Membership Officer Jeff Russell Bruce Coxon Ted Mullett Building Services Manager Ted Dickson Ted Mullett Bruce Coxon Building Restoration Manger David Grove Steve Corrigan Keith Ward Grounds Maintenance Manager Stephen Dive Ted Mullett Dave Grove Perway Manager John Stanley Bruce Coxon Steve Dive Retail Manager Stephen Corrigan John Carter Ray Beharrell Exhibits Manager Rod Hawkes Steve Corrigan Terry Matchett Small Exhibits Curator Bruce Coxon Ray Beharrell Barry Grundy Model Railway Manager Ray Beharrell Ted Mullett Steve Corrigan Workshop Manager Terry Matchett Keith Ward Rod Hawkes At the completion of the Committee Elections Andrew Killingsworth handed the floor back to the Deputy Chairman Andrew Tester for the meeting to proceed Election of Sub Committees As per the previous year, managers will select their own Sub Committees. Election of Honorary Positions Nominations were then called for the Election of Honorary Historian and Honorary Librarian, with the following being elected: Position Nomination Moved Seconded Honorary Historian Ted Dickson Ted Mullett Terry Matchett Honorary Librarian TBA

Election of Patrons Nominations were then called for the Election of Patrons to the Museum. Those elected were: Mrs Louise Markus - Federal Member for Macquarie Mrs Roza Sage - Member for Blue Mountains

Councillor Mark Greenhill - Mayor Blue Mountains City Council Mr Neil Cram MOVED: John Stanley SECONDED: Ray Beharrell that the patrons be elected. It was agreed Honorary Members Nominations for Honorary Members were called. Those nominated were: Bob Debus, Oliver Heymans, Ted Mullett, Dr Stuart Sharp, Ian Vigers, John Eassie, Craig Hill, Peter Neve, Paddy Brosnan, Roslyn Reynolds, Wendy Torr and Alex Taylor. MOVED: Steve Dive SECONDED: Keith Ward that the nominated Honorary Members be accepted. It was agreed Notice of Motion: Amendments to the Museum Rules & By-Laws

The formation of Transport Heritage NSW Limited was bought about by the State Government’s review into transport Heritage. This review resulted in the merging of a number of organisations including the NSW Rail Transport Museum, Trainworks and the Office of Rail Heritage to form the new organisation- Transport Heritage-NSW Limited. As a result of this change, we as the Blue Mountains Division of the former NSW Rail Transport Museum are now known as the Blue Mountains Division of Transport Heritage NSW. As a result of this, the Museum’s Rules & By-Laws have been reviewed to reflect the change in the organisation name.


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Some minor grammatical and punctuation changes have also been made as a result of the review of the Museum’s Rules & By-Laws. A summary of changes will be made available at the meeting or can be made available on request, prior to the meeting. Importantly, it should be noted that our identity and trading name- Valley Heights Locomotive Depot Heritage Museum remains unaffected by this change and in fact is recognised and endorsed as an individual business unit of Transport Heritage NSW. We seek the member’s endorsement of these changes of the Rules & By-Laws at the Annual General Meeting.

MOVED: Steve Corrigan SECONDED: Ray Beharrell that the notice of motion as circulated will be adopted. It was agreed At this time Ray Rumble a director of THNSW was welcomed to the meeting Address by Representatives

• Andrew Killingsworth began his address to the meeting in his position of CEO THNSW by recognising all the hard work that Ted Mullett has put in to the Museum from its inception to what it has become now. Andrew thanked Ted and wished him well in his “retirement” as chairman.

• Andrew then went on to congratulate all for the work done and told us how highly regarded Valley Heights is in the rail heritage movement and especially commended us for the Centenary Celebrations for which Andrew is still getting favourable comments from the Minister’s Office, THNSW and Howard Collins CEO of Sydney Trains.

• On the matter or Transport Heritage, THNSW has just signed a Master Custodial Management Agreement with the government which means the bulk of the state’s rail heritage assets are transferred into THNSW care. They include everything from a wheelbarrow to a 57 Class loco and also includes heritage sites. It is a huge job to care for these and the government will come to the party with some money but it is the volunteers we need and this is where THNSW will come into it by helping the volunteers. Some funding has already been made available.

• Andrew then made himself available for questions. • Rod Hawkes asked if they were aware that there was an issue with the Online Membership Renewal. Andrew handed

over to Ray Rumble who is aware of the problem. Ray said it had been caused by changes made by the software provider and steps were being taken to remedy the issue.

• Andrew Tester has pointed out that the Christmas Train will conflict with operations at Valley Heights and some members will not be able to go on the Christmas Train. Andrew Killingsworth said that communications will need to be addressed and hopefully this will prevent this occurring again.

• Ted Mullett asked about 3801. Andrew said the boiler was still in Germany but an announcement from the government was pending. The intentions of the government is to get 3801 back in steam ASAP.

• Andrew also advised that RSVP for the Conference/AGM close on Monday. General Business

• Andrew Tester then opened the meeting for general business. • Ted Mullett moved (seconded Steve Dive) that a vote of thanks be given to the returning officer. It was agreed. • Dave Grove asked what has happened to the tops of our trestle tables. He was informed that they had been loaned to

Wascoe Siding Miniature Railway for their 50th Anniversary and were in the process of being returned. • Ted Mullett moved (seconded Steve Corrigan) that Andrew Tester be thanked for all the work he has done as Publicity

Manager for the Museum. It was agreed. • Andrew Tester advised the members that, although he had been thought of as being the next Chairman he had

informed the committee that due to family and work commitments he would not be able to nominate for the position but will continue to assist Keith in his role as Publicity Manager.

• Keith Ward addressed the meeting and thanked Andrew Tester for assisting him into sliding into the roll as Publicity Manager and was looking forward to Andrew assisting him in the reversed role.

• On behalf of STARPS, Craig Connelly thanked all the Valley Heights for their assistance throughout the year and was looking forward to working with the new organisation (THNSW).

• Ray Beharrell moved a vote of thanks to Ted Mullett for all that he had done for Valley Heights since its inception. It was seconded Steve Corrigan and agreed to.

The Meeting was closed at 11.50 AM


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Treasurer's Report Income and Expenditure Statement

for twelve months ended 30 June 2015

Income 2015 2014

Anzac Centenary Grant

$1,939 $0 Bank Interest

$66 $71

Donations To General Restoration Fund

$5,633 $11,684 Donations To Special Projects

$4,596 $4,450

Fund Raising

$1,501 $0 Members' Subscriptions

$2,118 $1,815

Miscellaneous Income

$5,974 $3,330 Museum Admission & Tram Ride Ticket Sales - Share

$14,845 $9,381

RailCorp Reimburse Expenditure MRC Restoration

$0 $8,492 RailCorp Reimburse Expenditure Roundhouse Guttering

$0 $4,287

Retail Sales

$10,445 $8,515 Special Events

$3,626 $0

STARPS - Contribution To Administrative Expenses

$6,640 $4,998 Transport Heritage NSW Reimburse Expenditure RBR Car

$0 $2,373

Transport Heritage NSW Reimburse Expenditure Centenary Event $0 $5,000

Total Income $57,383 $64,396

Expenditure 2015 2014

Retail - Books, DVD, etc. Purchases

$3,526 $2,185 Retail - General Expenses

$556 $150

Retail - Refreshment Purchases

$1,370 $1,785 Retail Costs and Expenses

$5,452 $4,120

Electricity

$3,437 $5,017 Fire Protection

$346 $0

Rubbish Bin Rental and Emptying

$610 $0 Security

$3,175 $2,688

Telephone / Internet

$1,188 $165 Water Rates

$775 $969

Services and Amenities

$9,531 $8,839

Advertising

$3,606 $548 Bank / Credit Card Charges

$255 $220

Depot Centenary Expenditure

$5,425 $16,845 Membership Expenses

$118 $0

Postage, Printing & Stationery

$1,036 $475 Special Events Expenses

$2,104 $0

Administration

$12,544 $18,089


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Expenditure (continued) 2015 2014

Consumables

$1,114 $0 Ground/Depot/Roundhouse/Building Expenditure

$3,654 $5,613

Miscellaneous Equipment

$3,807 $6,109 Miscellaneous General Expenses

$6,196 $1,728

Perway Expenditure

$14,943 $14,479 Repairs and Maintenance

$29,714 $27,929

Total Expenditure $57,241 $58,976

Surplus / (-Deficit) 2015 2014 Surplus (-Deficit) Of Income Over Expenditure $142 $5,419

Financial Position 2015 Balance Of Bank Account

$29,509

Less Balance Of Funds Held For Model Railway Expenditure

$284 Less Money Held Towards Equipment For Rail/Road Tractor $3,756 Less Balance Of Funds For Diesel Shunter Appeal

$4,450

Less Money Held Towards 5711 Repairs

$50 $8,540

General Funds Available For Regular Expenditure $20,969

John R. Carter Treasurer 14 September 2015


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Chairman’s Annual Report 2015 2015 is rapidly drawing to a close and so ends my first 12 months as Chairman of your Museum. Firstly before I sum up the year I must say how privileged I feel to represent you all, thank you!

To my expert and fully supportive executive team I say many thanks for without you the position would be impossible. I would also like to extend a huge thank you to STARPS who continue to operate Trams and Trains at the Museum which brings the place to life. We would not be the Museum we are without you!!!

The Springwood Historical Society and the Christian Model Railway Group are also continually active at the Museum and bring their many talents regularly. All of these groups allow us to present a diverse range of activities and interests to our visitors which have seen our visitor numbers continue to grow in what is a very competitive market.

Secondly I must give credit to our previous chairman Mr Ted Mullett who was our founding chairman and continued in the role for 26 years, a record period of service that I believe will never be broken. Ted, along with other founding members including Andrew Tester and Ted Dickson continue to give outstanding service to your Museum. One can only imagine the amount of detail and issues that Ted and his team would have had to wade through and resolve to not only stop the Museum from being turned into a housing estate but to the restore the site and setup an operating Museum. On behalf of all members “thank you” Ted for your outstanding service and your continued support. Ted of course was assisted all the way by his wife Val to whom we all also owe a big thank you.

Thanks also go to all of our patrons, especially Neil Cram who is a regular volunteer at the Museum and has made many financial donations.

Our local politicians continue to provide their assistance, thanks to Louise Markus MHR and the previous MLA Rosa Sage. Trish Doyle the newly elected MLA and Uncle Graeme Cooper, Indigenous Community Leader have also been active at the Museum, recently opening the exhibition, “I’ve been working on the Railway”

I am sure you are all aware that Transport Heritage NSW was founded in May 2013 to continue the restoration, maintenance and preservation of transport heritage assets and artefacts. This continues the excellent work of the Rail Transport Museum. One of the major benefits of THNSW is that it provides certainty in funding from the NSW government for this work.

THNSW led by CEO Andrew Killingsworth and his team have this year become hugely supportive of Valley Heights. Andrew and his team have visited us many times to see what we have done, what we plan to do and what major “road blocks” they can remove to allow us to move forward with our plans. Our relationship is an excellent one and operates on a very professional level. Each year we have and will continue to provide to Andrew our Local Area Management Plan (LAMP) which details our objectives with regards to restoration of fixed and moveable assets for the next 5 years. All items are fully costed and detail a timeline for their restoration. Andrew and I sit regularly and review this plan to keep restorations on track and to also deal with the many unforeseen issues that arise. An example being our sewer system that has collapsed in one area. Quotations for repair are as much as $30,000 which could not be covered by your Museum, thus this repair is being factored into our LAMP for funding from THNSW.

Our interaction with THNSW is very extensive and on many levels, detailed below are some of the major ones that have occurred this year;

• Garry Lancefield, the Safety and Environment Manager arranged for the removal of asbestos from locomotive 3214 this year. We highlighted this issue as a major “road block” preventing us from displaying this fine locomotive thus giving us a further exhibit to attract visitors.

Garry is also investigating replacing our ineffective security site fencing, an expensive job but essential to protect our Museum.

• Jennifer Edmonds, the Collections Manager provides her expert advice and funding during her monthly visits to the site to allow Rod Hawkes our Large Exhibits Manager and myself as Small Exhibits Manager to continue with our restoration work.


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• Daniel Page, the Operations Manager offered us the opportunity to run the BBQ at the Trainworks Thomas weekend as a fundraiser. 12 of our people worked for 2 days at this event raising over $3,000 desperately needed funds for our Museum.

• David Bennett, Marketing and Commercial Services Manager, has included Valley Heights in major events such as the Expo at Central allowing us to gain major exposure for our Museum. David has also staged a number of discussion sessions at Valley Heights regarding the future “re-branding” of THNSW. This project has the aim to integrate our website along with others with the THNSW website so that visitors have a one stop site to give them all the information re events they need.

• Ann Frederick, the Public Programs Manager brought the “I’ve been working on the railway” exhibition to Valley Heights which again attracted many new visitors and added to the variety of our displays.

• Andrew Killingsworth, CEO provided $1500 in funding to allow us to purchase ballast. The ballast was needed by our per way group to reinstall the crossover points from the arrival to the departure roads in front of our shop.

These are just some of the many ways we have interacted with THNSW, others include our recent application to re-establish a “fettlers shed” and to restore the bullring surface that has sunken creating a major safety hazard. We are also hoping to air-condition our shop to allow a much more comfortable experience in summer for our visitors and staff.

Ongoing support and interaction is provided to us by THNSW Director of Finance, Andy McNeill and her accounts staff of Mei Wang and Leonie Turner.

Bruce Rankin, Fleet Engineer is currently looking at the future restoration of projects including 5711.

Amy Butschek, Business Support and Office Co-Ordinator has been outstanding in the way she supports Valley Heights and provides our executive with access to these people when we need.

This high level support is very valuable to us but we as a team have also been very busy raising funds and promoting your Museum as a major attraction on the Mountains. Your individual executive members will provide a detailed report of their many achievements this year. As chairman, my goals continue to be;

• Providing support and assistance to all our volunteers to ensure we don’t “burn out” our people. We always need more volunteers so please let us know if you can help? Our Publicity Manager has been particularly successful in attracting many tour groups to our Museum. One example was the hugely successful “Teddy Bears Day Out” that created a record number of visitors.

• Putting in place a “Succession Plan” which is ongoing and will provide continuity in your executive team as we all grow older and step down. This problem faces all volunteer groups and has the potential to “close the doors” if we don’t look to the future.

• Sourcing funding and approvals for restoration projects that will provide interesting and productive projects for groups including your “Retirees Group” who work for a week every month on site.

I would need to write a book to fully explain how much work the many volunteers that come along to the Museum have done this year in order to grow the Museum, it’s best you come and see for yourself and get involved.

I also don’t need to detail individually how much work your executive team does as they know just what a great job they have done and how much it is appreciated, thanks to all.

I very much look forward to the future!

Regards to all. Bruce Coxon Chairman VHLDHM


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Publicity Manager’s Report to VHLDHM AGM 14th November 2015 After assisting Andrew Tester for the previous 12 months, I inherited this role in November 2014. In stepping into his large shoes, I have come to appreciate just how much “behind the scenes” work goes on. Andrew has continued to be of great support and his depth of knowledge & experience has been a valuable contribution to my first term in the seat. The year unfolded as follows: A “Kids Quiz” was implemented in July 2014 for children to answer whilst at the Museum. Complete with a map to direct them to the solutions, this has proved popular and a password for access to our website unlocks the answers and adds the option to print a personalised certificate when home.

The first half of 2014/5 was a welcome improvement on the same period the previous year, which was of course blighted by the disastrous bushfires and their impact on the area as a whole. The period started with a visit by one of our local schools, Wycliffe Christian, and the children’s experience was enhanced by catching the train the one stop from Warrimoo to VH with a pick up by the Steam Tram from the nearby platform. A good time was had by all and a bundle of hand drawn “thank you” cards was later received, now on display in the Museum shop.

The period was highlighted by the visit of two locos from LVR in September. Their weeklong stay, prior to the VH/Katoomba shuttles, enabled many of us to again see mainline steam “up close and personal!” When the day finally came, a final concerted effort at Springwood station saw most of the remaining tickets sold, including many for the “Twilight” run, and passengers were encouraged to bring wine & cheese for the journey! Time was allowed for dinner at Katoomba and some good photo ops before a helter skelter run back to VH. A total of five return rides over the weekend provided a good boost to the Museum’s funds, and the crew from LVR were well pleased with their stay at The Valley. Thanks to LVR for their support! Raffle tickets were sold on board, and provided extra dollars for the treasurer!


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October saw the Museum, in conjunction with STARPS, play host to attendees to the annual COTMA conference being held in Sydney. This highly knowledgeable group from across Australasia were treated to a sumptuous spit roast & salads, and went away with good impressions of all that we do. Later that month we enjoyed a joint event with the Norman Lindsay Gallery at nearby Faulconbridge. Pre-booked members of the National Trust arrived by their own means, and were greeted by morning tea, followed by a guided tour and Tram Ride. A coach then took them to NLG for lunch, tour and a talk, before returning them to VH for their trip home. That afternoon brought a combined group from Oberon (U3A, OTHR, and Men’s Shed). They too, enjoyed a similar program of events. This day meant we were able to accommodate two disparate groups and reduce our overheads. December was, of course, the occasion of Santa’s arrival by Steam Tram which again delighted children, young & old! Replete with his faithful elves (again played with great skill by Megan & Lydia Tolhurst) he was in residence for two days (13th/14th) dispensing gifts and good advice to children for the year ahead, as well as being on the receiving end of a range of special requests. Parents were encouraged to take lots of photos without the extra charges that some

sites impose! “The big fella in the red suit” had time to conduct the raffle draw before returning to his chilly home! The Southern Cross Model Railway Club also joined us for their Christmas get-together on the Sunday. We were pleasantly surprised in early January by the arrival of members of the National Model Railroad Association, which had chosen our site as the venue for their annual conference. A welcome boost to our otherwise low visitations at this time of year! A volunteers’ information day & BBQ was held on January 31st. Many of our dedicated members were on hand to hear updates from Peter Lowry OAM (Chair THNSW), Andrew Killingsworth (CEO THNSW), Gary Lancefield (Safety & Environment Manager THNSW) and Shane Blatchford from THNSW Broadmeadow. The day provided an opportunity for our recently elected Chairman, Bruce Coxon, to address the gathering with his vision for the Museum’s future, and also was the occasion for a presentation to founder member and recently retired Chairman, Ted Mullet and his wife Val, after 25 years of loyal service to the Museum - two tickets on Garratt 6029’s first public run! (kindly donated by THNSW). Later, the Centenary banner which had graced the end of the Roundhouse for 12 months was unveiled by Andrew Tester, our MC for the day, in its new location above the entrance to the meal room - safely under cover for another 100 years!


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A large banner to promote the Museum has been erected on the end of the compressor shed, facing the GW Highway and the rail corridor. This is in view 365 days of the year and has a movable panel to indicate when the Museum is open. Thanks to Ross Allen, Steve Dive, Dave Grove & Dennis Brown for their assistance in this project!

21/22 February provided the opportunity for our visitors to deck themselves out in their fancy gear from the 1920s as our “Trains, Trams & Ts” event unfolded. The weekend was enlivened by an “old-style” school classroom recreated by the Nepean Historical Society, genealogical advice from the Nepean Family History Society, displays by Model “T” and “A” Fords, as well as performances by the popular Blue Mountains Jazz Ensemble and even a vintage Motorbike! Member Sam Wyatt, was on hand to photograph those who turned up in period dress and after judging on the (wet!) Sunday, category prizes were duly awarded. Despite the weather, a lively and colourful weekend - a credit to all who took part. Probus St Ives paid us a visit in late February, (again for a morning tea plus tours and rides) and then we went headlong into a BUSY four months of both regular and special events. March 8th (and 22nd) gave us another chance to give something back to the Seniors in our community with special admission arrangements, and visitor numbers were boosted on both days. On the 11th we hosted (and fed) the Parramatta National Trust. Many of their members fondly recalled the days of the Steam Tram operation in Parramatta Park, and were greatly pleased with its continuing success at Valley Heights. We were also able to extend our operation that day with an overlapping visit by “Southlakes Old Boys” from the Central Coast, who enjoyed a hearty lunch, and a tour, as well as pick up and return to VH station on the Steam Tram to catch their train home. A long & busy day for all but another successful exercise in making the most of our resources! Monday 16/3 also saw two groups visit, the Nepean Blue Mountains U3A group (organised by member Heather Dickson) had morning tea and a brief tour (guided by brother-in-law Ted). In the evening, in what’s believed to be a first for the Museum, a Twilight Tour (no rides of course!) for Springwood Rotary. This was followed by some much appreciated slices of pizza!


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Sunday 12th April began brightly with a display at the Museum by the magnificent MG Car Club. By coincidence, this marked the birthday of Cecil Kimber, the founder of the MG marque in the UK in the 30s. The story of his death in a bizarre accident at Kings Cross Station in London makes unusual reading for railway historians! A special opening was arranged on the 20th to accommodate a visit by the Blacktown Veterans Support Group. This band of retired servicemen thoroughly enjoyed their time at the Museum, and appreciated the effort that we had gone to in recognition of their contribution to our military, in this the centenary of Anzac. Beaumont Hills School paid us a return visit on 27/4 (and again on the 30th) after a two year absence. The school curriculum has changed and transport is no longer a discrete subject for primary children, so this cycle is what we can hope for in the future. Once again, the Museum was humming with the sound of happy kids and interested parents & teachers! Ann Frederick from Thirlmere was in attendance and kindly made available resources that she has developed - the 3D steam loco and the “I think I can” wheel. These were handed out to teachers as the tour ended as a project for the children to make later. May 17th saw the start of a string of “Hollywood” style adventures. Valley Heights on the big screen! Students at two Sydney based film schools chose our venue as the perfect location for their short film projects. First cab off the rank was the “U-boat” (ETB6039) which was rolled out from its usual resting place for use as the set for both interior and exterior filming. In what may be a first, a Nun was spotted waiting for her train at the DLE’s building!

Our regular open day of 24/5 dawned bright and fine, heralding the start of our biggest day ever. The inaugural “Teddy Bears’ Day Out” proved an unmitigated success and provided the perfect opportunity for children with Teddies to gain free admission and take part in many special events. Steve Dive offered to paint some name boards, so the Steam Tram was christened the “Teddy Bear Express” and took participating “bears” on their own private adventure - limited to 5 minutes duration to minimise separation anxiety! Megan & Lydia Tolhurst again came to the party, this time as “Mama” and “Papa” Bear, while the Jumping Castle was inflated for the day, and packs of “Gummi Bears” were freely distributed. The excitement created by this initiative virtually guarantees it a permanent place on our annual calendar!


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The following day meant 5461 was called into “Action!” for her turn to be a film star. “Star” proved to be the operative word as the TF was dressed up, with red stars in evidence and propaganda posters on the DLE’s building, helping recreate the Russia of the 1930s! As shooting continued into the night, the special lighting and fog machines brought the Depot back to life! Also brought back to life (repeatedly!), was one of the main characters, who was “stabbed” at least 10 times!

June started with the hosting of the monthly meeting of Blue Mountains Association of Cultural Heritage Organisations (BMACHO), of which we are a member (more on that later). Over the June long weekend six hardy souls handed out leaflets promoting our Museum during the Transport Heritage Expo at the Mortuary Station at Central. Our thanks go to Bruce Coxon, Ross Stenning, Andrew Tester, Serge Sequen, Sam Wyatt & Alan Garbutt for their sterling work! 14th June again gave us the chance to showcase our close working relationship with THNSW when our local MP Trish


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Doyle and indigenous representative Uncle Graeme Cooper officially opened “I’ve Been Working on the Railway”. This travelling exhibition, curated by The Workshops Rail Museum at Ipswich, Queensland, celebrated the amazing and largely unheralded contribution made by Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders to the development of railways in Australia. Held over three consecutive Open Days, this unique display was made available to us by Ann Frederick at Thirlmere who also kindly assisted Bruce Coxon with the setup in our equipment shed. The rainy day of Wednesday 17/6 saw the last of our film shoots and this time the RBR Caves Express carriage and 5711 were called into service as the setting for a band’s promotional video clip. The “Sheffield” fettlers’ trolley was also engaged for the day and both exhibits added a distinctive period flavour to the event. The year drew to a close with visits by no less than three car clubs on the same day (two unplanned!). We were pleased to host the “VeeDub” Club of Sydney, with their impressive array of Volkswagens of all ages, and the smaller groups who also turned up from the Morris Club and a local veterans club run. Fine weather meant terrific photo opportunities and a glowing write up in the VeeDub Club magazine!

• A “Centenary of Anzac” Grant was received from the DVA, following a successful application to the Federal Government. This has enabled the design & manufacture of an Honour Board to commemorate 18 local railwaymen who enlisted for WW1. The local federal MP, Louise Markus, has agreed to perform the unveiling later in the year and the event will also be attended by the RSL, local historical societies and representatives of other relevant organisations, including THNSW and BMACHO. Army & Railway personnel will also be invited, and concerted efforts are being made to contact descendants of the 18 men. Paid advertisements as well as requests through various Print Media were used for this.

• The Museum is now represented with pages/entries on a number of websites, apart from our own. These include, amongst others: Museums & Galleries NSW, Yellow Pages, VisitNSW etc. Andrew Tester has made great progress with our Facebook page and we’re now having good responses to our promotion via this medium. Thanks also to Grant Robinson, as mentioned earlier, has been active in updating our website with some new features, including a page of testimonials from our many happy visitors.

• Paid advertising and editorials were placed in the Blue Mountains Gazette to support features for the 200th anniversary of Springwood and also the Centenary of Anzac Day. Similarly an article was included in the Blue Mountains Feature in the Sydney Morning Herald.

• Committee member Dave Grove, was the recipient of a thoroughly deserved award as part of Seniors Week for his contribution as the mentor of our monthly “Retirees Week”.

• The Events Sub-committee has been actively involved in the decision making process about happenings and future plans. Most of this work has been done by email and/or phone, but the input and collaboration from this group has been commendable. Many good ideas have been generated and some gone on to profitable outcomes! A meeting is scheduled for later in the year.

• Through our membership of BMACHO, we have agreed to participate in a new event on Saturday October 3rd. Most member sites will be open on this day, even though, like us, it not a normal open day. Although the Tram may NOT be running, it gives visitors to the mountains the knowledge that almost all tourist venues will be open for business on this day. A special website has been set up to promote this “Heritage Trail” and leaflets will be available later in the year. Three more dates are set for the rest of financial year.

• The project to have a monthly E-news in place earlier in 2015 fell short of expectations. Although well intentioned, this exercise never saw the light of day. However, it is fully expected that the Depot Diary will be reinvigorated and revert to a more frequent, hopefully quarterly timetable. In line with other


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organisations, the rapidly increasing cost of printing and postage of DD means that we must IMPLORE our members to provide an email address for the distribution of this and other circulars. Even if you don’t have your own computer, please consider the future of your Museum, and provide an email address that you can access (a relative, friend, neighbour, local library or community centre, may be able to help?). The time will come when email may well be the only way that we can afford to communicate economically! We are also investigating the feasibility of a “blog” on our website.

In summary, I sincerely thank all the tour guides, volunteers & helpers, who have made the year a memorable one. Some have been mentioned above but I think you all know who you are! Please take a bow! My colleagues on the Committee, (past & present) have also helped guide me through my first term, and I thank them for their support & encouragement. Keith Ward, Publicity Manager

Retail Manager’s Report 1. Highlights of the Year 2014/2015, in terms of both customer admissions and retail sales, was our best year ever, by a substantial margin. This can be seen clearly in Charts 3 and 4 following, which show performance over the last 11 years. While mother nature contributed in part to this extraordinary result, by sparing us of the bushfires and fire bans which marred the previous year, the overwhelming factor in producing this result has been the combination of the large number of special group visits with the amazing success of publicity in driving up numbers on what would otherwise be normal open days. During the year a number of new records were set in terms of retail sales, admissions for a month, for consecutive days and for a single day. As a result of this dramatic increase in our business, we have learned a number of valuable lessons, particularly in how we manage our human and equipment resources in dealing with peak loads. These are highlighted in more detail in the following list of the highlights of the year.

• The enlistment of more staff to work in the shop along with the instigation of a shop roster. This very greatly appreciated innovation has eliminated the requirement for the same small group of people to staff the shop on every single open day and has significantly enhanced our capability to deal with large peak loads. It is particularly appreciated with the increasing number of visits necessitating opening on days additional to the regular open days.

• Further to the above note referring to additional open days, and noting that, in theory, we only open on the second and fourth Sunday of the month, less Mother’s day and the fourth in December, that would be 22 days. My records show that we accepted customers on 36 days during the year. That's 14 additional days.

• Further to the special visits, in terms of retail sales, the two biggest months were September and October, which is not surprising as there were the steam shuttles and visits by COTMA, both comprising large groups of train enthusiasts who tend to spend up on big ticket items. Conversely, in terms of customers through the door, the busiest month was December, which was in fact our busiest time ever in that we handled almost 450 ticketed customers over just two consecutive days. The only greater number than this was during the Centenary in the previous year, however that total was over 5 days versus just two. Finally the record for the most frantic day, and the greatest number of customers ever served in one day was the Teddy Promotion in May, with over 400 customers in one day.

• As an aside, there is early anecdotal evidence that the publicity of, and from, the major events is starting to have a sustained long term effect, in that on the last two days of the year, days which were essentially “normal” days, the customer count was around 130. The previous “normal” count was around 70.

• In terms of equipment performance, the EFTPOS machine has now become a key piece of equipment in the retail operation, on some days processing close to $1,000 in transactions. This was not without its problems though with our original unit failing and being temporarily replaced with a dial up unit, which was eventually in turn replaced with a cordless 3G mobile unit. This unit is now performing very well and its ease of use is especially appreciated.

• In regard to other equipment the drink fridge failed due to a gas leak, however this quickly corrected and the unit is now back in service and performing reliably. Experience gained during some of the particularly busy days lead us to deploy an additional cash register, using a unit retired some time ago from Thirlmere. Despite some teething problems relating to a problem with the cash drawer which was repaired in house,


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we now have two operational cash registers. The combination of two cash registers and a cordless Eftpos machine have greatly improved our ability to deal with large customer peaks.

• Finally we continue our policy, where possible, of supporting locally produced products. We currently stock products from AC Videos, Blue Mountains Historical Society, Mountain Mist Books, Springwood Printing, Tony Catalagna (mug printing), TDV Productions, Trains Alive, to which we now add Blue Mountains Education and Research Trust.

2. Results for the Year Looking at the financial results for the year we finish the year with a quite healthy profit, as can be seen from the figures in Table 1 following.

Depot Sales $10,633 Depot Costs $6,073

Actual Profit/Loss $4,560 Budget Revenue $7,750

Budget Costs $4,538 Budget Profit/Loss $3,213

Starps Sales (Note 1) $4,576 Starps Costs $0

Starps Profit/Loss $4,576 Note 1: This item includes stock items along with 50% of food sales, however it is overwhelmingly food sales.

Table 1. Retail Business Result Summary, 2014/2015 Please note that these figures are estimated from sales sheets, final actuals should be taken from the treasurer’s report. Also revenue from food sales is split 50% between Depot Sales and STARPS Sales. At the time this report was compiled, there may have been some invoices outstanding, which would impact the over-all profit result. Please see treasurer’s report for final results. Chart 1 following illustrates the monthly Depot retail sales revenue and costs. The impact of a number of special event peak days (as listed in Table 2 following) is clearly visible. Not surprisingly the slowest month was January, during which the tram is out of service for maintenance. Fortunately this year we were blessed with a mild summer, sparing us of the effects of total fire bans which marred last year.

Chart 1: Depot Retail Sales Revenue and Costs by Month.


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During the year we had a number of group visits and events which effected our revenue and visitor numbers, these are listed in Table 2 following.

Month Events August School visit September Steam Shuttles and Depot hosted number of meetings October COTMA visit and two tour groups November Total fire ban on 23 November December Santa promotion January Tram out for maintenance February Roaring 20s festival & Probus club visits. Also no tram 8 Feb due track work March National Trust, and 3 group visits April MG car club, Blacktown veterans and school visit May Teddy promotion June 3 car club visits

Table 2: Special Events by Month Chart 2 following further illustrates the relationship between retail sales and customer count. On days where the customers were train enthusiasts (September and October) there is corresponding peak between customers and retail sales. This is less the case on days where the customer count is made up of “the general public”, such as for December, April and May. Never the less, it does illustrate the number of peak days for the year, and the number of customers who visited the depot. It is important to note that on some occasions such as during group visits admission tickets weren’t issued, resulting in the gate numbers shown in Chart 2 following being misleadingly low.

Chart 2: Revenue (Line) vs Gate Entries (Column) by Month

So how does 2014/2015 compare with previous years? The two following charts 3 and 4 illustrate convincingly how successful the year has been. Chart 3 illustrates the bottom line impact in terms of revenue and profit, the best in 11 years. Interestingly, while costs were higher than more recent years, which is not surprising given that in order to sell something you have to buy it, and we sold a lot more, costs were down on those seen more than 5 years ago. This is probably a result of food and drink now being the major source of our revenue, on which the margins are much higher than on stock items such as books and recorded media.


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Chart 3: Annual Combined (Depot and STARPS) Revenue and Profit over 10 years.

Chart 4 illustrates most dramatically the increase in our business during the year, as emphasised by the number of customers, which for the year were almost double what we averaged for the previous 7 years.

Chart 4: Annual Retail Revenue versus Gate Entries

Now for where money came from, and where it was spent. Firstly, in regard to revenue sources, these are summarized in Chart 5 following. Noting that the majority of STARPS sales is food related, then it becomes apparent that the majority of our revenue comes from refreshments. In fact food and refreshments now account for 50% more retail revenue than the combined total of all of the remaining revenue streams.

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

$0

$2,000

$4,000

$6,000

$8,000

$10,000

$12,000

$14,000

Annual Revenue and Gate Numbers

Revenue Gate Numbers


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Chart 5: Revenue Sources

Now where the money was spent, this is summarized in Chart 6 following. Again, as noted above, the cost for refreshments is quite low, with ice cream, drinks and shop supplies being well down on our cost base, even though refreshments make up the great majority of our revenue.

Chart 6: Payments to Suppliers

The totals are summarised in Table 3 following.

Item Cost Stock Purchases $4,285 Refreshment Purchases $1,773 Other Costs $15 Total $6,073

Table 3: Retail Expenditure Summary It can be seen that we owe a great debt of gratitude to those who generously give of their time and resources to donate food for sale.


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3. Credits and Tributes Many people have contributed to the success of our retail operation, and they deserve our recognition for their generous donation of their time and resources. Firstly a credit to Keith Ward, whose dynamic energy in publicizing the Depot has no doubt been the main driver in this year being so successful. The success of our refreshment business itself is in no small part the result of the work of our coffee barristers (Robyn Stock, Glenn Hargrave, Heather Dickson, Megan Tolhurst, Ted Mullett and Jean Grundy) and those who contributed food items (Jean Grundy, Eileen Ward, Craig Connolly, Bruce Irwin and Peter Stock). Then there are those who have served behind the counter, and it is in this regard that this year we have been blessed with a number of additional volunteers, which has been greatly appreciated given the number of additional open days and large visitor numbers. We particularly thank Jeff Russell for his people friendly style in making our customers welcome, and we welcome Peter Flynn and Robyn Crouch to the shop team. Finally two special mentions. Firstly Bruce Coxon, who, recognising that we were having trouble coping with the extra load in the shop, and despite his already significant work load as chairman, managed to entice additional people to take on behind the counter roles, draw up and maintain a roster, and take on the sales job himself. For this Bruce we are indebted to you. Then of course there is John Carter, who was once again the pillar of support who largely kept the shop running, and still seems to have managed to combine this work with the duties of treasurer as well. Thank you John, again your consummate reliability, diligence and faithfulness are very greatly appreciated. Steve Corrigan

Membership Officer’s Report Below are listed a few points to explain certain aspects of the membership and work hours. Our Membership year runs from January to December whereas our Work Hours are calculated from June to July. The number of hours listed below does not include the hours that Members have worked at home. In July, 2015 a new system of signing on will be introduced. Instead of writing details in the attendance book, members will log on and off using a computer. Thanks must go to Jenni Edmonds for patiently introducing the program to the Membership Officer, to Ben Armstrong for the initial setting up of the system and to Mike Pensini who completed the wiring and made the system work. At the Valley Heights site there are three organisations:

i) Valley Heights Locomotive Depot and Heritage Museum (VHLDHM) ii) Steam Tram and Railway Preservation (Co-Op) Society Limited (STARPS) iii) Blue Mountains & Nepean Christian Model Railway Fellowship.

With regard to the VHLDHM we have two types of Membership - Full Membership and Associate Membership. A Full Member is one who is a member of Transport Heritage NSW (THNSW). These members are entitled to free entry at both THNSW/Trainworks Thirlmere and Valley Heights - because of our affiliation with THNSW. Full Members may also choose to purchase Associate Membership at Valley Heights to receive Depot Diary etc. Full members whose work hours exceed 80 hours for the year are entitled to concession rates for THNSW membership. An Associate Member is a member who joins Valley Heights ONLY. In recent times we find this is becoming popular with locals who bring their young families for repeat visits throughout the year. Associate Membership does not include free entry into THNSW/Trainworks at Thirlmere. People who purchase Associate Membership at VH provide a key source of income for the Museum through their subscription and donations. This income source enables VH to provide basic Members benefits and progress the Museum's development. We have a few volunteers who are not members of any of the above three organisations – these volunteers have put in many hours of help over the past years. Comparison of Hours Period Hours 2011-2012 14,236 2012-2013 15,033 2013-2014 17,201 2014-2105 17,825


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The increase in the hours for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 can be explained, in the main, by the time spent in preparing for the Centenary celebrations. The current period’s work hours have not decreased because of extra hours accrued in the services, workshop, publicity and per way categories. Membership Numbers

For the first six months of the Membership year (January to June, 2015) VHLDHM had 149 financial members of whom 20 were new members. These numbers do not include Life Members of the THNSW. In the same period for 2014 there were 127 financial members.

Services

Per way Total 597

Total 3961

Building Work

Retail Amenities 90

Open Day 1849 DLE 373 General 20 Roundhouse 289

Total 1869

Toilet 49 Clean up 95

Publicity

Fire Shed 8

Tour Groups 243 Gates 317

General 789

General 512

Exhibitions 185 Total 1733

Total 1217

Workshop

Administration Store 3

Meetings 549

Mobile Plant 472 Duty Officer 360 Other Plant 68

Library 1251

Clean up 58

Clean-up 47 General 358

General 606

Total 959 Total 2813

Exhibits

RBR 651 Grounds MRC 175

Clean up 144

3214 126 General 1059 4601 967

Total 1203

5461 14 5711 279 ETB 32

Fire Tanker 24

Small Exhibits 502

Water Column 16

Grand Total 17,825 Hours

General 381

Clean Up 44

HG Van 67

Total 3278


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Building Services Manager’s Report This year has again been very busy with Arrival Road Per Way work and general maintenance and any time remaining has been spent on essential repairs or additions around the Depot. I would like to welcome Bruce Coxon as our Chairman and thank the committee and members for their support and friendship during the year. Thanks also go to Ross Allen for his assistance during the year. When I look at the summary below, I am amazed that we fit it all in a year! Electrical

• Lamps have been replaced in Round House No 1 front security and the security lamp outside the toilet block. • Lights were repaired in the Gents toilet, Shop Lobby, Ladder room. • We were fortunate to acquire the loan of two EWP’s from friends of Bruce Coxon on Monday 6/10/14. We

used these to repair the entrance light to the depot, the flood lights to the turntable area and painted the gooseneck steel work on the drop light. My thanks to Bruce for organizing the crew and to Luke and Ben on the crew.

• Hydro boil water heater element burnt out. Replacement unit fitted. • Lights repaired in ladder room following roof collapse. • Sensor alarm renewed on ETB and replacement horn fitted. • Replacement horn failed possibly lightning. • The night light on the entrance driveway was struck by lightning. • Exit light in shop has been repaired. • Security light fitting in toilet block replaced. • Security light at entrance to shop rear entrance repaired. • Repairs have been carried out on a lamp in the compactus area. • The 3 HP electric motor on our large pedestal drill shorted out to earth. Enquires to new motor

manufacturers gave prices of approx. $450 but special adapter plates would be required to allow it to fit the drill. Enquiries to a motor rewind company quoted approx. $450 for a rewind. It was decided to have the motor rewound. The drill was rewired to suit safety requirement for stopping.

Security • The shop alarm was commissioned. • Lightning damage on telephone line prevented alarm talking back to base. Repaired by SPS • Lightning damage on telephones. Replacement phones purchased. • Roads 1 to 4 had alarm activation for no apparent reason. PE beams realigned and a large spider was found

in the sensor unit. • We were visited by Ben Armstrong THNSW Communications Manager, to install the computer for the

attendance records on Tuesday 3rd Jan. • It has been installed in the meal room. • Keith Ward and I met with an installation expert on site monitoring and recording of intrusion events. He will

come back to us with several alternatives all of which will cost money. THNSW may be of help if something is suitable.

Water • Leaks were repaired to the taps at the eastern end of the departure road. • Leak was repaired to the tap at Roundhouse No 9 road. • Bad news with our sewerage system. Leonay Plumbing carried out an inspection following toilet blockages

with heavy use. The line was rodded and a broken pipe in driveway and many roots were found. A camera inspection was carried out and this revealed many roots. The break has been temporarily repaired.

• We have one quote of $28,000 so far for Sewage renewal • Meanwhile another sewer blockage at the toilet end has been rodded out with our new electric eel • The main drain from the turntable has been cleared at the side of our driveway outside the meal room. • Member Chris Troy volunteered to build a sump with cover to prevent vehicle driving into it. • We used our new electric eel to clear out the drains leading from Nos 1, 2 & 3 pits. • Also the sump from the gutter down pipe outside No 1 & 2 road was cleared. • All drains are working. • Two reaming heads were purchased for the electric eel.


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Machinery • Our pressure vessels are now approved for another two years. • Work continues on the installation of the air compressor. • Dog spike jaws have been replaced on the spike puller and the operating cable replaced. • Work continues on the large Diesel compressor at the rear of the Roundhouse. Barry Grundy has been doing

this work and has progressed well. He has purchased and donated air filter, oil filters and radiator hoses. Ross Allen is also assisting.

• The transition Hook to Auto coupling designed and manufactured on site works very well. Thanks to Terry Matchett.

• The large electric air compressor was energized on Saturday 4/10/14. It performed well and now needs air fittings and regulator valves fitted for control.

• Repairs carried out to tractor reversing switch • While the Crane hired by STARPS was on site, it was used to lift the 57 bogie, V crossings and the ram off

Mario, then on to the real tasks lifting 1022 frame onto the small 4 wheel wagon and 1022 boiler onto a semi. Thanks Terry for the work on Mario. All in 4 hours.

• The Ross Allen compressor motor failed and a replacement from our spare motors has been fitted. Thanks Ross.

• The battery on the fork lift tractor failed. • Repairs have been made to the cut out switch on the Ross Allen compressor. • The coal conveyor was fired up with the aim of using it to load brake shoes into the tender of 5461 to

balance it on the turntable. It went for a few revs then seized up. Terry Matchett replaced the seals with Ted Mullett assisting.

• The rail saw failed and was diagnosed with a faulty ignition coil. After extensive searching a new coil was purchased from USA (place of manufacture), however it did not fit and a replacement was not available for that model. An adapter plate was made and the coil was fitted, the saw again works. Thanks to Steve Dive and Terry Matchett

The Library and Small Exhibits. Work continues.

• Thank you team Leader Sue Fulton, Rudi Glajcar and Richard Nicholson. • When Sue is not recording, she thoroughly cleans our toilets in preparation for the next running day. A good

all round effort. • Sue Fulton applied for a placement at State Records in care of records.

She was successful. Congratulations Sue. Funding is from a Museums and Galleries grant.

5711 Bogie • The bogie was lifted back onto blocks to complete the axle box installation on Wed 11 Jan. • Steve Dive made up two support cages for the lubricating wool packs. Thanks Steve. • Work is progressing on the final fitting of the axle box guide plates. • All axle box springs have been fitted • Four of the eight axle box guide plates have been fitted. • All grease pipes and nipples have been cleaned and rethreaded where necessary. • New grease nipples have been purchased. • Dimensions for the clearance measurement of the axle box to frame are excessive and machining and build

up is necessary. • The journals of one wheel have been cleaned and polished. • One axle box has been completely assembled but is awaiting final clearance measurements before fitting to

the frame. • Axle Box liners also need machining

MRC • Hatch attachments still to be completed.


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Safety

• We had an accident with a member of the public on Saturday 27th September 2014 A gentleman tripped on the rails outside No 5 road and hit his head. Member Paul Mitchell rendered first aid and an ambulance was called. He had a large lump on his head and was dazed. The medics cleared him and he went home, promising to come back another day.

• We had two accidents on our Teddy Bears Day. Below is report of accident on 24/05/15 at the Depot: In separate accidents a married couple tripped over. The lady tripped on a rail and fell on her husband both of them falling to the ground. They were picked up and checked for injuries and declared OK although a little shaken. Whilst being accompanied to the meal room to sit down and fill out an accident report, the gentleman missed the step into the meal room and fell heavily on both knees. He could not move his legs & an ambulance attended. He was hospitalised for 6 weeks with damaged cartilages to both knees.

• A Safety spotter will be used where machinery is moving. The operators have blind spots and this will ensure safe movement of plant.

Big Shunt • The final big shunt took place on Saturday 6/12/14. • All went well until the 57 movement. The plan was to place the 57 in No 1 road.

Stevo was at capacity and the 57 was moved over the ash pit to allow for oiling the axles. • Incoming wet weather caused slipping and the loco could not be moved any further. • The movement was cancelled.

Fire Equipment • All of our Fire equipment has been inspected and tested.

Recent Arrivals. During the year, we tendered for several items of plant from Sydney Trains; we were successful with one only.

• Petrol driven Wacker packer. Ted Dickson Building Services Manager.

Building Restoration Manager’s Report • This year has been a year of quiet achievements, starting with the realignment of the northern end of the

Roundhouse roof working via a scaffold.

• Next was the completion of the timber railway gates, as it was a one off item a lot of thought and planning was required. The end result added a satisfying appearance at the entrance to the Museum

• Replacement of fibre glass sheeting with polycarbonate sheets on the north wall of the machine shop was completed, adding protection from the elements.

• A new tie beam was installed at the front Bay 6 Roundhouse with help from Terry Matchett and the tractor.

• The exterior of the toilet block was given a repaint job to tidy up the appearance.

• A project which was completed (an idea of the late Dave Torr) was to erect a pitched roof over the front container to blend in with surrounding roofs.

• Downpipes on the south side of the shop were in very poor condition and were replaced.

• A lot of work has been carried out in Small exhibits room, clearing the walls of materials to allow repair, painting of walls and erection of shelving for exhibits to be safely stored.

• The exterior of the Chargeman’s Building was cleaned down and given a paint spruce up. The roof is showing signs of rust so that will be the next item needing attention.


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• Maintenance of some railway benches was carried out.

• Termite inspections were carried out and a little activity was found and treated as necessary.

• We did apply for a heritage grant, but were unsuccessful. That might have helped things along.

• A lot of this work done this year could not have been without the assistance of a great Retiree Group and I’m grateful for that.

Grounds Maintenance Manager’s Report I find it difficult to write a voluminous grounds report, as the bulk of our time is spent on the repetitive tedium of maintenance i.e. mowing, weeding and trimming.

Many thanks must go to Luke Tolhurst for the removal of the large, almost completely dead pine tree, on the coal road embankment. Luke is an enthusiastic arborist and has kindly accepted an invitation to join the ground’s team. Luke has also been a great help in trimming back trees that have encroached too close to the track.

We have been given an unexpected helping hand by RailCorp in the area of weed control.. On two occasions a team has done an excellent job of both poisoning weeds and whipper snipping a large area of our property. I am certainly hoping that this arrangement continues.

Roz Reynolds, since retiring from her supermarket job, is hardly away from the Museum. She is absolutely tireless in her effort and enthusiasm, not only for grounds maintenance and improvement but for Per Way work and scrap metal collection.

The spectacular clean-up of the coal and woodpile area was virtually due to Roz’s vision. Thanks also go to our mid-week volunteers who were coerced by Roz, to complete this Herculean task. The old retaining walls will be rebuilt in due course.

Again I would like to invite any member who has an interest in gardening to approach me to discuss ways in which they may help. There are areas that would require a small amount of commitment, yet provide the possibility of great satisfaction. Any person who might be interested, can be assured that there is no obligation to commit to long term involvement and any assistant in the meantime would be appreciated..

Finally, I would like to thank all my colleagues for their friendship and support over the past year.

Stephen Dive

Grounds Chairman

Per way Maintenance Manager’s Report

It has been a mixed year for per way activity, with some very busy periods to restore track for special events and some delays to work due to the necessity to keep the arrival road available. During the second half of 2014 approximately 70% of the timbers in the departure road ash and inspection pits were replaced due to serious deterioration of the original timbers resulting in the closure of this track. While at first thought to involve only about 18 metres of timber it was found as work progressed that it would be necessary to replace approximately 40 metres spanning both pits. Preparation work involved

• de-spiking and removing the rails • removing the old timbers, more often than not in pieces • cutting away the old holding down bolts • Repairs to some sections of the pit walls

New holding down bolts were then ‘chemset’ into the concrete walls and the new timbers were given a bituminous protective coating and end clamping before being fixed down. Rails, some of which had to be replaced due to flange deterioration, were then re-fixed using screw spikes.


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OLD PIT TIMBERS AFTER REMOVAL

After completion of the work on the pits it was also found necessary to replace all sleepers between the end of the inspection pit and the clearance post between the departure and coal roads and to re-ballast and pack this section. Drainage beside the pits was also improved with the aim of extending timber life. Work commenced in late 2014 on the restoration of the crossover between the arrival and departure roads. The arrival road end of the crossover was constructed using the components of the turnout that was previously under the gate between the Museum precinct and Valley Heights yard. This was a 53kg turnout in generally good condition except that it was missing one checkrail. A replacement checkrail has subsequently been obtained. However, as this crossover was slightly different to the original crossover (mainly around the V-crossing), a re-alignment of the arrival road has been necessary to connect it to the new turnout. The opportunity to lift and improve the level of the arrival road was taken while the work was being carried out. It was also found that, when part of the arrival road was removed for turnout installation, there was a significant drainage problem in front of the shop with water draining from the coal stage road embankment. Improvements have been made to the drainage with water now being redirected into the pit at the north-west corner of the building. The first stage of the turnout construction and initial re-alignment of the arrival road has been completed allowing limited use of the arrival road. Further re-alignment of the arrival road is required to increase the radius of the curve off the end of the turnout before it can be re-opened for unrestricted use. At present the arrival road can only be used by the tram and operating locomotives within the Museum. It is not yet suitable for any main line locomotives. A derail has been installed at the eastern end of the departure road approximately 2 metres inside the clearance post and is normally locked to the rail. This will preclude any vehicles stored in the departure road being able to run out into Valley Heights yard either accidently or by malicious intent.


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DEPARTURE ROAD DERAIL

We have been fortunate that a large part of the cost of both of the major projects has been met by Transport Heritage NSW. The new pit timbers, bolts and timber preservative for the pits and ballast for the crossover restoration. Most of rest of the material required for the crossover was already on hand. We were also fortunate during the year to receive a delivery of sleepers from Sydney Trains, some 70 of which were new unused sleepers. Year Ahead The following work is proposed for the year ahead:

• The realignment, ballasting and packing of the arrival road in November/December 2015. • Further progress towards completion of the crossover. • Replacement of sleepers in the coal stage road to allow the full length to be re-opened. • Re-fastening of rails in our end of the interface crossover at the signal box. This will be necessary before

trains need to use this crossover. The extent to which this list is achievable will depend to a large extent on weather conditions, both wet and excessively hot. Finally I would like to sincerely thank all of those members who have been involved with the per way work, particularly since over the later months of the period I was able to contribute only a minimal amount of the physical effort involved. John Stanley Per Way Manager

Exhibits Manager’s Report

3214 Good news this time around about asbestos removal. Transport Heritage approved and arranged the asbestos removal on the loco. The work was carried out the week before and after the June long weekend 2015. The loco recladding has started and the plan is to finish the firebox first so the cabin can be refitted as soon as possible. 3214 summary The area around the around the loco will soon be open to the public as an example of a working restoration. 4601 The outside of the loco has been finished. The final coat of Indian Red, cat’s whiskers, sub frame and pantographs have been finished. Both cabins are also completed. All resistor bays have been fitted out with stock from Valley Heights except the small end bay each side. We have the banks of resistors but are missing the holding brackets. The fitted resistors are all now mounted on porcelain insulators. During the year a trip was made to Broadmeadow to photograph 4638 to enable us to identify and fit missing components from stock. Steve Corrigan has taken on the job of fitting these missing components. A supply of 12 volt LED globes has been found and between Tim Ball and Ross Allen it is planned in the near future to have the loco open for display with them providing the lighting


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4601 summary There is a crew of up to 3 working on this exhibit most Saturdays (Serge Sequen, Adrian Duffy & Sam Wyatt) and they are making good progress. With Ross, Tim and Steve working on the electrics it will soon mean another exhibit open to the public. 5461 No work. 5461 summary As this exhibit is now finished and presented for exhibition it just requires a tub every now and then. However it has also been a source of income twice with movie shoots. 5711 Bogie

• The bogie was lifted back onto blocks to complete the axle box installation on Wed 11 Jan. • Steve Dive made up two support cages for the lubricating wool packs.

Thanks Steve. • Work is progressing on the final fitting of the axle box guide plates. • All axle box springs have been fitted • Four of the eight axle box guide plates have been fitted. • All grease pipes and nipples have been cleaned and rethreaded where necessary. • New grease nipples have been purchased. • Dimensions for the clearance measurement of the axle box to frame are excessive and machining and build

up is necessary. • The journals of one wheel have been cleaned and polished. • One axle box has been completely assembled but is awaiting final clearance measurements before fitting to

the frame. • Axle Box liners also need machining.

BL No work. ETB 6039 No work. HGA Shell tanker summary No work MRC Hatch attachments still to be completed. RBR 1049 The carriage is now complete except for lino on the floor. If a supply of the correct colour can be sourced a request will be put in to fund it. The old lino is starting to break up but is still reasonable. All exterior detail lettering and a “Caves Express” sign for one side have been done. A mock-up stove has been fabricated for the kitchen. RBR 1049 summary The carriage is now in its final location in the round house and is open for display. HG 10819 The HG has been moved into the roundhouse under cover and the old OHW platform has been removed. A detail survey of the carriage was performed and we were able to determine that we actually have HG 10819 and not HG 12340 as originally thought. 10819 is a very significant item as it is the first ever HG made and the first of eight only ever HG’s. HG 10819 summary Work was in preparation to start when the asbestos removal on 3214 was approved and it has now moved along the que in favour of 3214. CW 1622 Was covered with a tarp to protect it and has since been located in the round house out of the weather.


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3214 after asbestos removal.

4601 on the turntable and No. 2 end cabin


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RBR 1049 on the turntable and the kitchen and compartment A

Original identification number found covered up in HG 10819

Model Railway Manager’s Report Even after the centenary celebrations work was needed on the new layout. Polycarbonate was first placed around the model but this was found to be too low so higher sheets have now been installed. The old ones have been placed across the front of the old layout to help stop little fingers reaching across. In one instance, on the old layout, it was reported to me that one small boy thought it would be good to grab the rear car of a train and lay it in the path of another approaching train. So much for parental guidance!! Hopefully the polycarbonate will stop this. As for the old layout regular repairs to rolling stock had to be made and I would ask that all persons using the layout do so with the utmost care for the rolling stock as repairs take up precious time which could be spent on


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development. The locomotive fleet slowly became unusable due to various reasons but a special day of repairs has remedied this and all locos are working well. The points which were causing us some problems have been replaced and passage over these is now ok. My thanks go to all those who have helped to plan and improve the layouts in such a dedicated way especially the Christian Model Group who come regularly to either work on or run on the layout. I hope to have your assistance in the future as we work together to improve the layout in general. I would also like to thank those on the roster who run the layouts regularly on open days Continuing jobs still planned for the future still are : OLD LAYOUT

• Continue to add new trees to the hills at the rear of the layout • Restore the hill next to the mine with new flock, bushes and grasses • Refurbish the farm with new flock, bushes and grasses • Restore the mine to working order • Install some semaphore signals • Complete the electrification of the points in the yard

NEW LAYOUT

• Continue with the suggested changes as time allows. Now there are two layouts to look after it will be more difficult to plan for cover each open day but the roster has helped this situation for those who are willing to help If you would like to help please contact me. Ray Beharrell Model Railway Manager

Small Exhibits Curator’s Report • It’s been another big year for our small exhibits collection. Not only have we been able to improve how we

display our exhibits but we have obtained many new ones. These include some great examples of old railway uniforms which I hope to setup using a few display mannequins.

• We have also been very fortunate in receiving funding and guidance from Jennifer Edmonds who is the Collections Manager for Transport Heritage NSW. Jennifer has been most gracious with her time and regularly visits Valley Heights to give us the benefit of her wisdom regarding collecting, restoring and displaying exhibits.

• This funding from THNSW has allowed us to totally refurbish what we call the Small Exhibits Store and Exhibit Restoration room that is located in the rear of the roundhouse behind the room that displays the Fish, Chips and Heron exhibit.

• This room currently holds hundreds of items ranging from signs, through uniforms to badges and lanterns all in various conditions. Along with our Retirees Group, this room has been cleaned and painted and shelving installed. The shelving will allow me this year to sort through the many exhibits, take them off the restoration table and the floor and place then securely on the shelving. This will also allow our cataloguing team of Sue Fulton, Rudi Glajcar and Richard Nicholson to begin documenting what we have in this room. Sue, Rudi and Richard do a fantastic job for us in documenting and photographing each and every small exhibit and then adding each record into our computer database. We very much appreciate their hard work and their expert knowledge in this area


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• Small Exhibits Store and Restoration Room. Shelving has been installed and our many exhibits are now being

placed on the shelves to allow cataloguing to begin. • Another highlight of the Small Exhibits year has been the installation of an audio system in the cab of 5461

our Standard Goods Locomotive. Many people visit the cab and so we thought to enhance their visit it would be good to install an audio system that replicates the conversation between a driver, his fireman and the depot shunter as they prepare their engine for the day’s work ahead.

• Jennifer Edmonds prepared a script which described 5461 being prepared for the road from the initial “rolling the banked fire” to whistling out at the shunters orders to take a workers train from Katoomba to Cooerwull Station near Lithgow. The workers who used this train were employed at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory in the 1940’s making armaments for the army due to the outbreak of WW2.

• The script professionally recorded by THNSW Director Ray Rumble complete with sound effects including the sound of coal being shovelled into the fire is activated by a motion detector. The story runs for about 2 minutes through stereo speakers in either side of the cab and is a must to listen to whenever you visit.

• A second sound system to add typical engine sounds as a background to the roundhouse is currently under trial to provide an atmosphere of a living operating steam roundhouse when people visit not just a quiet collection. This is particularly important in times when our tram is not running.

• Although we have a large collection of small tangible exhibits, we are also showing the history of the Museum to visitors by regularly adding new videos to our TV in the main Small Exhibits room. The next video to be shown will be the weekend visit of the Lachlan Valley group to the Museum with locomotives 3237 and 5917 that ran shuttles to Katoomba. These videos show our visitors how we are also an operating depot as well as a Museum. There is a lot more archival video that we are sorting through to produce more entertainment.

• Our Theatrette has been finished in the single deck interurban car and is used every open day by The Springwood Historical Society for videos on such things as the Lapstone Zig Zag.

• Member Ross Allen has also setup an exhibition of his locomotive headlights and diesel horns. • As many of you will know, I stepped up this year to take on the role of Chairman of your Museum a role that

I enjoy. I also enjoy the role of Small Exhibits Curator but would be happy to stand aside from this role if someone else with a passion for small exhibits would like to take over. Our AGM is on the 14th of November, so if you are interested please contact me and come along to the meeting. I will be available to assist throughout the year if needed?

• Thank you very much to all that have assisted me this year, especially Dave Grove who heads up the Retirees

Group whose help I could not do without.

Regards to all.

Bruce Coxon Small Exhibits Curator


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Workshop Manager’s Annual Report Workshop personnel have been engaged with various per way projects throughout the year.

Work was carried out on the “Tolhurst” lathe with the fitting of the three phrase electric motor and the rebuilding of the lathe’s clutch.

Two lockers were acquired, one being given to the Workshop. This locker was a flammable product storage unit and is currently used as such. The locker is painted and labelled to suit its use.

The front end loader had problems. The power steering needed servicing to stop the hydraulic leak in this unit. The steer axle right hand king pin bush was found to be badly worn. This lead to the failure of the stud axle bearings, these were replaced along with the grease seals.

Both kingpins had the bushes replaced, however, the ball joints on the Tie-Rod will need to be replaced soon.

“Mario”, the road/rail unit, has had the vertical hydraulic cylinders removed. The high rate of leakage from the larger cylinder seal was unacceptable. The reason being the chrome plating had pitted badly and damaged the aged seal.

The hydraulic cylinders were dismantled by Chris Hundt at his Penrith workshop. The possibility of the repair of the cylinders is being pursued.

The pneumatic motor of the coal conveyor has overhauled and returned to service.

The workshop personnel assisted with servicing of the L. V. R. Locos and Train during their visit.

Work proposed for the forthcoming year:

“Mario” - Overhaul and refitting the hydraulic cylinders.

Installation of the petrol powered compressor and air receiver for the air braking system of rolling stock.

Front end loader - steer axle ball joints.

All mobile plant – oil changes and servicing.

T. Matchett, Workshop Manager

Honorary Librarian’s Report Having not being able to attend the 2014 AGM due to family commitments I was invited to take on the position of Honorary Librarian shortly after returning, a position I readily accepted. Now that Sue and Rudi have basically completed recording all the data regarding the Museum’s books, magazines etc. into the database they have now moved onto the task of logging the small exhibits. At this time I require some familiarization on the library’s database from Rudi when we can organise a time suitable to both of us, with this done I will be able to move forward with a few ideas I have in relation to the library’s collection.

The immediate issue of concern is the book space or lack thereof. Due to the generosity of members and the local community over the years we have been inundated with a huge amount of literature to the extent that the shelves are full. An initial review of the situation has led to the decision to rationalize what we can accommodate and as a committee we have decided that we will only be able to accept in general documentation on the NSWGR and its relation to the Blue Mountains region. With this in mind I would request that if any generous person reading this please consider this before donating to the library. We don’t want to seem to be selective rather we are restricted in part by peoples generosity and therefore need to limit ourselves so as to be able to continue to accept donation more in keeping with the Museums charter.

In closing the committee would like to thank all for their generosity to the Museum’s library.

I would like to extend my thanks to Richard who continues to record our vast collection of technical drawings. Also to Sue and Rudi I thank them for their continuing efforts with the library during the year.

Ross Stenning, Honorary Librarian

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