THE
DIAMOND VALLEY RAILWAY
CHAPTER FOUR EARLY YEARS
After the first run on 29th October, 1961, much more work had to
be done to improve and build up this new little Railway. It was
decided to elect supervisors to organise and control the operations
and expansion of the DVR. Those duly elected at the November
Meeting were: Bill Pert - Locomotives; Bob Baker - Workshops;
Alan Calder - Way & Works; Ron May - Signals; Bob Baker - Roster
Clerk. It was interesting to note the great importance placed on
the workshop and signals operations, even though equipment was
practically nonexistant. The few foundation members that were
in the DVR in those early days, were extremely safety conscious
and all prospective drivers were put through a mandatory driving
test before being allowed to take charge of any locomotive.
Enquiries were also under way to obtain Public Risk insurance and
many rules were formulated in those early Club meeting nights to
ensure safe operations whilst carrying passengers.
Financially, it was a hard struggle to maintain liquidity and
there were many times when the figures were in the red. Many
members rallied around to buy the necessary materials and equipment
to keep the DVR going.
Around the end of 1961 the founder of the Diamond Valley Railway,
Mr Clem Meadmore, became very ill. He passed away soon after,
but not before achieving his ambition of seeing his trains running
again. Just before he died, he paid tribute to the young men
and not-so-young fellows for their great work in rebuilding the
Railway after so many setbacks. The memory of the pipe-smoking,
beret wearing, sometimes curt, sometimes happy, little fellow who
founded a great project and source of enjoyment for thousands,
will always live, with those who knew him well.
Following Mr Meadmore's death and Ray Savage's resignation, the
Club Members elected a new Committee: Bill Pert became President;
Peter Nielsen - Vice President; Alan Calder - Secretary; and
Arthur Cowan continued as Treasurer. Bob Baker, who had recently
rejoined the Club, was elected to the position of Assistant
Secretary and Syd Gillies was Diesel Foreman. These 'young' men
provided the basis for a very active year of construction and to
help, was the lively Pop Pert who was elected Chairman of the
Club.
The track had settled down considerably and only rare derailments
now occurred. However, the steep incline of the long bank and
rear curve were proving difficult for all locomotives and it was
decided to run trains in the anticlockwise direction. Another
spate of derailments occurred which made the change of direction
a temporary failure. Extensive alterations and realignments
were made to the track and successful anticlockwise running was
finally achieved and has remained that way ever since.
At this juncture much planning and building took place in the
Signal Department, initiated by Ron May with assistance from
Peter Nielsen. A lever frame was erected at the arrival end of
the station platform and oversized, three position, upper quadrant
signals were installed to protect the workshops branch line
stub point. Signals and point being worked by steel wire cables,
which had to be adjusted frequently! Needless to say, there was
many a hectic moment when the noninterlocked points and signals
were set wrongly by the inexperienced signalmen. This prompted
an extensive realignment of the sharp curve between Chelsworth
Bridge and the station. The stub points were expertly converted
to blade points by Bill Pert.
After a year's operations it was becoming painfully obvious that
much of the old rail would have to be replaced. During the Summer
months, the blazing sun turned many sections of the track
into doglegs and 'S' bends. It was a wonder that any trains ran
at all over the deformed permanent way. It was decided to
replace the small section rail with new 1" x ½" mild steel bar
complete with welded sleeper plates at 6" intervals. A section of
Mainline was replaced with the new rail which was laid on a
rolled, crushed rock track bed. With loosely packed ballast the
riding qualities of the track improved immensely. The new steel
for this track was kindly donated by Pop Pert.
On the administrative side of proceedings, the DVR's Constitution
was redrafted and presented for approval. Much of the General
Meetings were taken up by protracted discussions on certification
of steam locomotive drivers. During April, 1962, the DVR was
presented with its first Newsletter by an unknown Editor. After
some secret investigations it was discovered that the Editor was
Bob Baker. Bob Edited some further editions with mixed success,
but it lapsed after only 3 or 4 issues.
Passenger revenue for the Season 1961-62 was the princely sum of
£264/7/7. A new set of Rules and mouth whistle codes came into
use, and are still in force today except for a few minor changes.
The DVR continued to progress very well and this was probably due
to the Pert family, headed by Pop Pert; his son Bill and Bill's
wife Joyce, all of whom made the DVR almost their way of life.
During January, 1963, the members decided to hold all meetings on
the first Sunday of each month. An historical motion, passed at
the first such meeting, was the adoption of an annual membership
fee. The fee was set at 5/- (50c) per year.
The complement of passenger rolling stock was to undergo a major
change. The conglomeration of red, green and blue box-and-plank
carriages were to be repainted kerrin blue with gold trim and
grey inside. The box seats were removed and new core-stock sides
strengthened with angle iron and bar, were fitted to the
footboards. Each carriage (or coffin car, as they were later known)
was fitted with an upholstered seat across the middle to provide
extra support for the sides. A new driving car was built for
S300 and another carriage was converted to a passenger/guards
van, both being made to elevate the driver and guard over the
passengers and afforded a better view and safety feature for the
train crews. It was a great moment to see the first set of uniform
passenger carriages being hauled by S300 around the system,
and passengers' comments were most favourable.
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