Glen ‘Trainman’ Boatwright and John Crofts in front of T375, which is being aligned on to the tracks.
Photo by
Bree Lambert
Diesel locomotive T375 will soon be up and running again after a remarkable journey spanning its long life.
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On July 5, T375 will take to the tracks once more, undertaking a test run to Barnes Junction and back, together with the heritage locomotives.
And then, assuming no issues, T375 will join the 150th anniversary of the Deniliquin to Moama Railway shuttle train from Echuca to Deniliquin and return later that day, with tickets available for a modest fee for local patrons.
Upon return from Echuca, the train and all locomotives, including T375, will return to Melbourne and Seymour, beginning a new chapter for T375 in what is a remarkable story.
T375 hovering above the tracks as workers try to align the wheels.
Photo by
Daniel Harvey
But T375 started its life on the Victorian Railways in June 1964, working all over the state until it was withdrawn from service by V/Line in July 1992.
At that time, surplus locomotives were made available for sale, and a Torrumbarry farmer, Glen ‘Trainman’ Boatwright, purchased T375 in 1993 for $25,000.
Mr Boatwright became something of a local celebrity over the years, regularly starting up T375 and moving the loco up and down the short section of track on his farm, with the horn blaring, much to the amusement of the campers on the Murray and local citizens.
Mr Boatwright said he was originally more interested in the engine than the train itself.
“You know, I’ve got an engineering background, and they were going to scrap this (locomotive), so I decided to save it,” he said.
“I was more into the engine, but it now seems like good foresight, doesn’t it?”
The two cranes after loading the 70-tonne T375 on to the tracks.
Photo by
Daniel Harvey
Seymour Railway Heritage Centre president John Crofts was the driving force behind getting the old T375 back into service.
“I told Glen a vision of what the T375 could be,” Mr Crofts said.
“We took him for a ride on one of its sister locomotives, T378, and he loved it.
“What’s interesting is that it was on his farm longer than it was in service with V/Line.
“He bought it for, as I understand it, around $25,000 in 1993, and in recent transactions only a couple of years ago, locomotives of this class were going for $350,000.”
The 70-tonne locomotive took some repairing, and a lot of organising and heavy machinery to get it from Mr Boatwright’s farm to the tracks in Echuca.
“Glen used to make a regular thing of starting it up once or twice a year and running it and rolling it backwards and forwards, which is really important for the axle bearing,” Mr Crofts said.
“The fact that he did that is in part why we’re able to do what we're doing now.”
Even with this, there was still a heap of engineering work that had to be done on the old locomotive.
“Everything from lubricating the bearings, to new oil main engine and a new set of batteries so it could be started,” Mr Crofts said.
The train was brought into town on a large truck, and was lifted off and aligned on to the tracks by two large cranes.
“We’ve spent a lot of money obviously with this exercise today to get this locomotive back on the network, but the offset is it’s in magnificent condition,” Mr Crofts said.
The train will enter the tourism business, starting with the journey to Deniliquin from Echuca in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Deniliquin to Moama Railway.
“The farmers up there couldn’t get the NSW Government to build them a railway line from the NSW side,” Mr Crofts said.
“So this will be a celebration of when it finally got built. It is a really interesting part of regional history.
“And, you know, there’s also something about the heritage and history of the rail services in regional Victoria, which I think gives a feeling of belonging and something to celebrate in terms of their history.
“And we all feed into all of that, you know, it’s nostalgia.”
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