Carriage Projects

A large focus of the volunteer projects around The Bellarine Railway centre around the passenger rollingstock. We have a number of carriage projects ongoing, to ensure our fleet is ready to meet our operational needs both now and into the future.

SP5 February 2025

End Walls – 21/2/2025

Out at Lakers Siding, new volunteer Steve has been working towards the removal of the rusted out end walls in SP5. For some reason the end walls are prone to corrosion on the Tasmanian SP carriages, as we had previously discovered during the restoration of SP8. The decision was made to just cut the end walls out entirely and start again, thereby also gaining access to the corroded floor panels.
This process involved grinding and removal of all the rivets holding the wall to the inner frame, and lifting of the timber floorboards. In doing this, we discovered some interesting items from SP5s history as a steam motor coach – the linkage for the driving controls was still in place under the timber floor!
Given the amount of work on SP5, this project will be a long term one, with many parts needing to be made from scratch. The project is already showing some great progress thanks to Steves efforts!
CAR 19 February 2025

Passenger Saloon Works – 11/2/2025

 
All existing window drop sashes were beyond salvage due to old age, rotten joints, etc. They also had old 4mm glass that shatters into sharp pieces and no longer permitted in operational carriages. 30 new sashes were manufactured from second hand Brush Box timber that we obtained, previously used in a sport stadium floor. It already had a 6mm rebate from its tongue and groove flooring use and that exactly matched the groove needed for new 6mm laminated or safety glass. All we had to do to the flooring timber was cut the tongue off, slightly reduce the thickness and manufacture the sashes. Rebates have been cut to fit the finger lifts. We now just need the glass so that we can glaze, stain and install the sashes.
Electric lighting was installed in Car 19 in 1910. It was probably removed in 1928, when it was converted to an employee sleeping car & tool van / mobile workshop for the pump and windmill maintainers.
We had some original carriage fish bowl light fittings in stock, so Brian renovated three for the carriage interior. Michael had purchased two very small old fish bowl bus lights decades ago ‘in case they came in handy some day’ and now they have! Perfect for under the end platform canopy roof. Again, Brian renovated them and then Chris KT wired all five in place. They look great and we now just have to view them after dark.
Careful investigation revealed that the intricate designs cut into the ceiling rafters had originally been painted black, contrasting with silver roof sticks (or rafters). Having determined their color, we then had to commence the time consuming task of painting them black. Now to add the final top coat of silver to the rafter sides.

Similar interior design colors had been applied to the ceiling panels (silver) with black trim. The scotia between the walls and ceiling were also originally silver with a small black half round beading on each side. This takes care of the Second Class saloon. The First Class had different trim colours and is yet to be tackled.
Alan fitting replacement vertical lining boards to the Second Class side of the dividing wall between First and Second Class. Most of the original paneling was missing or damaged. We have had to replace very little of the interior. Most timber is still probably dating from 1879.
 
 
CAR 19 November 2024

End Canopy – 20/11/2024

Several months ago, we commenced to reconstruct the two end canopy roof frames. They are manufactured as independent units that are slid into and bolted to the end of the double roof of the main carriage body. The one at the First Class end was in very poor condition, with its old lining boards 150mm wide. The Second Class end was worse and showed evidence of old collision damage. It was now shorter than original and clad with lining boards only 100mm wide! Presumably a ‘bush carpenter’ repair, not a workshops craftsmanship item.
Once the two end canopy frames had been repaired (very little of the original timber was able to be retained), secondhand lining boards were sourced and attached.
We initially thought that we would have to steam bend the boards, but advice from members of a long time timber boat building family at Queenscliff was that we should be able to dry bend the boards and that proved to be correct.
The boards near the centre line more or less just bend downwards, but as they reach the sides, they need to twist, as the two canopy side frames and outer end are straight, but the inner end adjacent to the main roof has to curve to match that curve.
CAR 19 September 2024

Bogie Restoration – 17/9/2024

Overhaul of two SAR ‘5 foot’ wheel base bogies for use under Car 19 commenced during June. They were obtained several years ago from the Westcoast Wilderness Railway in Tasmania. They in turn are believed to have obtained them from the Zig Zag Railway. While they appeared to be in fair condition, we needed to strip them down, check and repair them as necessary, so that they will be of a known condition and operate reliably and safely under Car 19. One bogie was identified by a numeral ‘1’ applied in weld on one side frame and the other as ‘2’.
The Spring Planks on the bogies for Car 19 still have timber for those components. The first to be overhauled showed signs of old collision damage, presumably having hit something on the track. It also had holes originally drilled in the wrong place for the bolts that secure the spring seat and swing link suspension bracket to it. The plank in that bogies was also made up of two pieces of timber and some minor rot damage had occurred. All good reasons to fit new ones during the overhaul. Finding suitable hardwood timber was a challenge, but as usual, a search at local timber recyclers found just what we needed.
Brake beams, brake levers, swing links and associated bogie parts were cleaned, the swing links and pivots that are bolted to the underside of the spring plank and carry the carriage mass were crack tested, then all were painted.
 
BU1141 July 2024

Quiet Winter – 16/07/2024

As is usual for The Bellarine Railway, work on the ‘project carriages’ has slowed for winter, while some of the operational cars spend time in the workshops. This is due to The Blues Train running year-round, with a four month winter break to action any repairs. During this time, ex-Tasmanian Car AAR1 and ex-Western Australian car ZA200 will occupy the workshop space from May till October, 2024.

To that end, progress on BU1141 has been solid, with most of the South side of the car now sealed below the window sill, with the exception of one windowsill which still requires some structural repair.

A test coat of the final corporate colours was applied to one compartment of the BU, and during the shunt to get AAR1 into the workshop it provided a nice opportunity to see the near finished product in the sunlight. Pictured below.

Work on this carriage will resume in October 2024.

BU1141 February 2024

Further Progress and Roof Condition – 15/02/2024

Work has continued at a great pace on BU1141, with two compartments (on one side) well on their way to being readied for paint. We have been sanding back the peeling QR paint with a low-grit sandpaper, in an attempt to generate some level of smoothness between the existing paint and the raw timber. We have then applied a thick coat of white primer, and sanded this back with some higher grit sandpaper to achieve a smooth finish. The few remaining defects have been fixed with body filler. This has resulted in a respectable finish considering the state of the surface.

As you can see in the third picture, this carriage has had a crane spreader bar dropped on it at some point in its history. We knew this had happened during its moves around the east cost in the early 2000s, and from our inspection of the roof it seems to have survived the impact. The exterior boards will require replacement anyway, as they are warped from a life out in the elements, but thankfully the curved roof beams are, for the most part unharmed.

Work for the next month will once again be focused on cleaning up the south-side of the carriage, working our way from left to right. There is one window needing a new sill beam, and a few needing new trim, but otherwise the rest of this side of the carriage looks to be nice and straightforward.

BU1141 January 2024

The Project Begins! – 04/01/24

You join us at the very beginning of an exciting restoration effort to return BU1141 to service. The 15th of December 2023 saw the carriage shunted into the workshop space at Lakers Siding, for some preliminary investigations take place. The carriage appeared to be in remarkably good condition on the south side, with some significant (but not insurmountable) challenges on the north side. The bogies appear to be in okay condition, and there is plenty of meat left on the tires. In contrast to our other Evans Cars, 1141 does not have a wooden bolster and leaf springs, but rather a two-part steel bolster, with coil springs in between. This was an exciting finding as the cost to replace a cracked wooden bolster can be quite a lot.

Additionally, the roof has had no tarp for several years, and it looks as though age has caught up to the timber boards, with a lot of them warped and rotten around the edges. This isn’t a massive challenge to renew, but will require a fair amount of new timber and some time working at height to repair it. As for the previously mentioned challenges on the north side, we have three vertical doorframes that are rotten through near the base, which will require replacement of portions of the beams. There are a few cosmetic timbers on the exterior to replace, and the interior is in fine condition for a repaint and patch-up, complete with its pressed steel roof!

The air brake system underneath the carriage is all intact, but we will be modifying this to allow for running on both vacuum and air braking. We will be copying the design of our existing dual braked carriages, whereby the vacuum cylinder and actuating arm is directly linked to the bogie (much like any vacuum braked vehicle), and the air system is positioned further ‘upstream’, and is linked to the vacuum actuating arm, driving the same system/linkage. This is where a lot of time will be spent in the future, as we have to essentially install the entire vacuum system to the carriage from scratch.

The scope of works for the next while will be to progress through the south side of the carriage, fixing any rotten windowsills and door handles that we can find, and then painting a coat of primer over these areas. We have already got the first compartment to a paint-prep stage, with all the structural timberwork now fit-for-service. This involved making a new window sill, and cutting a patch out of the upright beam.

CAR 19 December 2023

End Platforms – 10/12/2023

Car 19 starting to look like it is well on the way to being restored, instead of looking like a ‘restoration challenge’. Extensive investigation of the carriage surfaces and documented research indicates that the body was originally predominately painted in Indian Red with Black on some of the trim. We have painted some of the exterior that way to see how it looked. P Brunton image.
End platform with its new handrail manufactured and fitted to the three original stanchions. Note also the old boot scraper fitted to the end platform timbers to clean mud from boots before entering the car. This is the Second Class saloon end.
 
 
CAR 19 November 2022

Timber – 5/11/2022

‘You can’t get the wood you know’ was a famous line in the BBC radio comedy of the 1950’s/60’s – The Goon Show. Sadly these days it is becoming hard to get the wood that we need to restore Car 19 (and similar projects). We needed 3/4″ (19mm) half round hardwood beading to cover the edge of the lower roof covering material, but nothing like that size is made these days, only much smaller and a bit larger (far too big). We needed about 50 metres. One supplier obtained a quote for some to be specially made for us at a cost of about $850 plus $150 freight from SA, so almost $20/metre. Another was happy to make some, provided that we ordered 1,200 linear metres, but did not provide a price. It would have been many thousands of dollars! We eventually did a trial with a short length of 22mm diametre dowell and cut it in half on the saw bench. Almost perfect 19m half round and no-one will spot the difference once fitted to the carriage. In with a special order for sufficient 3m lengths (not normally in stock) to cover the 10 metre length of the roof. Cost ready to install worked out to about $4.30/m. It was collected late on Friday 28th October, taken to Queenscliff on Saturday 29th, some cut in half, the rest done on Monday 1 November, primed, fine holes for the nails drilled and some part inserted. One side was fully installed that day and the other side completed on Tuesday (Melbourne Cup Day). Looks great!
There has also been steady progress with the outer roof. The wide board towards the right of the roof is almost certainly the original 1879 timber, 9.5″ wide x 1.5″ thick (215mm x 38mm) running the full car length in one piece. Shows mark of where canvas was tacked on to it and some fasteners. The new outer edge timber that we cut down from an old 125 mm x 125 mm cypress post to produce several lengths of 76 mm x 38 mm (3″ x 1.5″) with a rounded outer edge can be seen screwed to its outer side. Installation of the new 150mm wide x 19mm thick tongue and grooved Baltic flooring can be seen, similar to the original boards that were removed due to bad weather damage.
 
CAR 19 August 2022

Steady Progress – 1/8/2022

Steady progress, with all of the rotten bottom side and end frame timbers now replaced. Rotten bottom of all pillars spliced and strengthened. As a result, all horizontal frame members are now as straight and parallel as possible and structurally sound. Sides now straight and roof almost lost all of its sagging sections. End iron panels at one end back in place. Onward and upward from here on!

CAR 19 December 2021

Welcome to the Car 19 Project – 28/12/2021

 

The Geelong Community Foundation kindly provided a grant of $9,000 to assist purchase materials so that the volunteers would be able to proceed with the restoration of ex-South Australian Carriage 19 and gain great friendship and satisfaction for working on the project.

Further evidence of its identity was uncovered on the door, with ’19’ neatly sign written on it. When Car 19 was withdrawn from passenger use in 1928 and converted to a combined sleeping and tool van for the pump and windmill maintainers, it was numbered 4904, but at a date not known to us, was changed to 5077, the number that was visible on it when obtained from Terowie in 1980.

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