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Donations Keep the Wheels Turning…

Other Ways to Donate

EFT payments are available during business hours by calling 5258 2069

Please make cheques or money orders payable to the ‘Geelong Steam Preservation Society’ (GSPS) and post to PO Box 166 Queenscliff VIC 3225.

Tax-deductible receipts are available on request.

To those wishing to donate money to the Geelong Steam Preservation Society (The Bellarine Railway) in the form of a Bequest, we recommended including the clause below in the Wills of potential benefactors to us.

“I BEQUEATH to the Geelong Steam Preservation Society, ABN 72 004 819 130 (“the Association”) the sum of (AMOUNT IN WORDS) dollars (AMOUNT IN FIGURES) free of all duties, to be applied by the Association in pursuit of the purposes provided for in its Constitution and I DECLARE the receipt of the Secretary, Treasurer or other Proper Officer of the Association shall be complete discharge to my Trustees for any moneys paid to the Association”.

“The Museum Fund”

The account all of our valuable donations are funnelled into is known as “The Museum Fund”. When this is mentioned it does not refer to the construction of a museum as such, but rather the aforementioned account.

How does your donation contribute?

The following are some examples of how individual and collective donations can help restore and maintain rail history

$10- 1 box of bolts

$50- Average PPE order (earplugs, masks, etc)

$200- 1x carriage spring for Car 19

$500- Approximately 1 ton on coal (delivered)

$800- Restoration of BU465 interior lighting system

$1000- Paint for 1 restoration project

$3000- Full tank of fuel for 1 X class diesel

Recent major expenses

$50,000 for asbestos removal from No.2

$11,000 for boiler tubes for No.4

$40,000 worth of ballast

The wish-list expenses

$400,000 to reactivate Tasmanian Railways DP railmotors

Your Donation

The Geelong Steam Preservation Society (trading as The Bellarine Railway) is a not-for-profit and registered charity run by volunteers who operate and maintain a vast collection of heritage locomotives and rolling stock from all over Australia’s Narrow Gauge railway network.

In addition to this, we carefully manage an environmentally significant nature corridor along the boundaries of our 16km rail line, and a selection of heritage buildings and infrastructure.

Your donation will be gratefully accepted by our organisation and its volunteers, and will be driven directly into the railway itself. Your donation will see a result!

Donations over $2 are tax-deductible and donors can choose to direct their donation to a particular area of interest or ongoing project, or you may choose to leave the railway a bequest in your Will.

GSPS Current Projects

Responsibly operating and maintaining a heritage railway in the 21st century is a massive task, and our volunteers do an amazing job at keeping the wheels turning, and putting donations to good use.

To find out more about our current mechanical projects, visit Rollingstock Projects

To find out more about our current infrastructure and environmental projects, visit Railway Projects

No4 Saddle Tank Steam Locomotive

To support the growing calendar of operations, we are in need of an economical all-rounder steam locomotive, to share the load of operating our year-round heritage experiences. No4 fits this need perfectly: being a small 0-6-0ST locomotive, it is capable of economically hauling small services across the entire railway, and can also support longer and heavier loads throughout the hills to Drysdale. Having No4 in service will share the load of services currently operated by T251, Pozieres, and Klondyke – These being the Seaside Explorer and Swan Bay Express, which continue to grow.

Key Work Areas to be Funded:

BOILER BARREL REPAIRS – WHEEL REPROFILING

No2 Beyer Garratt Steam Locomotive

To secure our railways operations into the future, and cater for the expected growth in our heritage experiences, charters, and contracted services (ie The Blues Train and The Q Train), a large locomotive capable of operating our largest and heaviest services will be needed. The Ex-Fyansford Cement Works No2 Beyer Garratt locomotive will be the most cost-effective way to fill this need, and is envisaged to share the workload currently supported by T251.