A Lineside Chat with Ian - 21/2/2006 :

18 EASY STEPS TO RE-CANVAS A RAIL VEHICLE ROOF,
THE DAYLESFORD WAY

1) Remove all old canvas and roof tacks.
2) Replace all rotten and damaged wood.
3) Remove all original fasteners (i.e. screws) and replace with either stainless steel or galvanized fasteners at least 25 mm longer.
4) Sand the entire roof.
5) Vacuum the roof.
6) Apply one coat of Weathershield or Solarguard paint.
7) Fill in all large holes and gaps, and groove with a water-based gap filler (not tongue and groove).
8) One more coat of the above-mentioned paint.
9) Place new 16 ounce canvas on the roof and spread out (canvas having been previously cut and stitched to size).
10) Centralize and, using stainless steel staples, staple one side.
11) Pull tight, and complete the opposite side.
12) Repeat for both ends.
13) Make up a solution of approximately 30% paint and 70% water and apply.
14) Second coat: 50% paint, 50% water.
15) Third coat - don’t water down the paint.
16) Paint yet again.
17) Trim any excess canvas
18) Stand back and shout “Fantastic!” (or words to that effect).

Note: use water-based Solarguard or Weathershield, and STRICTLY NO SHADECLOTH OR TACKS.

There, you have it! (Easy, isn’t it?) Who says you can’t have fun on a Tourist Railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 9/10/2005 :

The other week, which was of course a DERM Restoration Sunday, Dave arrived and said “What’s on for today?” Together we tackled the guard that goes under the roof-mounted radiator. The angle iron had all but rusted away. With the angle frame suitably restored, and painted, some new galvanised sheet rolled to shape and a bag of suitable cold-worked rivets, off we went. The challenges were aplenty, but with valued assistance from Dave’s father Alan, some ingeniously positioned clamps, and some spacer washers (which needed to be made up once we found the sheet had been cut and rolled 25 mm too short!), a very good result was achieved. At the start of the day, a pile of bits. At the end of the day, a real sense of achievement. Who said you can’t have fun on a tourist railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 29/8/2005 :

At the end of the day, when the hard work’s done, it’s time for some entertainment. On this occasion it was a quick count, a phone booking, cars hastily arranged and then off to the Commercial Bar and Grill at Castlemaine. The fifteen DSCR volunteers who were able to attend had a fantastic time with good food, good friends and good and varied conversations. Who said you can’t have fun on a tourist railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 11/8/2005 :

On a recent Saturday night a bunch of us (15) decided to dine in Castlemaine. Only problem was how to get everyone there. Not to worry - the Volvo 45-seater bus was in residence and was duly delegated. A brisk run there and back - volunteers relaxing in style, enjoying good food and drink. And super-cheap too! The pub provided stacks of variety in food, and at prices almost unheard of for the last 20 years. A brisk canter back to Daylesford in the “coach”, the hilly roads being tackled in fine style. Another enjoyable evening for the volunteers, even after we discovered the entire trip had been run on a flat tyre! Who said you can’t have fun on a tourist railway bus?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 16/6/2005 :

Sunday 27th February 2005. Warm, not too hot, not too cold. Pleasant day. 18 volunteers at Daylesford doing their bit for the DSCR in many varied ways. And the Piece de Resistance: the new DERM canvas up and tacked down and one coat of sealant in one day. Excellent! One first-time volunteer. Fantastic. Who said you can’t have fun on a tourist railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 5/3/2005 :

Have a look at “The Turntable” (CHTR newsletter) online. Go to the article on Sleeperfest 2004, Part 2, and read John’s description of Dipp’s theory of Wet and Dry Drizzle. Perhaps a scientific study could be undertaken on the question “When is wet really wet?”, or “what makes dry definitely dry?” This whole story is right up there with a famous quote made years ago: “cows are just dumb marsupials”! Who said you can’t have fun on a tourist railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 16/2/2005 :

You might recall a short snippet on the pros and cons of marking items during train restoration, you know, "upper hori (Daylesford end)" etc... Well it might come as a surprise but we had another incident recently. Bert was about to screw down the new wood over the No 1 ends drivers cab and hand brake when low and behold, the numbering system made no sense to him. So it was off to get the expert, yes Dipp.

Well after about 3 hours it was worked out with only a spare number 4 left over.

The interesting part is not enough day was left to attach the roof and luckily next week when attachment was about to commence, it was discovered we were lacking headlight wiring and radiator mounting brackets. So if all had gone according to plan the previous week we would have found ourselves in a pickle and having to dismantle the roof again.

So the moral of the story, get Dipp to number your parts. You just never know when you don’t want to put something back together.

Who said you can’t have fun on a tourist railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 12/2/2005 :

I’ve been asked quite a lot of late what’s happened to the line side chat with Ian? Why hasn’t there been an update for a while? What’s wrong? Well the easy answer is nothings wrong, I’ve been on holidays from work though still at the railway. Who said you can’t have fun on a tourist railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 28/11/2004 :

A 100 year old station building. A 1930’s Tilley kerosene table lamp. A Train Register book being filled in, assisted by the light from the Tilley lamp. A 2000’s laptop computer linked to the internet, looking at radar coverage of the weather to see how wet we’re about to get while working on the track. The old and the new. Who said you can’t have fun on a tourist railway?

(P.S. See the Sleeperfest 2004 Pt 2 Photo Gallery on this web site.)

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 18/11/2004 :

Numbering things - it doesn’t really sound that hard, does it? 1 - 10, 10 - 20, 20 - 100; it seems pretty simple, and it is. Complications start to happen when one writes “A” and “B”, or when you have numbering systems which use such descriptions as “Upper Hori (Daylesford End)” or “Lower Hori (Musk End) - Drivers Cab”.

Needless to say, our numbering system for the DERM’s restoration has gone to the dogs. One section of roof over the engine room has new boards numbered 1 to 24. Nothing wrong with that, you may think. The problem starts when another board turns up which was forgotten in the original numbered block. Yet another board turns up, which is supposed to go alongside the previously forgotten board. Then we got one which no-one knew where it was supposed to go at all, plus yet one more (this one was just an “extra”). All of this was recorded on the backs of the offending boards. Watching up to 4 people spend the better part of a day, up on the DERM’s roof, trying to work out what had gone wrong, was just priceless. Who said you can’t have fun on a tourist railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 11/11/2004 :

Throughout the Central Highlands region around Daylesford, over the years, there have been sightings of strange and exotic flora and fauna. Pumas and panthers (which apparently revel in the local conditions) head the list of exotica, and there has even been a credible sighting of a thylacine. (Yes, a Tassie Tiger!) Well, the other Saturday bore witness to what must be the most amazing yet. While the track gang was having lunch at Bullarto station, this huge bird-like creature (which could only be described as a “pterodactyl”) casually flew overhead, partially blocking out the sun. Stuart exclaimed: “Look at that!”, just as a deposit - the size of a swimming pool - bombarded the general area, luckily missing the gang which survived to tell the tale. Who said you can’t have fun on a tourist railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 2/11/2004 :

It’s not all sleepers, markets and DERMs, you know. Recently we were able to enjoy a long weekend; we then had to decide what to do. Rest? No - back to Daylesford and cart old (replaced) sleepers out of the way (they were lying along the side of the track) and stack them up for firewood. (Any takers?)

Oops, I thought I said it wasn’t all about sleepers. (Sorry about that; I digress.) After work, and at a local house, freshly-brewed popcorn was the order of the day. As the said product was busily popping away I relayed the story of how we burnt our last batch in the station some time ago. We decided to err on the side of caution and ceased the popping, one minute short of recommended popping time. After opening the bag a smoke trail resembling a mushroom cloud billowed up towards the ceiling. The opener remarked that the inside of the bag was turning brown; he just had enough time then to dash across the room and toss the whole bag in the Ned Kelly wood heater before spontaneous combustion took place. I will give you the tip - popcorn burns like there’s no tomorrow. A great laugh was had by all. Who said you can’t have fun on a tourist railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 19/10/2004 :

The 150th Railway Anniversary held recently across Victoria was a Red Letter Day / Weekend, as we say up at Daylesford. Although quite a few of the railway groups hadn’t organised much for this auspicious occasion, Daylesford managed to organise a fantastic event; everyone had a wonderful time. In a weekend of foul weather, the highlight would have to have been the mixed train unloading sleepers at Musk (for the 150th Anniversary Musk Railway Park). The snow was falling, kids were having snow fights: that ˝ hour would easily be one of the most memorable moments at Daylesford over the years. Who said you can’t have fun on a tourist railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 7/10/2004 :

Many times the Way & Works gang’s tasks include “doing drains”. Specifically, this is the process of clearing forest debris from the lineside drains. Debris is a particular problem at Daylesford, with the rapid growth in a cool temperate rainforest to contend with. Sometimes we’d be up to our ankles or knees in mud and slush, and then one wag would say: “Look on the bright side.” And what could that possibly be? “Well, it could be up to your neck!” Who said you can’t have fun on a tourist railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 30/9/2004 :

Over the years the railway has had a dozen or so “VR Nostalgia Nights”, plus a number of impromptu film sessions, at which railways of yesteryear have featured on the big screen in the Daylesford station building. These nights of reminiscing are a lot of fun, and usually come with a good feed attached. One thing related to these nights always amuses me: this being how people will always say out aloud the name of a station every time the station name board appears on screen, - and who said you can’t have fun at a tourist railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 22/9/2004 :

This week saw us up at Bullarto: working in the yard, replacing sleepers, while the young gentleman mentioned last week was playing at Daylesford with some other junior members. The gang was hard at work and sleepers were on the mind. Nonetheless this effort was different for a couple of reasons. 1) We were working between the end of the platform and the Up end points; this is one of only two areas remaining not to have seen sleeper replacement by The CHTR (the other area being the section beyond those points down to Kangaroo Creek). 2) The second reason can be split into a couple of categories. Firstly was Dipp patiently waiting with bar under the wrong sleeper while the rest of the gang wondered where he had got to (he thought things were a bit quiet). The second being an impromptu rendition of “Mickey Mouse, The Song”. Who said you can’t have fun at a tourist railway?

A Lineside Chat with Ian - 11/9/2004 :

While out on the track the other weekend, one of the volunteers asked his 7 year old son what he would be doing if he was home. "Watching TV or videos," was the answer. Meanwhile, the whole gang (all 4 of them) were peering skyward, watching four wedge-tailed eagles circling above them. What a day! Nature at its best - crisp mountain air, huge gum trees, bright sun..., not to mention the thrill of trackwork on a railway travelling along the top of the Great Dividing Range. Who says volunteers get nothing out of tourist railways?

Only view latest "Lineside Chat with Ian"