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The Picnic Train
Founded2019
TypeNot-for-profit organisation
PurposeRail Heritage Tours
Location
Websitepicnictrain.com.au

The Picnic Train is a non-profit organisation dedicated to operating heritage steam train tours across New South Wales, Australia. It operates heritage steam locomotives 5917 and R766.

History

[edit]

In 2018 the 5917 Syndicate (owners of steam locomotive 5917, who has previous operated the locomotive with the Lachlan Valley Railway Society)[1][2][3] decided to form a new rail tour organisation, The Picnic Train, with the 59 class as its centrepiece, to capture a slice of the growing rail tourism market and encourage future generations of railway heritage enthusiasts.[4]

The Picnic Train officially came into being in 2019 and since that time has operated regular steam train tours across New South Wales, including its popular day tours from Sydney - Kiama Picnic Train, Moss Vale Picnic Train, Blue Mountains Picnic Train, and Hunter Valley Picnic Train, plus local tours in regional centres, including the Illawarra, Hunter Valley, Southern Highlands, Riverina, and Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory.[5]

Since its establishment, The Picnic Train has added other locomotives and carriages to its fleet. One major part of this new operation was the introduction of the former Victorian Railways locomotive R766 after a two decade restoration. In addition diesel locomotive 4903 was purchased from the Lachlan Valley Railway in 2020.[6][7]

Fleet

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5917

5917 Hauling The Picnic Train

Locomotive 5917 was built in the United States by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) as part of the D59 class, entering service on 12 March 1953 as an oil-burning locomotive, this was in the NSWGR's original plan when it was submitted to the builder during a coal shortage in New South Wales. It was later converted to a coal burner. 5917 was used for freight haulage during its NSWGR service right up to its withdrawal and spent some of its last years at Bathurst banking diesel hauled trains up Raglan and Tumulla banks. 5917 still carries the specially modified buffers to this day.[8][9][10]

On 16 August 1972, the locomotive was withdrawn from service and stored at Enfield Locomotive Depot. 5917 was stored in the open on the east side of Enfield No 3 turntable until mid-1974 when it was moved into Enfield No 1 Shed for preliminary work following purchase by a syndicate of enthusiasts.

5917 trundles across the Terralong Street bridged as it arrives at Kiama with one of the Lachlan Valley Railway's Picnic Trains in 1973 (Dennis Rittson)

Ownership passed to the '5917 Syndicate' and 5917 was operated by the Lachlan Valley Railway. It was moved out of storage at Enfield on 22 October 1974 when it hauled 3046 and 3090T to the Rhondda Colliery site of the Hunter Valley Steam Railway & Museum. During 1976 5917 steamed to Peterborough, South Australia for an important anniversary there.[11]

5917 was withdrawn in the late 1980's and restored at Cowra returning to service in September 2007. In 2017, the locomotive was withdrawn from service due to condition of the driving wheel tyres. It returned to service in 2019 as the primary locomotive for The Picnic Train.[12]

R766

R766 Hauling The Picnic Train

The Victorian Railways R class (VR) reflected an ongoing evolution of VR locomotive design and a response to the changing operational environment of the VR in the postwar era. The VR broke with a long-standing policy of in-house steam locomotive construction and called for tenders to construct an additional 50 R class. The contract was awarded to North British Locomotive Company of Glasgow, Scotland on 21 September 1949. On 12 January 1950, the order was increased to 70.[13][14]

The R class proved to be a fine locomotive in its intended role of express passenger service, and individual R class locomotives were soon running upwards of 950 to 1,250 miles (1,530 to 2,010 km) each per week.[10] Dynamometer car testing showed they were capable of producing a maximum 1,840 drawbar horsepower (1,372 kW) at 37.5 mph (60.4 km/h). The R's impressive debut was cut short by the introduction of the B class diesel electric locomotives from July 1952. By the end of 1953, the success of the B class saw the R class withdrawn from The Overland service to Adelaide. In the 1960s, as the railway preservation movement began to gather momentum, a small number of R class locomotives found a new role as power for excursion train services. In this role they were able to fulfill their intended role of high speed passenger travel, with speeds of over 80 mph (129 km/h) being recorded.[15][16]

R766 has passed through a number of operators and owners in preservation. It was acquired by a company trading as "Australian Vintage Travel" in 1981 and restored to operating condition for hauling luxury rail services. After Australian Vintage Travel folded in 1986, R766 was acquired by a syndicate of shareholders ("766 Syndicate") and leased to Steamrail Victoria. In 1994, Steamrail volunteers re-painted R 766 in a maroon livery based on that of the London Midland and Scottish Railway, before the locomotive was leased to West Coast Railway (and repainted in the WCR corporate livery) in 2000.[17]

Like several other classes, the R-class was designed for ease of conversion to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge. Following its withdrawal from West Coast Railway service, R766 was converted from 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge by the Hunter Valley Railway Trust and was transferred to North Rothbury, New South Wales in December 2007. It was relaunched as part of The Picnic Train fleet in March 2022.[18][19][20]

References

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  1. ^ Woodland, Tony (1989). Lachlan Valley Railway Society (a pictorial history) Volume 1: 1974 - 1977. Elizabeth: Railmac Publications. pp. 4, 27. ISBN 0-949817-98-8.
  2. ^ "About the LVR".
  3. ^ "Our History".
  4. ^ https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity/charities/0bb40cfe-eda7-eb11-9441-000d3acbeb6c/profile
  5. ^ Multiple references:
  6. ^ "Our locomotives".
  7. ^ "Photos capture an historic steam train puffing into Maitland station, but can it stay in the Hunter?". 19 March 2022.
  8. ^ Railway Digest September 1972
  9. ^ "Our Baldwin Yankees - The D59 Class Mikados". Roundhouse: 12. January 1981.
  10. ^ Grunbach, Alex (1989). A Compendium of New South Wales Steam Locomotives (Rev ed.). Australian Railway Historical Society, New South Wales Division. pp. 236–239. ISBN 978-0-909650-27-8.
  11. ^ "About the LVR".
  12. ^ "Our locomotives".
  13. ^ "Rclass:VR:Trains:AJH". Archived from the original on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
  14. ^ Lee, Robert (2007). The Railways of Victoria 1854–2004. Melbourne University Publishing Ltd. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-522-85134-2.
  15. ^ Carlisle, R M & Abbott, R L (1985). Hudson Power. ARHS. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-85849-028-4.
  16. ^ Carlisle, R M & Abbott, R L (1985). Hudson Power. ARHS. p. 95. ISBN 0-85849-028-5.
  17. ^ "West Coast Railway Modernised R Class Locomotives".
  18. ^ "MINUTES – GENERAL MEETING 15–16 October 2005" (PDF). ASSOCIATION OF TOURIST AND HERITAGE RAIL AUSTRALIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
  19. ^ "R 766". Steamrail Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
  20. ^ "Photos capture an historic steam train puffing into Maitland station, but can it stay in the Hunter?". 19 March 2022.
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