It’s a little hard to believe that it has already been 20 years since we ran the first VGR train right through to Castlemaine Station.
The 18th December 2004 saw the first test train run into Castlemaine to check the signalling, flashing lights, platform clearance and test the turntable.
The first consist and a very proud bunch, all having a very big part in the project.
It must have been a success as only a few hours later K160 returned hauling a train of members and volunteers to enjoy the experience first hand.
The pic above shows the first public train on the 19th December 2004 and a keen eye will note the Railway Reopen sign at the Level Crossing.
Fast forwarding 20 years and we settled upon this date – Thursday 19th December 2024 as the date to celebrate – 20 years since the first public trains into Castlemaine. The combined occasion was also the Civil & Mechanical branch Christmas breakup as well as a great chance to get together and celebrate not only the massive achievement that was getting back to Castlemaine, but the enormous amount of work that the past 20 years has seen. Unfortunately due to being too distracted with speeches etc… not too many pics were taken.
The celebration day saw around 70 of us, current, past and hopefully future track and project volunteers and managers gathering for special train from Castlemaine to Maldon, with a minor stop to show off the works of 2024 before having a well earned lunch and a few drinks at Maldon Station.
It wouldn’t be a true civil function without a good few speeches. Various recollections from the railways past, the project to Castlemaine, the people that make it all possible and power of a volunteer workforce were discussed and many stories shared. A range of well deserved awards were presented to various long term volunteers as well as a range of comical awards for those who had managed to disgrace themselves in imaginative and fun ways over the past few years!
The day was well received by all who attended and did an excellent job in showing off the importance of teamwork in our organisation. Thankyou to everyone who has been a part of the organisation – particularly in regards to our infrastructure, it’s that maintenance work over the past 40+ years that has kept us going – we’re having a big push now to make that maintenance more sustainable into the future, however the railway wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the years of hard work to keep it running – Thankyou.
Easter 2026 will see us celebrate 40 years of operation – pencil that into the diary as hopefully we’ll be a position to celebrate that event in style!
VGR Civil Blog 