Mornington Railway

The Mornington Railway is a heritage railway near Mornington, a town on the Mornington Peninsula, near Melbourne, Victoria. The line is managed by the Mornington Railway Preservation Society and operates on part of the former Victorian Railways branch line which ran from Baxter to Mornington.

Two diesel locomotives cross Moorooduc Highway in February 2007.
For the history of operations under the Victorian Railways, see Mornington railway line.

Mornington Railway
K163 masquerading as K177 at Tanti Railway Station.
Overview
StatusHeritage railway
Service
TypeTourist railway
History
Completed1889
Reopened1991
Closed1981
Route map
Baxter
Stony Point railway line
Moorooduc Highway
 Moorooduc
 Tanti Park
 Narambi Road
 Stopping Place 16
 Mornington
(new)
Nepean Highway
 Mornington
(original)

History

The Mornington railway line was a rural railway branching off from the Stony Point railway line at Baxter. The line operated for 92 years before closing. Ten years later the line was reopened as a heritage railway.

  • 1888—In August the contract for building the line was given to David Munro for £25,000. A spur-line was built to Moorooduc quarry to transport stone for the construction of the line.
  • 1889—Baxter to Mornington railway line opened on 10 September.
  • 1981—The line was closed.
  • 1984—The Mornington Railway Preservation Society (MRPS) was formed.
  • 1991—The line was reopened as a heritage railway.
  • 2014—The Mornington railway Celebrated 30 years of Operation and 125 of the Mornington line
  • 2015—The Mornington railway had W241 7CV received from 707 Operations and Seymour Railway Heritage Centre and had 59RM sent to DERMPAV for eventual restoration
  • 2017— The group obtained Melville for the SRHC, and was transferred from Newport Workshops to Moorooduc Yard in 2019.
  • 2020— K163 was transferred from Moorooduc to Steamrail Victoria on 13 February for maintenance works. In March 34BE was transferred from the former South Gippsland Tourist Railway to Moorooduc for eventual restoration.

Mornington Railway Preservation Society

The Mornington Railway Preservation Society (MRPS) was formed out of a public meeting in 1984 with the objective of securing access to the then-closed Mornington railway line. The vision was to reopen it as a heritage railway, focusing on the operation of steam-hauled passenger trains. In 1991 the MRPS was granted a State Government Order in Council, giving access and operating rights to the line, so it could be operated as a heritage railway.[1]

Prior to the granting of the Order in Council to the MRPS, the final section of the line between Rail Motor Stopping Place (RMSP) 16 and the former Mornington terminus (which was considered to have significant commercial value) was sold by the State Government to private investors. The track and infrastructure in this section was removed and some parcels of the land were subsequently developed, including an extension to the Mornington Bush Nursing Hospital and a new shopping complex erected on the site of the former Mornington station. A commemorative plaque and replica station nameboard erected by Mornington Historical Society adjacent to the shopping centre are now the only visible evidence of the original terminus.

The 70-foot (21.34 m) turntable from Mornington Station was removed by SteamRail Victoria, who had been the custodians of it by arrangement with the State Government up until the time the site was sold. The turntable was later overhauled by SteamRail and re-installed at Warrnambool where it is still in use (it was required there to enable R class steam locomotives to be turned at that location). SteamRail have offered the MRPS a 53-foot (16.15 m) turntable (formerly from Yea) as a substitute, which will be suitable to turn K, J, D3 and Y class locomotives. These are the only steam locomotive classes considered likely to operate on the line in the foreseeable future.

The station building at Mornington was made available to the MRPS for re-use, but was found to be infested with termites, and largely unusable. The MRPS was able to recover most of the points and some track from the station yard before it was demolished. These will eventually be used to build additional sidings at Moorooduc station, the main operating centre on the railway. Two palm trees which graced the garden in front of the original station building for many years were relocated to the new station site, but did not survive the transplanting in their new location.

At present the heritage railway runs between Moorooduc station and the completely new Mornington station, which is sited at Yuilles Road in Mornington, 100m from the site of RMSP 16. This station was opened formally on Sunday 18 April 1999, as just a platform for pull-push working. A runaround loop was added at a later stage. There is an intermediate stop at Tanti Park station. Plans are for the remaining section of line between Moorooduc station and Baxter station to be restored.[1] The Peninsula Link freeway has been constructed with an overpass over the line to allow for continued operation and may even assist future operations to Baxter by removing significant traffic from the Moorooduc Highway level crossing.

Operations

The MRPS is in possession of four former Victorian Railways K class steam locomotives, K 163 (formerly plinthed in Frankston), K 177 (donated by Langi Morgala Museum in Ararat), K 159 (formerly plinthed in Hamilton) and K 191 (formerly plinthed in Wangaratta). K 163 is the only one currently in service. K 177 is under heavy restoration, and K 191 has been disassembled for inspection and long term restoration.) The MRPS also has two T class diesel locomotives (T334 and T411) and a Victoria Railways rail tractor.[1]

Tourist trains run on each Sunday of each month and on Wednesdays during Victorian school holidays, between Moorooduc and Mornington railway stations, although the current Mornington station is displaced somewhat due to the original alignment having been built over.

Steam locomotives
Number Image Year built Builder Status Notes
K 159 1940 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Stored Previously plinthed in a park in Hamilton in country Victoria. Stored for possible future restoration. A locomotive was reassembled as a composite of unrestorable parts from K159, K174 and K177; this unnumbered locomotive is now displayed at K159's previous home in the park at Hamilton.
K 163 1941 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Out of Service, repairs Was plinthed in a park in Frankston after withdrawal from service by the Victorian Railways. Restored to steam by the MRPS in 1985, it saw mainline service until early to Mid '90s. It was then booked for its 25-year overhaul in 2005 and returned to service 2010. In 2016 it wore K177 plates for the 75th Birthday of K177. As of February 23, 2020, It is currently at Newport workshops undergoing maintenance.
K 174 1941 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Completely disassembled/scrapped Salvaged from static display in Edinburgh Gardens, Fitzroy North by the MRPS in 1997. The locomotive as a whole was in very poor condition and unrestorable, however numerous components have been used in the restoration of K177 (including the frames).[2]
K 177 1941 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Under restoration Donated to the Mornington Railway by Langi Morgala Museum in Ararat. Under heavy restoration, using parts from other locomotives (including K174). As the restored locomotive uses the frames from K174, it would normally have been known by that number; however the Mornington Railway wished to honour their agreement with the Langi Morgala Museum to restore a locomotive with the number K177.
K 191 1946 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Stored dismantled Formerly plinthed in a park in Wangaratta. Brought to Mooorooduc in 2001 for eventual restoration, its boiler is now in use in K163.

Diesel Locomotives
Number Image Year built Builder Status Notes
T 334 1956 EMD/clyde NSW Operational was painted pink in 1985
T 411 1968 EMD/clyde NSW Out of Traffic, repaint has a 567C motor and was formerly painted in MTR Blue yellow and grey
W 241 1959 Tulloch Limited Operational Class leader
RT 41 Unknown Unknown Stored
TC 1 Unknown Unknown Operational Track Chief. Ex-BHP, is named Bob Parnell
TC 2 Unknown Unknown Stored Track Chief. Spare parts for TC 1

Passenger Carriages
Number Image Year built Builder Status Notes
3 ABL 12 April 1900 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Mower & Party Operational
45 BE 23 March 1910 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Operational
57 BE 2 September 1909 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Operational
58 BES 28 July 1910 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Bell & Party Under restoration
78 BPL? 1921 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Unknown
86 BPL 18 June 1921 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Under restoration
6 BCPL 7 April 1922 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Under restoration Used as part of a MacDonald's Restaurant
21 BU? Unknown Unknown Unknown Was never a carriage numbered 21 BU
27 BU 27 February 1914 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Fowles & Party Operational
24 AW 5 July 1918 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Scott & Party Operational
65 AW 22 October 1926 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Gaulton & Party Operational
152 W 1883 Johnson & Co., Melbourne Unknown Workmen's Sleeper
257 W 1883 Bevan, P Out of Service Workmen's Sleeper
278 W 16 April 1886 Pickles Out of Service Workmen's Sleeper
G 98 12 July 1944 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Operational Tait dual lighting trailer. Used for birthday parties
Melville 30 April 1901 Unknown Stored Was State Car 2, then Generator Car

Vans
Number Image Year built Builder Status Notes
CV 5 26 June 1906 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Herbert & Party Operational
CV 7 26 June 1906 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Herbert & Party Stored
C 35 1 January 1892 Australian Rolling Stock Co. Spotswood Stored Outside restored and roof weather proofed
VLPY 129 1 November 1956 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Out of Service Tool and machinery shop
ZB 20 20 June 1914 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Rankin & Party Operational
ZD 604 19 December 1928 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Operational
ZL 364 21 October 1912 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Under restoration Stationary vehicle for Ticket Office at Moorooduc Station
ZL 582 3 April 1928 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Stubbings & Party Out of Service Used for storage
ZL 586 30 March 1928 Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Grigg & Party Out of Service Used for storage

See also

References
  1. "Mornington Railway - Steam Train Operations". Mornington Railway. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  2. "K 174 - Salvaged from Edinburgh Gardens, Fitzroy". Australian Steam - Preserved Steam Locomotives Down Under. Retrieved 1 February 2012.

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