The railway line from Castlemaine to Maldon opened in 1884 to carry goods and resources to and from the goldfields. Built to 'light-line' construction, the line included grades of 1 in 40, sharp curves and rail of 60 lb./yard. In 1891 a 16 km extension of the line opened to Shelbourne, which I am progressively placing geocaches along under the [SL] series.
Two mixed trains (carrying goods and passengers) five days a week were provided with the opening of the line, this was soon increased to three return trips per day. With the opening of the extension, one mixed train per day served Shelbourne. 1924 saw the introduction of a rail motor service which provided four trips per day Monday to Friday, with the mixed running through to Shelbourne three days per week. Declining population from the late 1920's reduced the demand for rail services, which were cut back as the years passed. The rail motor and all passenger services were withdrawn during the Second World War (1941) through wartime fuel shortages. A weekly goods train through to Shelbourne coped with the traffic until the line closed.
Bushfire damage to several bridges in 1969 resulted in official closure of the Maldon - Shelbourne line in 1970. With the closing of the Shelbourne extension little reason remained for keeping the Castlemaine - Maldon line open. The Maldon line officially closed in December 1976. Several steam-hauled enthusiast specials were the last trains to venture through the weeds to Maldon.
Even prior to the closure of the Maldon Line, preservation moves were underway. The rapid demise of branchlines throughout Victoria dictated that preservation of at least one line was vital. The choice would be governed by two main considerations, firstly the suitability of the line for restoration and ongoing maintenance by a volunteer workforce and secondly the line's potential as a tourist attraction. Under this criteria the Castlemaine to Maldon Line presented itself as most suitable. Within the same month as the official closure of the line, the Castlemaine and Maldon Railway Preservation Society was formed at a meeting held at Maldon. With membership drawn from both rail enthusiasts and local residents, the Society set about the task of securing the line, obtaining rolling stock, gaining legislative changes to permit the operation of the line as a tourist railway and financial support. Progress was slow through the early years. Steam Locomotive K160 was purchased from the Victorian Railways in 1979, moved to a siding at the Mayfair Complex at Bendigo in 1980 and received attention by Society members. Later transferred by rail to Castlemaine, continued attention saw restoration complete by early 1986. Wooden bodied passenger carriages and goods stock were purchased, many by individuals providing the funds for purchase of particular items. Further steam locomotive purchases included K157, J549 and E371. The rolling stock progressively arrived and was stored in Castlemaine Yard. Track restoration commenced at the Maldon end, with the line between Maldon Station and the Bendigo Road Crossing available for trains by Easter 1986.
In the weeks prior to Easter 1986, Steam Locomotive K160 was transferred by road to Maldon, while a set of rolling stock was taken out along the line hauled by a small diesel locomotive on loan from the APM Broadford Paper Mill. The official re-opening was on Easter Saturday, 1986. Trains operated between the Station and the Bendigo Road, a distance of about 1 kilometre, with the engine pushing the train out from Maldon and pulling it back in. As track restoration progressed, the trip length increased in stages. By Easter 1996 Muckleford was reached. The track at Muckleford had been re-laid, the platform road and the turnouts in heavier rail and the station platform reinstated. The loop siding enabled the locomotive to 'run-around' its train and so be at the front of the train in both directions of the journey. With funding from the State and Federal Governments restoration of the 8 kilometre section of line between Muckleford and Castlemaine was commenced in 2001. The works in this section included relaying the track and extensive repairs to the one iron and five timber bridges. Work at Castlemaine reconnected the West Yard, reinstated the locomotive turntable and upgraded the mechanical signalling. However, VGR trains could not use the short section of railway between the Midland Highway in Castlemaine and Castlemaine station due to it being an operating freight railway line.
In December 2004 the Castlemaine - Moolort section of the Maryborough Line was booked out of service by Pacific National which allowed the running of VGR trains into Castlemaine Station under the Tourist Railway Provisions. The first VGR train to Castlemaine Station ran on Saturday the 18th December, 2004 and public trains commenced the following day. The Official Opening into Castlemaine was on the 20th March, 2005.
The VGR operate a variety of locomotives and rollingstock on the railway line. Locomotives owned or allocated to the railway include steam engines J549 (operable), K160 (under overhaul at Newport), K157 (stored), E371 (stored) and D3 646 (stored). Until recently the VGR used J515 which was on long term loan from the Seymour Rail Heritage Centre. The locomotive has since returned to Seymour. Diesel locomotives include Y133 (operable), F212 (operable) and T333 (stored at Seymour). The railway is unique in that it is the only tourist railway in Victoria to have a mainline connection, allowing the transfer of locomotives and rollingstock by rail between Melbourne and the tourist railway. This has facilitated the formation of a joint venture with Steamrail Victoria, who provide some of their locomotives and rollingstock for use at the railway at various times of the year. The VGR also owns an extensive collection of passenger and goods rollingstock.
The VGR is run almost entirely by volunteers and whilst you're looking for the cache you might spot a few around the yard - there's normally someone around!
The railway operates on Wednesdays and Sundays, Saturdays during the school holidays and some public holidays. I'd highly recommend going for a ride to Castlemaine and back, if you're interested check the website for details - www.vgr.com.au . If you're not at the station on a running day then check out the beautifully restored station building.
Now on to the cache. You will need to use stealth whilst searching for the cache as it is near both the station and the railway workshops. The difficulty rating reflects this (the hide itself isn't that difficult). The geocache is hidden on steam locomotive E371 which is on static display outside the station. The area is extremely busy when the trains are in the station so you may want to avoid searching for the cache around those times so it doesn't get muggled.
Please remember this is an operating railway so please stay well clear of the tracks and respect the volunteers and their work by not wandering around the yard and workshops. You can get a good view of everything on the station platform or outside the workshop fence.
If you don't get the chance to see the trains in action then I've included a few photos of trains on the railway below:
Enjoy!