By JESSE GRAHAM
RESIDENTS from around the valley and beyond flocked to the Yarra Glen railway station on Saturday to see restoration works on the Yarra Valley Railway firsthand.
The station building opened its doors on 21 March to visitors, who were able to walk through and see the volunteer work to completely rebuild and restore the station to its former glory.
Mini-bus tours also ran visitors out to the old TarraWarra Station site, where they were able to see the new rail bridges under construction and talk to volunteers about their work to re-open the rail line between Yarra Glen and Healesville.
Casey MP Tony Smith, Yarra Ranges mayor Maria McCarthy and Eildon MP Cindy McLeish, were among the dignitaries to visit the open day.
Yarra Valley Railway vice-president Brett Whelan said the support the railway had received while working to restore the line was humbling.
“It’s humbling to see such a large community project running so well, with the input from local businesses, tourist operators and other community groups,” he said.
He said the volunteers were hoping to finish their current work on the bridges before the wet weather settled in, and that the line was set to open in 2017.
Mr Smith told the Mail he was “proud and excited” to see the work carried out so far, much of which was funded by $3.56 million in Federal Government money.
“This wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for the passion and dedication of Brett (Whelan) and his team, that secured the funding from the council and helped the council and myself advocate very strongly for the large sum of money to bring this about,” he said.
“I think it’s been talked about for a long time and now, you can actually see it coming.”
Site supervisor at Yarra Glen Station, Peter Andersen, said the station had to be completely rebuilt, with the old one attacked by white ants and arsonists in the past.
Mr Andersen said the new building, however, would look identical to the old one, with more modern interiors in places such as the toilets.
“It will look pretty swish, and as it was in the ’50s,” he said.
He said that volunteers were always welcome to sign up and help with the project.
“I’ll take unskilled labour and teach them,” Mr Andersen said.
For more information, or to volunteer, visit www.yvr.com.au or call 5962 2490.
