By JESSE GRAHAM
WORK to restore the Yarra Glen Railway Station has been bolstered, after a donation of paint to restore the building to its former glory.
Yarra Valley Railway’s vice-president, Brett Whelan, said that Dulux Australia had donated cans of paint to the volunteer organisation, to help with the works to rebuild the Yarra Glen station.
The former station had been the victim of arsonists and white-ants in the past, and had to be completely rebuilt – and as it is a heritage building, the rebuild is being meticulously done so the result matches the former building completely.
Mr Whelan said the donation, which came in late March, was enough paint for the entire station.
“They provided everything we asked for,” he said.
“It’s great, for the support of the many, many thousands and thousands of hours that the volunteers have put in, building the station.
“It’s great to have such high quality paint, and really to just finish off what is some of the highest quality restoration work I’ve seen.”
Getting the right colours for the station required analysing the paint from timber from the old station building, and looking at the colours that had been painted on since the station was built.
“Then, it was a matter of going through those paints and matching the colours, so we could get an exact colour match to what the station would have looked like around 100 years ago,” Mr Whelan said.
The paints on the outside of the building feature whites, cream and a “dark burgundy” colour, and Mr
Whelan said the painting was expected to be finished in the coming weeks.
He said that, without the paint donation, the railway would have had to purchase paint with donated or fund-raised money.
The interior of the station will have more modern features, and the line is set to open in 2017.
