Museum group’s efforts derailed
A GROUP of ageing heritage railway volunteers say Queensland Rail and Townsville City Council are giving them a “raw deal” over longheld plans for a railway museum.
The group, which has worked to collect and maintain railway memorabilia for 24 years, is being told to vacate a Stuart depot where their collection is held.
One of the volunteers, Jack Hutton, 90, said they had been told the depot’s locks would be changed and the water and power cut off.
“We think we are getting a raw deal after all these years,” Mr Hutton said. “We think the council should be giving preference for a museum.
“Most of us are railway men from Townsville. We have worked on this every Monday for the last 24 years.”
Tonnes of gear has been assembled, first at Townsville’s former North Rail Yards in Flinders St, where the group was initially based, and then at the Stuart depot, where they have been for the past 10 years. The collection includes a railway ambulance, blacksmith forges and tools, railway cars and trikes, and signal lamps.
Queensland Rail wrote to the group in August to say the volunteer program was being “discontinued” and it would help move the collection to Herberton.
CEO Nick Easy said QR had identified safety concerns with the program at Townsville, Ipswich and Rockhampton, while the Stuart depot had also been identified for future stabling needs.
“As a result, Queensland Rail made a decision to discontinue the heritage volunteer program across the three locations,” Mr Easy said.
Queensland Rail had liaised with several groups to investigate alternative locations for the volunteers and would continue to do so, he said.
“While we sincerely regret any disappointment this decision has caused, the safety of our network is our utmost priority,” Mr Easy said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Les Walker said the council planned for the North Rail Yards to become the Townsville Technology Precinct focused software development and not a railway museum.
The volume of the group’s collection was immense and their reluctance to see it broken up or taken out of town had reduced their options.
But Mr Hutton said they believed Townsville, and not Herberton, should have the museum.
Another volunteer, Lewis Stragalas, asked: “Why can’t we have a museum?”