By Jed Lanyon
The Yarra Valley Railway (YVR) welcomed a 90-year-old railmotor (RM55) to Healesville in August.
“It was built by the Victorian Railways in the 1920s for use on branch lines like the Healesville line, so this is more like a homecoming for this piece of Victoria’s transport heritage,” YVR president Brett Whelan said.
The RM55 was transported from Korumburra to Healesville Railway Station, where it was safely transferred to the Healesville yard rails and shunted into the YVR workshops, where it will undergo restoration before entering passenger service.
The diesel electric railmotor (DERM) is expected to be up and running by next year and will allow for Saturday and Sunday fares along the Yarra Valley Railway.
“Work behind the scenes has been ongoing for several months to gain all required permissions and approvals for the transport of such a large item of rolling stock,“ Mr Whelan said.
The railway project is now entering the next phase of its development, with nine kilometres of tracks to be laid along the tourist journey between Yarra Glen and Healesville.
The YVR project is run solely by volunteers who are undertaking the largest volunteer infrastructure project in Australia.
For more information about the railway, visit www.yvr.org.au.
