6 June 2021
Time to Make Tracks: The renewal of sleepers in the yard is gaining momentum, and it’s a case of “We Need You” to get the job done. Elsewhere the gas and hot water supply is slowly making its way into the station, and our museum exhibition operations are gathering pace with our new point-of-sale system fitted to the Booking Office and the commencement of installing exhibits in our display cases.
Another 120 sleepers have been laid out in the Cooma yard in preparation for insertion under the track, and there are more to be installed. We are calling for more volunteers to help us with this work, which is essential for getting our rolling stock rolling again. Please contact secretary@cmrailway.org.au to register your interest for a dose of healthy exercise and an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the community!
We also need to buy more sleepers, and we will soon announce our new “Sponsor a Sleeper” drive to keep our future rail operations on-track to success. We expect that the cost per sleeper will be $100 each, which includes the sleeper, delivery, and fastenings, and is on-par with other Australian heritage railway sleeper drives. Those making donations will receive a tax-deductable receipt and an amazing amount of thanks from CMR.
Keeping on with the track work theme, our mid-week volunteers took some time to begin the removal of earth from around the yard points mechanisms, in preparation for inspection and routine servicing/maintenance. Meanwhile, at the strategic end of the scale, Stuart our Safety Manager has completed 20 of the 30 elements needed to create our Safety Management System, which is a pre-requisite for regaining our railway operations accreditation. So, between the track and our safety systems, you know we are getting serious about getting trains running again.
Over at the station, Top to Bottom Plumbing (Darren and his team) and Dietrich Plumbing (Wayne & Matt) were onsite to commence the installation of the gas supply line from the road up to the station building. Wayne and Matt also roughed-in the new hot water lines in the staff room and mounted the new instantaneous gas hot water system.
This coming week will see the completion of the hot water service and the installation of the gas heaters in the station rooms. To assist with the gas heater installation, Chris and Matt from Modern Voltage Electrical & Solar, were onsite to install the electrical isolation switches required for the heaters, which is a tricky piece of work considering the heritage building materials and fireplace design used in the station building.
CMR has also taken delivery of our new Square POS (Point-of-Sale) system. We took the time on Saturday to set it up and add our merchandise into the system so it is ready for us to sell our wares at the markets and for when we can pair this with our website and open the museum. The POS is essential for opening the exhibition component of the museum, and we are pleased to say we have commenced filling our first exhibition case in the restored station rooms so we can open our doors to the public.
Finally, as we reach the end of the financial year, it is time to renew (or commence) your annual CMR Membership. Renewal forms and initial application forms with payment details can be downloaded at cmrailway.org.au/join
Don’t forget, our next Fresh Produce Markets on Sunday, 13 June between 9am and 1pm – these markets will also see our Winter Wood Raffle drawn – tickets are available in many places around Cooma, which we gratefully thank owners of these establishments for supporting CMR – (markets are held on the second Sunday of each month), please email CMR at secretary@cmrailway.org.au if you would like to volunteer to help create our museum and heritage rail operations or assist with our fresh produce markets. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated!