B/W. 168mm x 246mm. Colac - Beech Forest railway line. From the 27 mile 16 chains line (44.7 km) looking north, between Devitt Bros. Siding (44.1 km) and Ditchley (47 km). On an NA-class locomotive, six NQR wagons, and an open wagon there are workmen throughout. colac; beech forest; railways; devitt bros. siding; ditchley; loco na class

Locomotive 8A, rolling stock, gangers and passengers, somewhere between Gellibrand and Beech Forest.beech forest; gellibrand; railway; loco 8a;

Locomotive 5A, driver and eight workmen looking at camera.colac; beech forest; railway; loco 5a;

G41 derailed at Crowes at "The Black Stump" on 7 July 1942, with Con Duggan, G. Newland and Frank Woosnan observing.. G41 over "The Black Stump" at Crowes, 7 July 1942.crowes; g41; derailment; con duggan; frank woosnan; g. newland; colac;

At 10 mile creek (Water Tanks) during the building of the Colac-Beech Forest railway in 1900.colac; beech forest; railway; 10 mile creek; water tanks;

Lavers Hill. UP goods shunting siding, 9 December 1954. Red Bedford truck in backgroung. Colour.colac; beech forest; crowes; lavers hill; railway; shunting;

Several "Kanyana Special"s ran from Beech Forest to Colac in the late 1950s to the early 1960s. This photograph of the locomotive G41 and carriages was taken in Beech Forest on 1 March 1959. In the background the Anglicn Church and the Otway Shire Hall and residence are shown.Beech Forest. "Kanyana Special" departing. 1 March 1959. Anglican Church and house, Otway Shire Hall and residence in background. Colour.colac; beech forest; "kanyana special"; anglican church; otway shire hall; locomotive g41;

A ganger, Frank Woosman, is digging ballast near a railway gangers' trolley.Out on the track. Colac-Beech Forest-Crowes Railway. c.1940colac; beech forest; crowes; frank woosman; gangers' trolley; railway;

Locomotive 8A, two freight cars, a passenger car and a guard's van leave Crowes Station for Beech Forest. Crowes Station consists of a two-layered station building, a goods shed and a toilet at a three-line terminus.Crowes Station soon after opening in 1912 with Locomotive 8A about to depart for Beech Forest and Colac.crowes; station; railway; locomotive;

Beech Forest. Narrow gauge locomotive No.5A, 1902. Seven men (unknown), five on train, two on ground.beech forest; locomotive no.5a; railway; narrow gauge;

Gangers on an 5A-class 2-6-2T steam locomotive with goods wagons, and as well as men standing beside the train, at Beech Forest station during construction, c.1902.Beech Forest station during construction of the line, c.1902. gangers; na-class locomotive; beech forest;

Leaving Colac the narrow gauge train goes through Tulloh. Coram, Barongarook, Kawarren, Lovat, Gellibrand, Banool, Wimba, McDevitt, Weeaproinah, Devitt Bros., and Ditchley before it reaches Beech Forest, and vice versa. The distance in miles, the height above sea level and the timing from the starting point is given. Note that Weeaproinah W NC changed its name to Dinmont when the Crowes line extension is built. Colac-Beech Forest timetable for May, 1911 showing the DOWN train from Colac to Beech Forest, and the UP train from Beech Forest to Colac plus annotations.colac; melbourne; tulloh; coram; barongarook; kawarren; lovat; gellibrand; banool; wimba; mcdevitt; weeaproinah; devitt bros.; ditchley; beech forest; railway; timetable;

On Tuesday, 4 October 1904, the first serious railway accident occurred on the Colac-Beech Forest line near Beech Forest. As no train was scheduled that day in the afternoon the crew decided to fetch some wood from down the line. They fired the boiler on locomotive 3A, attached two trucks to the locomotive and moved out of the station. When they arrived opposite the Ditchley Park Hotel they stopped the engine and adjourned to the bar for some refreshments before beginning work. While they were engaged some local children boarded the unattended engine, started it, panicked when it began moving and jumped out leaving in to speed away and tip on a curve in a cutting at Ditchley. The engine was severely damaged. However, its cause remained an Otways secret. The official reason given for the accident is that the driver had fallen out of the engine while engaged in shunting allowing it to run away out of control.Locomotive No. 3A and goods wagons following their derailment at Beech Forest, 4 October 1904.beech forest; railways; narrow gauge; derailment;

The last train to Beech Forest ran on 30 June 1962, between Banool and Wimba. The train had a particularly motley look with 180 passengers loaded into NU goods vans and the old NQ wagons hastily fitted out with temporary seats and tarpaulin roofing. The train was hauled by the G42 locomotive kept alive through patch-up repairs and cannibalised G41 parts, steam escaping from every joint.Last train to Beech Forest, 30 June 1962.beech forest; trains; railways;

A four-wheeled, two-horse buggy and, further along, two men standing on a railway embankment before laying the track, near McDevitt in 1901A horseshoe curve near McDevitt during the course of construction of the Beech Forest railway, 1901.beech forest; mcdevitt; embankment; railway;

Gellibrand station was one of the larger and more important stations possessing a waiting room, station office, parcels shed and refreshment room joined by a common verandah. The refreshment room was managed for many years by Mrs. O'Neill who, with her staff, around 1920, offered a hot meal for one shilling. In the afternoon, a "cuppa and rock cakes" was available to passengers on the train to Colac. Other patrons were workers from the various establishments in the railway yard.Gellibrand Station Master and Refreshment Room staff, plus two men, under the verandah of the Refreshment Rooms, in front of two railway lines.gellibrand; railways; refreshments; mrs. o'neill;

At its peak the Beech Forest railway employed more than 21 staff between Colac and Crowes. Gangers (men in charge of the track gangs) tended to be promoted into the Otways but many of their subordinate repairers were local recruits. A few of the men who worked in the original construction gangs of 1900-1902 remained and obtained positions in the track gangs along the line. The track was maintained by seven three-man gangs based at Colac, Barongarook, Gellibrand, Banool, Beech Forest (2), and Lavers Hill. However, track gangs lessened as the line shortened. After 1954, the sole surviving track gang, in charge of Paddy Balcombe, stayed until the line closed.A railway track gang, with helper, trolleying to a work site, on 14 December, 1955.beech forest; railways; track gang;

At its peak the Beech Forest railway employed more than 21 people between Colac and Crowes tending the line the trains ran over. The gangers (the men in charge of the track gangs) tended to be promoted into the Otways but many of their subordinate repairers were local recruits. A few of the men who worked on the original construction gangs of 1900-1902 remained and obtained positions in the track gangs along the line. The track was maintained by seven three-man gangs based at Colac, Barongarook, Gellibrand, Banool, Beech Forest (2), and Lavers Hill. The ganger for Beech Forest 2 gang resided at Wyelangta. However, the track gangs lessened as the line shortened. Three men with spades on the line, thought to be at Barongarook, c.1925. B/W.barongarook; railways; track gangs;

The Beech Forest railway carried very heavy loading, mostly consisting of timber, but also potatoes, lime, gravel, chaff and dairy produce. Livestock was carried and, while no dedicated passenger service operated "car-goods" ran on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday plus occasional passenger specials. However, despite the high tonnage heavy financial losses were experienced, due partly to the small amount of inbound goods and the high empty wagon mileage. Annual losses by 1915 were up to L8,000, and these were only exacerbated by increased traffic.B/W. Beech Forest Railway Station, guard's van, carriages and wagons on the right, and wagons loading with timber on the left. c.1915.beech forest; railways; station;

Victorian Railways repairers with their NKS motor trolley outside the gang sheds at Beech Forest, Wednesday, 24 March 1954. beech forest; victorian railways; repairers; motor trolley; gang shed;

Beech Forest railway yards, 1907. Passenger carriage; good's van; boy (half hidden; NQ goods wagon; stacks of timber awaiting loading.beech forest; railway; yard; passenger car; timber; goods wagon;

Carriage and half-loaded goods wagon behind a flat railway wagon, all in front of the station building, Beech Forest, 1908.beech forest; passenger car; goods wagon;

A DOWN goods train consisting of a G42 locomotive, a louvre van, two NQ trucks and a guard's van awaits departure from Gellibrand. Three youths are seated in the doorway of the guard' van. On the near track further NQ trucks are parked. A water tank appears in the distance.A DOWN goods train with locomotive G42 awaits departure time from Gellibrand on 14 December 1955. B/W.gellibrand; railways; locomotive g42; louvre van; nq trucks; guard's van; water tank;

With the approval of the railways, in February1959 a special tourist train was organized by the Australian Railways Historical Society in conjunction with the "Kanyana: Festival Committee of Colac, Victoria, to run from Colac to Beech Forest. Eight NBH carriages, in store at Newport, were transferred to Colac. The train proved to be so popular that additional trains were later run over the next two years until the temporarily disused Puffing Billy needed the NBH carriages returned.Locomotive G42, labelled "A.R.H.S., Special Excursion, Kanyana", with a guard's van, eight NBH excursion carriages and an additonal guard's van attached, stands at Gellibrand Station with a large group of passengers milling outside the train. Note on the left a group of domestic railway dwellings, and, on the right side, two empty wagons. B/W.beech forest; colac; railways; a.r.h.s.; kanyana festival committee;

Snow at Beech Forest, taken before 1910 approximately from Ditchley around to the train yards at Beech Forest. B/W. beech forest; snow; ditchley;

Locomotive G41 on a trestle bridge at Colac Station with two enginemen. Another G class locomotive sits in the background. B/W.colac; beech forest; railway; locomotive g41;

On the Colac-Beech Forest-Crowes railway line the section from Ferguson to Crowes was closed in December 1954, but reopened as far as Weeaproinah in January 1955. The section to Crowes, left to its own devices, was rapidly covered with vegetation which had to be cleared when rail recovery trains later ran. The track to Crowes was pulled up in 1961. Crowes track being dismantled at the ashpit ready for loading into NQR wagons. colac; beech forest; crowes: railway;

Railway bridge over the Gellibrand River, 1902. Note the people on the roadway bridge in the top left corner. B/W.colac; beech forest; gellibrand; railway;

Drivers were highly skilled enginemen. Taking a train from Beech Forest to down to Gellibrand required the train to be controlled at 10 mph (16 km) without running out of air. When a brake application was made the brakes on the locomotive were applied harder than the train brakes. The brakes locked up and the engine would just slide along. Drivers used a retention valve on the loco, then released the loco brakes so as not to wear out the brake shoes. So the train pulled into Gellibrand ready to pull out again after refilling the loco with water.At Gellibrand, a Down goods train is about to depart the station on 14 December 1955. The train consists of the locomotive G42, a louvre van NO, two NQ wagons and a guard's or brake van NC. B/W.gellibrand; colac; beech forest; railway;

At its peak the Colac-Beech Forest-Crowes railway employed more than 21 staff tending the lines that the trains ran over. Gangers (the men in charge of the track gangs) tended to be promoted into the Otways but many of their subordinate repairers were local recruits. A few of the men who worked on the original construction gangs of 1900-02 remained and obtained positions in the track gangs along the line, but these eased out over time. The track was maintained by seven three-man gangs based at Colac, Barongarook, Gellibrand, Banool, Beech Forest (where the second Beech Forest crew was based at Wyelangta), and Lavers Hill.Track gang on an NK wagon at Beech Forest, c.1940. Snow covers the ground. B/W.colac; beech forest; crowes; railway; track gangs;