Victorian Railways - Terminal stop Board - End of electrification sign This ‘star’ sign signified that beyond this object there was no further powered overhead to operate on the Melbourne suburban rail network.Historic - Victorian Railways - Terminal stop Board - End of electrification signRailway Sign - Victorian Railways - Terminal stop Board - End of electrification sign metal star shaped enamel sign with Black dot in centreBlack Dotpuffing billy, victorian railways, terminal stop board, end of electrification sign

In 1879, James Griffiths established one of Australia’s first tea and coffee distribution companies at 30 Flinders St, Melbourne, which is now, occupied by the boutique Lindrum Hotel. Established with his brother John, recent immigrants from England, Griffiths occupied the highest position in the commercial world during their many years as distributors of tea, coffee, cocoa and other products throughout Victoria and Australia. The Griffiths brand was a guarantee for quality of product and service as it still is today. This extensive service was provided to customers via horse drawn carts serviced by rail from Melbourne. As a spirited entrepreneur, Griffiths made his company a household name through his pioneering use of outdoor advertising by installing the infamous blue and white enamel “Griffiths Tea” promotional signs affixed to the railway boundary fences highlighting to travellers the distance to or from Melbourne, indicating so many “— miles to Griffiths Tea”. These signs, much sought after today, were well known through out the eastern states. Photographs have been published of a sign erected by a Digger in France during the First World War with the words “1100 miles to Griffiths Bros”. Tragically, James and his wife Emily with friends died in a level rail crossing accident at Bayswater in 1925. Despite this unfortunate accident, Griffiths and its culture of innovation has survived as one of the few 100% Australian owned coffee roasters, with only three owners in 128 years. http://www.griffithscoffee.com.au/about-us/back-to-1879/ Sign - Advertising - Griffiths Tea Sign - 30 MilesHistoric - Sign - Advertising - Griffiths Tea Sign - used along side of Victorian Railway lines and at StationsSign - Advertising - Griffiths Tea Sign - 30 Miles Griffiths Tea sign made of Enamel paint on metal sign30 Miles to Griffiths Tea Sign puffing billy, sign - advertising - griffiths tea sign - 30 miles

Station Sign - Entrance Tickets A sign from the early days of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society era, to advise where the entrance was to obtain tickets for travel on Puffing Billy. Historic - Puffing Billy Railway Station Sign from the early days of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society era. Used to advise where the entrance was to obtain tickets for travel on Puffing Billy. Station Sign - Entrance Tickets wooden brown with yellow lettering painted signEntrance Ticketspuffing billy, station sign

Coxhead Tools Pullers Historic - Industrial - Advertising Sign - Coxhead toolsSign - Advertising - Coxhead Tools Pullers made of paint on sheet metalTools Coxhead Pullers The Head of Qualitycoxhead tools pullers, puffing billy, sign - advertising - coxhead tools pullers

Station Sign - Puffing Billy Direction Trains At Menzies Creek, a Puffing Billy train has had to pass another train since 1966, due to a single line in operation from Belgrave or Emerald / Lakeside / Cockatoo / Gembrook to enable more trains to operate. When two trains passed at Menzies Creek, to assist passengers to travel on the correct train, this sign was erected. The arrows pointed towards the direction of travel as well as the locomotive that was hauling the train. This sign dates from 1975 when the line was re-opened to Lakeside. Historic - Puffing Billy Railway - Station Sign used at Menzies Creek to show next station directionStation Sign - Puffing Billy Direction Trains to Belgrave - Emerald & Lakeside Large rectangle wooden sign Puffing Billy Trains to BELGRAVE Trains to EMERALD & LAKESIDEpuffing billy, menzies creek, station sign

Station Clock plaque - Ballarat Station This plaque is dedicated to the late Eric Quinlan who rescued the nearby clock (Item 000180) from the Parcels Office at the Victorian Railways Ballarat railway station. Historic - plaque for Station Clock - Ballarat Station - which was used in the Parcels Office at the Victorian Railways Ballarat railway stationStation Clock plaque - Ballarat Station small wooden Plaque Sign with engraved lettersThis historic railway clock , originally installed in the Parcels Office at Ballarat Station is from the estate of the late Eric Quinlan an enthusiastic supporter of railway preservation and long- time member of Puffing Billy Preservation Society Donated by his close friend , Peter Ralph , 1998 puffing billy, station clock, plaque, ballarat station

This historic railway clock , originally installed in the Parcels Office at Ballarat Station Station Clock - Ballarat Station A Victorian Railways Station clock that was located in the Parcels Office at Ballarat. In the 19th Century, time was not seen as an urgent requirement to be somewhere or do something. There was sun up and sun down. A number of towns in Victoria operated on different times to other towns in the state. With the coming of the railways in Victoria from 1854, time became more important not only from the public side, but from a railway operational safety side. Clocks started appearing at railway stations, sometimes showing a different (standard) time to that of the local town. Eventually all of Victoria was bought into the same time zone, which matched the railway standard. Historic - Station Clock - Ballarat Station - which was used in the Parcels Office at the Victorian Railways Ballarat railway stationStation Clock - Ballarat Station Parcels Office Clock Antique timber cased railway clock. Circular face with Roman numerals. By Foster of London, with numbered brass plaque '631'. Single barrel fusee movement. Foster London 631 puffing billy, ballarat station, station clock

Historic - Industrial - Timber Mill Saw BladesHistoric - Industrial - Timber Mill Saw BladesTimber Mill - Packet of Round Saw Blades made of steelHandle with Care A MSS Product 551 771 MI Melbourne Saw Manufacturing Co. PTY 107 Northern Rd West Heidelberg Vic. Ph 45-4133 puffing billy, timber mill saw blades, melbourne saw manufacturing co.

Historic - Farming - Track tool - Garden ScytheHistoric - Farming - Track tool - Garden ScytheGarden Scythe made of wrought Iron with wooden handle puffing billy, garden scythe

Engine (power producing equipment) A single cylinder Blackham stationary engine. This engine required steam from a separate boiler to operate. Maker : W.H Blackham King Street, Melbourne, Victoria c. 1900 Historic - Industrial - Single cylinder Stationary engine - W. H. Blackham - Kings St. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia A single cylinder Blackham stationary engine. - Made from Iron, wrought Iron & brassW.H Blackham King st. Melbournepuffing billy, blackham, single cylinder stationary engine

Hand made metal bucket with spout leade soldered Bucket marked “ 10 - Not for Mineraleol” Metal bucket with spout 10 - Not for Mineraleolpuffing billy, metal bucket with funnel, tinsmith

Historic - Puffing Billy Railway Locomotive Head Board used on Young Volunteers Operating Days Historic - Puffing Billy Railway Locomotive Head Board used on Young Volunteers Operating Days Locomotive Head Board - Puffing Billy Railway - Young Volunteers Operating Day tin sign with Black vinyl letteringYoung Volunteers Operating Day Puffing Billy Railway puffing billy, young vounteers day, head board

Historic - Victorian Railways - Warning Notice Sign Before turning vehicles from Mainline to Yard. Historic - Victorian Railways - Warning Notice Sign Sign - Railway Warning Notice wooden Notice Sign with white background and black lettering Before turning vehicles from Mainline to Yard. ??????? ( rest is very hard to read ) puffing billy, railway sign, victorian railways, warning notice

Detonator (DET) An explosive device (not shown) is placed on the rail line and triggered by wheel pressure—used to warn of hazards aheadHistoric - Victorian Railways - Detonator (DET) Boxred box - DETS 7A Made of metal sheetDETS 7Apuffing billy, detonator (det) box

Historic - early period - Puffing Billy Railway Museum Sign Historic - early Puffing Billy Railway Museum Sign Puffing Billy Museum Entry Sign Large painted metal Puffing Billy Museum Entry Signpuffing billy, entry sign, puffing billy museum

Electric staff - Electric staff instruments The staff and ticket system was still too inflexible for busy lines, as it did not allow for the situation where the train intended to carry the actual token was cancelled or running very late. To provide for this, the electric train token system was developed. Each single-line section is provided with a pair of token instruments, one at the signal box at each end. A supply of identical tokens is stored in the instruments, which are connected by telegraph lines. A Staff can be removed from one instrument only if both signalmen co-operate in agreeing to the release. Once a Staff has been removed, another cannot be removed until the token which is "out" is replaced in either instrument. (There are variations on this sequence of events.) By this means, it can be ensured that at any one time, only one token is available to be issued to a driver. Staff belonging to adjacent sections have different configurations to prevent them being inserted into the wrong instrument. Nevertheless, in the Abermule train collision in 1921 and lax working procedures allowed the safeguards provided by the electric Staff system to be circumvented; a driver was handed a Staff for the wrong section, and without reading the information listed on the staff, proceeded on the mistaken belief that the Staff was correct. To prevent this, it became a requirement in the UK for the signals controlling entry to the single line section (starting or section signals) to be locked at danger unless a token has been released from the relevant Staff instrument. Historic - Victorian Railways Electric Staff Instrument Electric Staff Instrument made of Iron , Brass and Glasspuffing billy, electric staff instrument, victorian railways

Porters Luggage Trolley - large red one Used for transporting luggage and other items on a railway platforms by porters and other station staff.Historic - Victorian Railways - Station Porters platform Luggage Trolley Large Porters Trolley - made of wood and steelpuffing billy, victorian railways, porter, luggage, hand trolley

Station Porters platform Luggage Trolley - two smaller unpainted ones Historic - Victorian Railways - Station Porters platform Luggage TrolleyStation Porters platform Luggage Trolley - two smaller unpainted ones - made of wood and wrought ironstation porters platform luggage trolley, puffing billy, victorian railways

During prestige, long distance train journeys some carriages had air-conditioning, and the majority of passengers had to brave unheated carriages. To offer some comfort during the winter months, the non-air-conditioned carriages were provided with footwarmers. These were metal containers roughly 100 mm thick and 300 mm wide, and about 750 mm long, which were filled with salt crystals (concentrated crystalline hydrated sodium acetate). The footwarmers were covered by sleeves of thick canvas, and two footwarmers were usually placed in each compartment of non-air-conditioned carriages. To activate the chemicals, the footwarmers were heated almost to boiling point. This was done by removing the canvas sleeves and placing the footwarmers in a large bath of very hot water. After they had been heated, they were removed from the bath and the sleeves refitted. They were then ready to be placed in the carriages. The McLaren patent foot warmer was used on railways in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia as well as South Africa and New Zealand. It was during the 1901 royal visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall that these foot warmers were first used in New Zealand in the royal carriage. Before railway carriage heating was introduced, McLaren patent foot warmers were placed on the floor of New South Wales government railway carriages from 1891 to provide a little passenger comfort. The rectangular steel container worked a bit like a hot water bottle but instead of water contained six and a half kilograms of loosely-packed salt crystals, (concentrated crystalline hydrated sodium acetate). This was permanently sealed inside the container with a soldered cap. After the foot warmer was heated in vat of boiling water for about one and a quarter hours the crystals became a hot liquid. (The melting point for sodium acetate is 58 degrees). There was a whole infrastructure of special furnaces set up at stations for the daily heating of foot warmers. By 1914 the Victorian railways had 4,000 foot warmers in service and by 1935 there were 33 furnaces at principal stations to heat them. After about 10 hours the container was picked up by the handle and given a good vertical shake which helped the cooled liquid reform into a solid mass of hot crystals. Staff or sometimes passengers shook them en route when the foot warmers began to get cold. However, as they were heavy this was only possible by fit and agile passengers. At the end of the journey the containers were boiled again for reuse on the next trip. Sodium acetate railway foot warmers were introduced in Victoria in 1889, Adelaide to Melbourne express in 1899. "Shaking up" on this service took place at Murray Bridge and Stawell on the tip to Melbourne and at Ballarat and Serviceton on the trip to Adelaide. The use of foot warmers began to decline in New South Wales from the 1930s with the first trial of carriage air-conditioning in 1936, steam heating from 1948 ad LP gas heating from 1961. By the early 1960s the main services using foot warmers were the overnight mail trains. info from : http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=67564#ixzz4UBNzVf6t Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial There was a whole infrastructure set up at stations for the daily heating of foot warmers in special furnaces. In Victoria alone in 1935 there were 33 heating works.Historic - Victorian Railways - Carriage Heater - Foot warmerA rectangular-shaped stainless steel casing with a welded seam down the back and welded ends. There is a handle at one end for carrying and shaking. Inside the foot warmer are two baffle plates and three trays to contain the sodium acetate. There was a cast-iron ball in each internal compartment. puffing billy, victorian railways, carriage haeter, foot warmer, passenger comfort, station furnace, railway ephemera, early heating methods

Blacksmith grinding wheel - stone is original but stand has been made by Puffing Billy Museum volunteers stand scrapped - damaged - Feb 2018Historic -Industrial Tool - Grinding wheel Blacksmith grinding wheel - stone is original but stand has been made by Puffing Billy Museum volunteers Wheel made of stone and wrought ironblacksmith grinding wheel, puffing billy

Ganger's Trolly Turntable When a railway gangers trolly was working between railway stations, occasionally it was required for the line to be clear for trains to operate. Many trollys were too heavy to physically lift off the track, so a turntable was needed. These were provided at designated locations, and in some cases the trolly had a turntable on board. The turntable would be placed on the rails and the trolley driven onto it. The turntable would then be rotated 90 degrees by human power and the trolley pushed off on to a prepared set of rails on the side of the line. The turntable would then be removed from the track allowing trains to run through that section. The gang could then get on with the work required near that location. Historic - Railway Permanent Way and Works - track equipment - Ganger's Trolly TurntableGanger's Trolly Turntable made of wood with wrought iron fittings puffing billy, ganger's trolley turntable, trolley, trolly

Munro Engineers Pty Ltd, Handilift Stacker & Loader' The Land on which the Menzies Creek railway station and Museum are built on was once apart of James Hermon's & his son William Hermon's property on which this Munro Handilift Stacker & Loader was used. Historic -Industrial Tool - Handilift Stacker & Loader - used on Jame's Hermon's property on which the Menzies Creek Railway is built on Munro Engineers Pty Ltd, Handilift Stacker & Loader made of steel and wood and wrought ironMunro Engineers Pty ( symbol map of Australia ) Ltd, Ballarat Vic. On side - No. 3147 On wheel - no, 2052puffing billy, munro engineers, handilift stacker & loader, hermon, menzies creek

Train Instrument transportation Box used for the transporting of Flaman Speed Indicator and Recorder to the repair workshops The Flaman Speed Indicator and Recorder was a device patented in 1901 by Nicolas Charles Eugène Flaman of France for indicating the current speed of a vehicle (for example a railway locomotive) and recording it on a paper tape that could be unrolled and examined at the end of a run to provide evidence of the speeds attained on the journey. Design features: The paper tape recording was driven directly by the wheels of the locomotive, with the paper spool moving at a fixed rate per kilometre travelled. Three graphs were recorded, the first being time elapsed (with the trace moving vertically if the train was stationary), the second being a speed curve. and the third recording the driver's attentiveness to signals ("Vigilance") by marking one tick above a line when the driver depressed a button, and another below the line when the engine went over the signal ramp. Data recorded: Read together, it was possible to determine exactly what speed the locomotive had been travelling at any point in time or distance. As well as allowing study of locomotive performance, it also allowed greater scrutiny of the observance of the driver of speed restrictions along the line and attentiveness to signals. It was practice on some railways such as the Victorian Railways in Australia for the driver to sign the speed chart prior to departure.Historic - Victorian Railways - Train Instrument transportation Box for the transporting of Flaman Speed Indicator and Recorder to the repair workshopsLarge wooden box with wrought iron fittings, painted black with white lettering on side panels. RETURN TO / TOOL ROOM / NEWPORTpuffing billy, train instrument transportation box, victorian railways, flaman speed indicator and recorder

1 NBC Toilet Roll Holder Toilet roll holder that was located in 1 NBC when obtained in the 1990s Carriage 1 NBC was built 4/ 2/1899 NWS Built new at Newport Workshops Historic - Victorian Railways - Carriage Toilet Roll Holder from 1 NBC carriage1 NBC Toilet Roll Holder made of cast wrought iron puffing billy, 1 nbc toilet roll holder

These leather soled shoes were used by railway workers undertaking work on overhead electrical cables and HV boxes. Known as "slippers" they were provided just inside explosives vans and worn to stop metal protectors on shoes scraping across metal floor and possibly causing a spark and a explosion. info from Syd Coles : on Explosives Slippers Beaufort station used to get a explosive wagon with drums of gelignite regularly slipper type shoes were in a little box built into the inside wall of the wagon....A Special powdervan key was sent from H/OFFICE as a VALUE which each person handling it had to sign for it.....It would arrive on the early down Passenger Train ex Melbourne...then the "P" wagon was unloaded....Prior to the wagon leaving a Railway Internal telegram was sent to the SM @Beaufort giving the wagon number...consignee (owners of dynamite) contents and the KEY number which would be sent....When all unloaded the KEY sent back as a VALUE...a Internal telegram sent as to KEY number and train it was despatched on....fair bit of security.but couldn't afford to lose a KEY as they fitted all the LOCKS used on the EXPLOSIVE "P" wagons whatever Stations they went to.Historic - Victorian Railways - leather soled shoesLeather soled slip-on shoes, with single strap across bridge of foot and featuring stitchwork along edges.VR & arrow symbolpuffing billy, victorian railways, leather soled shoes, railway slippers, explosives, worker safety, linesmen

Staff exchanger hoop - Leather Bakelite and wooden prop staff. The hoop held the 'Staff’ giving authority for a locomotive or rail vehicle permission to travel over a specified section of track. The display shows the hand held type used from person to person. Hand held staffs were exchanged at low speeds or stationary. Automatic staff exchangers were also in use when a vehicle was not required to travel at low speed to exchange the staffs and were used by express trains. To exchange the 'Staff’ from the platform or signal box to the locomotive driver, the hoop was held up in the air by the person, and collected by the Drivers arm. The reverse occurred when the staff was being given by the Driver. Both exchanges may occur where one section of line ends and another commences.Historic - Railways - Staff exchanger hoop - used for person to person exchanging.Staff exchanger hoop made of Leather Bakelite and wooden prop staffpuffing billy, staff exchanger hoop

Train Sand Bucket The Train Sand Bucket was usually carried in the guards van of a train and was used to sand the rails when required to provide traction for the locomotive to haul its load up steep grades.Historic - Railways - Train Sand BucketTrain Sand Bucket made of metal puffing billy, train sand bucket

Railway Ticket Dater Edmundson Ticket Dater, made in Britain. Complete with type. Circa 1920 THE TICKET DATING PRESS At the heart of the booking office is the ticket dating press. This is used to print or impress the date on the ticket so validating it for use. These machines were developed by the Edmondson Company in the 19th century and Waterlow also produced similar machines. Even the smallest station had one and larger stations often had dozens. The most common variety in the UK printed the date on the ticket by using printers' type and an inked ribbon. Another variety impressed the date of the ticket with special sharp type. This was specially useful in hot climates where the ink dried out very quickly and also had the advantage of avoiding the use of the ribbon and the need to re-wind and re-ink it. Historic - Railways - Ticket Dater Railway Ticket Dater made of Steel and black inked ribbon puffing billy, ticket dater press, railway ticket dater

Guards Hand Lamp - Tri Colour Harvey, Shaw & Drake 1913 Gills Alley is located between Queen and Elizabeth streets, extending north to a dead-end from Little Collins Street. In 1895, Gills Alley extended through from Little Collins Street to Bourke Street. The Saracen's Head Hotel was located on the corner of Gills Alley and Bourke Street. By 1920, however, the north end of the lane had been closed off, leaving the sole entrance to the lane on Little Collins Street. Gills Alley was at this time the location of several warehouses, showrooms and factories belonging to the Harvey, Shaw and Drake Company.Guards Hand Lamp - Tri Colour Harvey, Shaw & Drake 1913 used by the victorian railwaysTri Colour Harvey, Shaw & Drake 1913 guards hand lamp Made of Metal , brass and glassTri Colour Harvey, Shaw & Drake 1913 puffing billy, guards hand lamp, harvey, shaw and drake company, tinsmith

Guards Hand Lamp - Tri Colour Historic - Railways - Guards Hand Lamp - Tri Colour Guards Hand Lamp - Tri Colour made of tinpuffing billy, guards hand lamp - tri colour