Melbourne (Australia)

[joe cassidy]

Hi All, Especially you Ozzies.

Next weekend I'm going to Melbourne for a few days.

Is there anything railway-related to see there, i.e. railway museum, grand Victorian terminus station ?

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,


Joe

[70000]

The rail museum is out at North Williamstown - which I assume is still served by one of the local passenger train services.  Haven't been to it since 1992, but their website is..
https://www.arhsvic.org.au/museum

The Puffing Billy narrow gauge railway out at Belgrave is another "must visit" place..
http://puffingbilly.com.au/en/

Flinders Street station in the City is worth a look, and there is a large tram system serving the metropolitan area as well.

[Webbo]

Hi Joe

It is early morning here in Australia, but I'll have a go with your question to kick things off. I've only visited Melbourne from time to time so my experience with railway things there is limited. No doubt Graham will be able to supply much more info when he wakes up.

Here are some notions that occur to me:

1. Flinders Street Station in downtown Melbourne is a cultural icon of the city besides being the busiest station in Australia. While there, it might be worth visiting Chloe in the Young and Jackson Hotel bar across the road from the station. Chloe is an 1875 painting of a scantily clad (zero) young lady and is another Melbourne icon.

2. Victoria has broad gauge railway track which is a legacy of colonial days when the railway system was designed by Great Western Railway engineers from Britain.

3. Melbourne has a modern and extensive suburban railway and tram systems that greatly facilitates getting around and would be worth going for a ride on. Brunel Hobbies is worth a visit, but it is located in the 'burbs. When I was last there I paid them a visit by taking the train from the city. So two birds with one stone if a visit to a model railway shop and a train ride is your thing.

4. The Puffing Billy is an excursion steam train. It is a bit of a distance from the city centre, but worth a go if you have the time.

I don't know anything about railway museums and marshalling yards etc. in Melbourne, but perhaps Graham or others can help with this. Dr. Google can provide details on all of this stuff if you are interested.

Webbo

[joe cassidy]

Thanks a lot 70000 and Webbo.

I'll definitely check out those places you mentioned.

I'm staying in the Windsor Hotel which I understand is like travelling back in time to before the war ?

Best regards,


Joe

[Bealman]

Having only been to Melbourne twice in all my years here, I'm certainly no expert, but I  do know that when I stopped in to see Chloe with two college mates a couple of years ago at 12 noon, we were still in the bar at 5 pm!! 

She's not behind the downstairs  bar any more, incidentally. You have to go upstairs to see her.

[JonHarbour]

I travel to Melbourne a lot for work, but I have to confess I have yet to meet Chloe.   

However, Puffing Billy isn't really that far (probably easier if you have a car though) and is absolutely worth a visit. The trams are a great way to get around and in the city centre are FREE.

Depending upon your time and mobility (and this isn't railway related), the penguins at Philip Island are a wonderful evening out.

[ozzie Bill.]

Hi Joe
are you interested in Vic Rail in particular, or just looking at "rail stuff"?
A coupe of reasonable model shops. This one  http://www.trainworld.com.au/  is right by a rails station so easy to get to.
There are a couple of clubs in Melb, I am not a member, but would you be interested in contacting them? I found the Vic N Scale Collective to be very approachable and helpful. Nice bunch of guys.
Otherwise there is Puffing Billy, which is great, really is, or there is also a short line on the Bellarine Peninsula which is "proper" scale, rather than narrow gauge.
How much time do you have, do you have a car, where are you based, what other interests? The fairy penguins are certainly a great evening out
BUT
if you have spare cash, a dining experience not to be missed is
http://tramrestaurant.com.au/
a restaurant on an old tram that takes you round the city whilst you dine. A terrific experience. The food is not bad but the overall experience is fun. These are old W class trams that have seen a few ,000,000 km's of service and have been beautifully restored. They run on the public transport system so the drivers are tram drivers who happen to drive diners rather than commuters.
Chloe is upstairs at Young and Jackson's, right opposite Flinders St station. The station is worth a visit for the rail architecture and the pub has cold beer. She's most alluring!

Cheers, Bill.

[Graham]

Hi Joe,
It would appear the replies to date have covered most of the things to see.
Flinders St station is pretty iconic and features in lots of tourism brochures etc. however it is in the middle of a facelift so not sure how much is covered in plastic at the moment, and of course Chloe is just across the road
The Williamstown railway museum is a good visit, and I believe you can get there easily by train from the city, just never done it.
The trams in the CBD are all free, however as ozzie Bill noted below a real treat is the restaurant tram, it has 3 runs, lunch, early evening and dinner.
Puffing Billy, if you are only travelling on the train, take the Belgrave line from any of the CBD circle stations (you are almost on top of Parliament station at the Windsor) it runs about every 1/2 hr and takes about 1hr, it is then a short walk from the Metro station to Puffing Billy station, depending on your available time you can take the train all the way to Gembrook (about 2hrs) and back again, there are a few nice cafes and a pub at Gembrook and the stop at Emerald Lake is normally long enough for you to see the model rail there. Belgrave also has lots of alternative cafes and pubs. (PS you will need a Miki card, available at any CBD station)
If you have your own car the Diamond Creek railway is a good 7" gauge railway to visit, and it also allows you to wander through the workshops.
Further afield there are a number of heritage rail lines about the state but you would need a whole day to visit them.
As for model shops there are a number around, but only one in the CBD which is Hearns and it is located under Flinders St station opposite Elizabeth St.

As for the Windsor, it is a lovely hotel, and one I would heartily recommend, as I like quirky hotels rather than the new cookie cutter ones I had to stay in for work.

cheers
Graham

[weave]

Hi all,

Have never been to Melbourne and will probably never go but am always interested in places people are going especially if railway related.

Anyway, have been doing a bit of Googling and no one has mentioned Southern Cross (Spencer Street) station. I might be wrong but looks more interesting for train varieties ie. national and local.

Just a thought and sort of question ie. is it? I do have a mate who emigrated there. Would be good to see him but need the Lottery win.

Also, had a look at Chloe. I can see why no one posted a pic or we'd all be arrested methinks.

Joe, have a great trip and pics please if you get to do any of the suggestions (not Chloe though )

Cheers weave 

[Graham]

Hi Joe,

Weave is correct Southern Cross is the main station for Melbourne where all regional and interstate trains terminate, however we only have 2 interstate trains and they don't run every day, one to Sydney and one to Adelaide. it is the other end of the CBD from the Windsor (1/2 hr walk or use the tram). Most of the regional trains are DMU's with the occasional loco hauled train. As for freight most terminate in the freight yards to the west of the city, not sure if you can get to them as have never tried.

cheers
Graham

[ozzie Bill.]

Not sure who owns the Windsor these days, but do not be side tracked by the "quirky" nature. It used to be an Oberoi and was devilish pricey and I think it has gone up market since then!
Southern Cross is very cool new architecture - does it compare to St. Pancras, hard to say as the ability to view it is hard. Busy urban station, but in reality it is mostly suburban spark with the occasional V-Locity heading to the satellite towns as Graham already commented.
Whatever happens, have a great trip and welcome to Aus.
Happy to provide you with emergency back up etc if you want/need. pm me for personal details if you want.

[70000]

As for freight most terminate in the freight yards to the west of the city, not sure if you can get to them as have never tried.

cheers
Graham

Last time I visited Melbourne - end of 2003 and Easter 2004, you could catch a train to North Melbourne station and a footpath led off the station footbridge down into the yards. There were certainly no "Keep out" or otherwise signs there, and you didn't really have to stray far to be able to get photos like this..
https://www.flickr.com/photos/72399068@N08/21826272858/in/album-72157639004381073/
Certainly photographed a number of "classic" locos there in 2003, but didn't appear to go there in 2004, as I concentrated on the loco hauled passenger trains running out on the line through Tottenham & Footscray.

[joe cassidy]

Thanks for all your replies and advice.

I'm not particularly interested in Victoria railways but wherever I travel to I always like to visit the local railway station/museum, look at the trains and travel on them if possible. Unfortunately I'll only have hours rather than days to spare on train-related activity.

I once travelled from Malacca to Penang by train. Unfortunately only made it half way as the line is single track and we got held up by a broken down goods train and had to finish the journey by bus.

Best regards,


Joe

[Railwaygun]

Chloe ( and her story)

https://nicholasjv.blogspot.com/2014/06/art-sunday-artistic-controversy.html