{"id":305940,"date":"2021-09-17T13:55:29","date_gmt":"2021-09-17T03:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=305940"},"modified":"2021-11-12T19:46:01","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T09:46:01","slug":"rail-project-receives-15000-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2021\/09\/17\/rail-project-receives-15000-boost\/","title":{"rendered":"Rail Project Receives $15,000 Boost"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien with Murgon Men’s Shed members, secretary Allen Mitchell, Leo Geraghty, Keith Hatchett and president David Mollenhauer outside the restored 1918 carriage\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September 17, 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

A $15,000 grant from the Federal Government will help the Murgon Men’s Shed move ahead with their historic railway display at Murgon.<\/p>\n

Men’s Shed Members have been restoring a wooden 1918 passenger car and a steel goods wagon over the past five years.<\/p>\n

However,\u00a0plans to have the carriages – and a steam locomotive the group is negotiating to acquire – permanently located inside a shelter on the old railway line encountered a hiccup when the Department of Transport said the rail corridor had to remain open for public access.<\/p>\n

The shelter is necessary to protect the carriages from weather and vandalism.<\/p>\n

To solve the problem, South Burnett councillors voted last year to extend the Men’s Shed lease to allow them to display the carriages inside a shelter to be built beside the rail corridor, next to the former station building.<\/p>\n

However, the Men’s Shed would have to pay for the relocation for the carriages.<\/p>\n

Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien visited the Murgon’s Men Shed on Thursday – one of his first public activities since his recent motorcycle crash – to inspect the work on the carriages and to hand over the $15,000 grant.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Murgon\u2019s Men Shed members have done an incredible job to restore a 100-year-old first- and second-class carriage and a steel goods wagon that were rescued from a yard near Rockhampton after being decommissioned in the 1980s,\u201d Mr O\u2019Brien said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis $15,000 grant through the Stronger Communities Program will enable the shed to hire a crane to lift them into place to form part of the planned Rail Museum at the start of the South Burnett Rail Trail, and to begin landscaping around the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once in place, the Rail Display Complex will be built around the carriages and will eventually house the carriages, the steam engine and two section cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe planned Rail Display Complex is a fantastic initiative that will provide a fascinating glimpse into the history of our Queensland railways and boost tourism through the South Burnett, and the Murgon Men\u2019s Shed committee and members are doing a remarkable job to bring it to fruition, so I am pleased to support their work with this federal funding towards the $60,000 project,\u201d Mr O\u2019Brien said.<\/p>\n

Related articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n