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About the ARHS (ACT)
The beginnings
The Australian Railway Historical Society (ACT Division) had its beginnings in 1966 when about 15 local enthusiasts met to consider the formation of a branch of the Society in the Australian Capital Territory.
The branch was formally inaugurated in May 1967 and - in spite of its small membership at the time - succeeded in organising a number of well-patronised rail tours prior to the withdrawal of steam locomotives from the southern districts of NSW in 1971.
The purchase of the Garratt steam locomotive 6029 by the Commonwealth Government (from the State-owned railway operator) in 1974 and its entrustment to the Society for operation on special trains, set the stage for the incorporation of the ACT branch as an independent division of the Australian Railway Historical Society and signalled our entry into the field of railway preservation.The ACT Division of the ARHS was formed in Canberra in 1975.
The Society today
Today the Society is trustee of the Canberra Railway Museum Trust and as such, is dedicated to the study, preservation and operation of significant items of NSW railway history.
As a non-profit organisation, the Society does this by running heritage rail trips locally and long-distance train tours, and operating Canberra Railway Museum, Michelago Tourist Railway and a CountryLink Ticketing Agency.
The society also maintains a significant library archive collection.Membership has grown over the years and today is around 260 financial members with a further 145 family members.
Today the Society owns or has custody of more than 100 items of rolling stock. These include seven steam locomotives, five diesel locomotives, four diesel rail motors (CPH 37) and an extensive fleet of vintage timber-bodied and modern steel sitting, sleeping and dining cars.
The Society's Banquet Express theatre trains to stage shows such as 'Phantom of the Opera' in Melbourne and 'Miss Saigon' and 'The Lion King' in Sydney use our operational carriages and showcase the high standards of hospitality and catering skills provided by members.
The Society also operates the RailRoad Restaurant dinner trains, dinner/dance trains and picnic trains.
The Society is managed by a Council of 9 members, including President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and 5 ordinary councillors, elected annually from the membership.
Council has decentralised the day-to-day management of the Society by appointing managers for such activities as the Michelago Tourist Railway, track maintenance and track vehicles, training and certification, Canberra Railway Museum and passenger services.Member participation
Some 100 or so members are actively involved as volunteers in the day-to-day operations of the Society.
We encourage all members to take an active role and generally they find their own niche within the hundreds of on-going activities.
For more information, see Be Railway Active!Meetings and gatherings
General meetings of the Society are held on the last Thursday of each month (except December) and all members (and anyone who would like to join) are welcome. These meetings are held at the Canberra Railway Museum building, Geijera Place, Kingston, commencing 7:30pm.
Archives night is held on the second Tuesday of each month, when members interested in preservation and cataloging of our printed material, including photos, get together to carry on this work. All members of the Society are welcome. Archives nights are held at the Queanbeyan Railway Station, in Henderson Road starting at 7:30pm.
The FCE Mailout group meets on the third Wednesday to package and distribute several hundred copies of the Society magazine, Federal City Express. This usually takes around 2 1/2 hours, depending on how many helpers turn up. All interested members are welcome to come and help. The mailout is done from the Canberra Railway Museum, commencing 7:30pm.Joining the Society
We welcome new members! Membership includes an invitation to help in train operations, a subscription to our widely-read monthly magazine, Federal City Express, and voting rights.
Each issue of the magazine includes contact details, reports from the various sections of the Society, and often feature stories of interest to rail fans.
For more detailed membership information and an application form, please see the ARHS Membership page.Alternatively, we can put you on our tours brochure mailing list. Whenever a tour brochure becomes available, we will send you a copy.
Whatever your interest and level of involvement, we encourage you to join in our activities - apart from the enjoyment, you will be supporting the preservation of a working heritage railway for our local region.Donations
Preserving our railway heritage is an expensive activity, even more so now that Australia's rail systems are opened up to competition and rail operators are not in a position to remain the benevolent organisations they once were.
All donations are gratefully received (donations to the Canberra Railway Museum Trust are tax-deductible), and a receipt is provided.
If you would like to help, please send any donation to:ARHS Donations
PO Box 1615
Queanbeyan NSW 2620More information about the ARHS (ACT)
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Page last updated on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 08:33 FIXED
