Steamrail Victora - "Devastating" fire

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Major fire at one of Australia's largest heritage locations

A major fire has occurred overnight at the main operating centre of Steamrail Victoria.  West Block shed at Newport is home to their rolling stock and locomotives and houses their restoration activities.  A fire was first reported at 1.20am local time this morning and is said to be "devastating".  Reports indicate that a part of the building has been so badly damaged that it had to be demolished immediately and that there is "devastating" news on the historic wooden-bodied rolling stock which was housed there.
 
http://www.mfb.vic.gov.au/News/Eighty-firefighters-battle-Newport-rail-yard-blaze.html
 
https://www.facebook.com/steamrail?ref=stream&fref=nf
 
Major Fire reported at Newport Railway Workshops in Champion Road, Newport / News / News / Railpage

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Rick
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That,s really bad news Rick.
The things stored in those sheds are irreplaceable.
By the way the links don,t work so I,ll do some searching as there was nothing on the news this morning.

John.
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Links updated.

I posted this to another forum and copied the post here.  YMR software abbreviated the links which then failed to link.

I've posted the full versions now which should work.

No official word yet as the site remains closed off with only emergency services and a few members of SRV's Board of Directors allowed access but we understand that the well-known rake of historic "red rattler" carriages may have been partially or completely lost.

It has been confirmed that no person has been hurt.

Rick
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Comments derived from Steamrail Victoria's Facebook feed which is administered by their officers and can therefore be considered an official source:

The fire has damaged three and possibly four 100+ year old EMU cars which were the last of their type and are probably beyond repair.  Aside from fire damage to their wooden bodies the frames are "not looking good"

Despite many sources suggesting coal was the source of the fire (and SRV has coal on site to fuel its steam locomotives) the latest comment suggests the ignition resulted from an electrical fault in the vicinity of but not on board the cars lost.

It is known that the fire was not in the steam locomotive area.

Two comments, neither at present confirmed, suggest that a historic electric locomotive was damaged when the building's roof fell onto it.

There is still very little information coming from official channels and all parties have asked that no speculation be posted and comment confined to the facts.

Rick
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So sad to see this. So much effort put in by volunteers, gone or badly damaged overnight. Guys ,especially those with wooden sheds, but probably all of us…Just take a few moments to take a critical look round your railway's home..take a good look at extension leads , multiple sockets…any dodgy frayed wiring or pulled confections and sort them ! Maybe also go pick up a fire extinguisher ( it will only cost a few pounds ,a fraction of the cost of what you could lose ) and mount it just inside the door within easy reach…also get a metal container , metal bucket…old biscuit tin ..and fill it with sand so if you DO  catch something on fire you can drop it into sand…not on a dry wooden floor. Also take a look at any flammables you have in the shed…that big 5ltrs of rubbing alcohol which is highly flammable or the small gas canisters to fill your gas soldering iron…all stored in your shed…which gets baked by the sun….findf somewhere safe to store them


Just a few minutes guys please ? Let's be safe…not sorry

Many thanks


Matt
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Hi Matt,

Don't worry about the rubbing alcohol………I drank mine;-)

:cheers
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pulled confections

Barley-sugar twists? ;-)

Perhaps irreverent to make light of this but very sound advice to check everything every time and unplug what you're not using.

No preventative measures are 100% foolproof but we can minimise risks.

I am acutely aware of the circumstances of my own layout which runs across the top of an outdoor workbench and the domestic log pile (everyone here uses logs rather than coal for heating) and beneath two large trees.

If ever there were a bushfire nearby and we came under ember attack I'd need to do some serious fire-fighting.

The electrics are always unplugged when not in use and also fitted with a surge protector between the mains plugs and distribution board.

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Rick
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I unplug everything when finished as well but must admit, I have a few flammable liquids, gas, thinners and all sorts that I should think about.

Worth a thought.

Toto
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OK Tom no need to " rub it in ". Sorry rick …my eye sight late at night after a 400 mile drive on a small tablet…with that bleddy productive tixt correcting my spilling…not a good combo   :mutley

On a serious note . In my job as a tiler I've lost count of the number of plumbers I've seen setting fire to things with nothing ready nearby to put out the fire ( and they then complain when I hit em with a wet cloth ! )..the  number of kitchen socket covers I've loosened to tile behind  and had to tighten up blackened loose wires  that had been shorting over a long period of time from a loose CONNECTION :) I've also seen a plug and wall socket where a customer has  taken the plug from a de humidifier out of a single socket added a fully wound up 10 MTR extension and plugged back in an electric fire AND the de humidifier to " help" dry a damp bathroom …the socket and plug  had melted  together  and were close to catching fire ..how many of us are using extensions right now , maybe with a fan heater plugged in ? Make sure the extension cable is short , fully unwound if on a real and heavy enough to take the load…OK off me soap box and off to take mum out for lunch …then back for a lie down in a dark room !   I'll need it :shock:


Cheers


   Matt
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Rail enthusiasts devastated after fire destroys historic trains at Newport railyards / News / News / Railpage

It is now confirmed that the entire 4-car set of "dog box" red rattler cars dating from as early as the 1880s and originally steam-hauled but later converted for electric use has been totally lost.

The link above includes the only image so far know to be in the public domain of the aftermath.  It's not pretty.

Rick
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spurno is in the usergroup ‘Super-moderators’
Such a shame Rick.Insurance may cover the loss financially but it doesn't compensate for the loss of the rolling stock.

Regards

Alan


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What a shame, thats a right mess.

There was a report in one of the uk papers recently where a fire had been caused by the low winter sun reflecting through a jar of glass beads on a windowsill, unfortunatley it killed the family dog.

I have blinds on my shed windows to keep the sun out.

Cheers

Andy
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More pictures have ben released.   As well as the devastation to wooden bodies it is clear that the frames are bent from the heat and are not restorable.

Image

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Rick
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Sad to record that a second fire has occurred overnight at the same location affecting more historic rolling stock.  The carriages damaged / lost in this fire appear to be stainless steel ones and are described as "redundant" with value more in terms of history than money.  

The first fire is thought to have been an accident.  The enquiry and report into this one will make interesting reading.  Following two major fires it is to be hoped that Steamrail's insurers do not price their client out of the market.

Newport Rail Workshops fire: Historic carriages damaged as blaze engulfs Melbourne storage shed - ABC News

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/08/08/07/52/historic-train-carriages-damaged-in-melbourne-railway-blaze

Rick
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Such a sad case with the fire, pity it's not the first time something like this has happened.

Connor

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