For more info on The Diamond Valley Railway, head to their website: www.dvr.com.au/ Here's the driver's view video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-J1alntV8YrA.html Enjoy watching these videos? Consider supporting the channel on Patreon: www.patreon.com/Taitset
I remember having morning tea with Marge & Bill Pert when i was 15 years old in the green tin shed where it all began, hours of fun and many wonderful memories, i`m now 68 years old seems so long ago
Was doing what teenagers did in the 1980’s and drinking at Eltham Lower Park one night and the train club happened to be having their Christmas party that same night and running a couple of trains in the dark. Amazingly they let us on for a ride with beers in hand. This was way before they started doing night runs. Lucky us. Was so much fun!
Nice to see a very young lad by way of Tyler as President of the club, he is very well spoken, too many GOM's (Grumpy Old Men) turn a lot of young people off official involvement in railway clubs. Beautiful layout, so clean and tidy too, I love that Tait set, it would be my first ride! Great to see those happy smiling faces on the children, makes it all worth while.
By pure chance I watched this video yesterday, 3/7/24 and it was the day of the night light running of the railway. Wife and I, my son and daughter in law and the two kids went along. It was a fantastic experience and I am still bewildered how inexpensive it was. $4 per head was the best value I have seen in a very long time.
I actually volunteer here, it's an amazing little crew they have there, we always have fun and it's never a dull day from the silly kids to the enthusiast adults. And actually, if you visit, you can ask for a tour of the works, you get to see a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff.
Out of interest (I'm sure many who watched this video might want to know), what does the bulk of volunteering look like? Is it one or two nights a week? (more, less?) and are the jobs mainly maintenance and engineering, or is it more geared towards crowd control and safety on a sunday for new joiners? Thanks for answering, if you do :)
@@zedlewis_hobbies The volunteering system is like a pyramid system, it starts with out on the platform and after you've gained a certain amount of hours you can then branch off to do other things. They are only open on Sundays to the public from 11am to 4pm but will run for a half day on public holidays, the maintenance and engineering are done by the mechanics in the works, as far as I know, the drivers just have to put the engines and rolling stock away and close up. As for crowd control? That is on the platform workers, which is what I do, you have to make sure no kids or adults do anything stupid, safety is a huge deal to us because these engines are still very heavy and most of their top speeds are 15mph, those things can still break a toe if they run over you, not to mention even the diesels run very hot. Their always looking for more volunteers, the toughest part is just getting a working with children's check, but otherwise you should be golden.
@@zedlewis_hobbies The volunteering system is like a pyramid system, it starts with being out on the platform and after you've gained a certain amount of hours you can then branch off to do other things. They are only open on Sundays to the public from 11am to 4pm but will run for a half day on public holidays, the maintenance and engineering are done by the mechanics in the works, as far as I know, the drivers just have to put the engines and rolling stock away and close up. As for crowd control? That is on the platform workers, which is what I do, you have to make sure no kids or adults do anything stupid, safety is a huge deal to us because these engines are still very heavy and most of their top speeds are 15mph, those things can still break a toe if they run over you, not to mention even the diesels run very hot. You'll have to get a working with children's check first, but otherwise their always open to new volunteers. They also have a gardening team if that'd be something your interested in, they also have private bookings for birthday parties although you'll have to book awhile in advance. Great place, grate people, 10/10 recommend if you wanna have some fun and forget your woes on a weekend.
Aww man, I remember riding on these when I was little. All the historical and interstate replicas are beautiful of course, but I almost wish they had the extra funding to run a mini-Comeng or a mini-Xtrapolis. Like imagine kids connecting the dots between the little railway they're riding and the big ones which go past their house! So cute!
I grew up in Greensborough in the 70s - it was officially the boondocks back then. I remember visiting the 'little trains', and being fascinated. As a teen in the 80s, I had the pleasure of introducing an insane ex-racehorse to the trains at the annual gymkhana held at Eltham Lower Park - he wasn't so keen on them.
OMGGGG, the memories this has unlocked, i absolutly loved riding these trains, i still remember everyone used to scream when going through the tunnels!!!!!
@@Ninrutu absolutely mandatory. Whether on the train or watching from lineside. I've driven trains there a few times, and you definitely don't escape the responsibility to wave when driving a train. If anything it's even more expected. lol!
One of the best videos on Diamond Valley Railway yet. The highlights are your diagrammatic description of the total ride and the excellent presentation by young President Tyler Howie. Coupled with the Train Driver's view video, the current story of this amazing railway is complete. Well done!🙂🙂🙂
I distinctly remember being allowed up into one of the signal boxes during my (4th?) birthday and being allowed to pull levers. Was one of my best memories and truly an amazing experience
This place spawned generations of railfans amongst North-Eastern Melbourne's children. I have so many fond memories of it from my childhood and soon I'm going to bring my nephew there.
This is my childhood right here! Absolutely loved this place. We often came as a family during the 1980s. The attention to detail was impressive even then, but these days the work they've done for the stations, the different signalling systems, and locos is amazing. I'd love to get back to see it all again some day. Thanks for visiting this - lovely to see it all again!
I've been there many times as a kid, lots of good memories. If I lived around Eltham rather than around the Dandenongs back in the day I probably would have ended up volunteering there instead of Puffing Billy.
I remember when i went one day i went they double headed Tom Thumb and Joyce with the yellow rolling stock that have the mesh sides. It was the length of Platform 2. I loved that. Also being behind the Vline G class with the vline hoppers. But my very favourite was the double headed behind the x and y class vlines in aforementioned vline hoppers. I’m 19 now but i still have the desire to go here. As soon as i have a child regardless of how old. My first stop will be the DVR
i’ve been here several times since i was toddler the earliest i remember is when i was 3 back in 2012 and went back a few times over the years with the most recent being in early 2020 over those years i noticed that not much changed (best part was getting to stay on the train in not having to line back up) me and my sister really enjoyed this place but it was also a very long drive since i live in the west but was worth the drive and before and after going in or coming up me and my sister would run around the oval behind the railway
There was no place I loved more than Diamond Valley Railway when I was a kid. I've still got photos around somewhere from a birthday party tjere when I was probably 5 or 6. When I eventually move back to Australia I need to go back to see how it's changed after 30 years.
An excellent video, thanks for showing. I drove past here many times when I lived in Melbourne without realising the full extent of their set up. I love the Red Rattlers and they were a real shock to the system in RL, travelling into the city from Greensborough, when I first came to Oz in 1981.
Just out of intrest for you all: Miniature Railways in Victoria that are open for the public are located in: Cobden, Horsham, Hamilton, Ballarat, Portarligton, Geelong (Portable Track), Traralgon, Shepparton (two seperate railways Emerald Bank and Kidstown), Wunghnu, Euroa, Wodonga, Echuca, Elmore, Harcourt (Soon), Gisborne, Bulla Hill, Box Hill, Eltham (DVR), Mooroolbark, Springvale, Moorabbin (private group bookings only), Altona and Scoresby (National Steam Centre). I have possibly missed some as well. There are also a large number of private railways not open for the public. The ones listed above vary in gauge and size from 3 1/2" gauge to 12" gauge and open at various different times.
I never knew this existed! Omg 😱 ❤!! I only knew about Puffing Billy. I’m from the outer south east so of course I wouldn’t have known about it but I wished I did. Now I do 😊
There’s also two miniature scale B class trams on the railway that are fully electric with 12V car batteries powering them and they were also originally built in the late 1980s/early 1990s but are privately owned so only for special occasions are they at the railway! :)
I had a birthday here like 8 years back, and couldn't remember where this place was, And its was one of the things that sparked my railway interest. Thanks Taitset.
Had no idea this was such a complex and realistic setup, that's quite awesome. I only found out about it when I was trying the Diamond Valley trail for the first time and was very surprised to see a tiny train run past 😃
Our lovely cousin Robin Quaife features in the video several times, and thanks to him we hold our annual Parker picnic there every ANZAC day- as it has done since at least the early 60's
Looks like a very impressive operation. I was considering visiting when I'm over there in June, and hearing of those connecting bus routes from Eltham station is a relief because I thought there were no public transport connections to the railway. The whole set up here reminds me of the Esplanade Scenic Railway in Palmerston North.
It would be great if some time, as well as the Swingdoor & Tait trains, that Harris, Hitachi, & Comeng carriages could be added. Loved the automatic signalling, especially the semaphore signals. Well done Taitset.
This has jogged memories of going to a miniature railway near Tullamarine airport as a child, not sure exactly where but I feel like you used to be able to see it from the freeway
Love this place, went here so many times as a kid. No doubt the numerous visits here and to Puffing Billy had a very similar effect on my love of railways.
Coming from the other side of town I hadn't seen this one before, looks like they have a great setup - I'm keen to check it out some time. I have been on the miniature railway in Cobden which was great fun. I just did a quick web search, and both of these are listed in the article "11 Best Miniature Railways Across Melbourne & Victoria."
This is so cool! I'm a pilot, but would love to have a go driving a Comeng as I spent most of my highschool years riding on these on the craigieburn line 🙈😂
I always love how these small railways implement proper mainline signalling rules etc. I am very interested how they’re using Excel for the describers(?!). Things like the auto semaphore are cool too. It reminds me of how the RH&DR in the UK is currently working with our mainline infrastructure company (Network Rail) to develop a new token system (called DiaBlok) to replace old telegraph based remote token systems.
I was thinking the same thing. There must be a bit of visual basic coding in the background to make that work. Very curious to understand if its simply reading the PLC info or if its controlling it too.
Wow, I had no idea it was so big. Being from the bush I have never visited. I do recall seeing the tracks of the StKilda railway in the early 70s but I don't recall if trains were running then.
Wow, this is incredible to see so much determination goes into even the smallest details. I know of several miniature railway clubs dotted around the UK that share this passion, but this is taken to a whole new level!
I lived a 10min walk away from the park for 13 years as a kid! Bolton Street represent! Also used to love wagging highschool classes to go explore the tracks
Love this place! Ive seen their freight stock out and about, they transported materials from Diamond Valley yard to Pine Creek by train to build the shelter there
We in Melbourne are so lucky to have lots of trains. Please do a video on Puffing Billy and it's history. You already have a lot of stock footage you can use already on your channel, so there's more than enough material to use for a historical analysis. Also a fun idea for addition to the roster. Miniature ComEng trains, since those are starting to go out of service
Yes! I was just about to comment this. The Puffing Billy railway was actually one of my fence lines when I was a kid, and I remember it going past twice a day
Pretty much Thomas The Tank Engine and the Diamond Valley Railway were the two things that originally sparked my interest in trains and we also have many videos of me riding the trains there with the earliest ones being from the mid 2000s! I also had a high school friend who volunteered there for quite some time and I also got to drive a train under supervision there in 2018 as a teenager! :)
I went there recently with younger family and it was quite fun, though i didnt see the vline teacup. On the way home, we stopped off the the trestle bridge and I showed my dad the dates chisled on the wood and about a minute later, an eltham train zoomed above us!
