The Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) aims to foster an interest in the railways, and record and preserve many facets of railway operations. It had divisions in every state and the
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...
, although the ACT division was wound up in 2016, along with the Victorian division in 2020. Since 1967, when each division incorporated, the state divisions have operated as separate entities. Each still trades under the ARHS brand, except in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, where the division is called
Rail Heritage WA
Rail Heritage WA is the local trading name of the Australian Railway Historical Society (Western Australian Division) Inc.
History
The Western Australian branch of the Australian Railway Historical Society was formed in February 1959. In the 19 ...
. Individual membership exceeds 2,500.
Background
The ARHS was founded in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in 1933 as The Railway Circle, becoming the Australasian Railway and Locomotive Historical Society shortly afterwards. The society's name was changed to the present form in 1952. Divisions were later formed in most states, most of which established a railway museum, namely:
*ACT -
Canberra Railway Museum
The Canberra Railway Museum is located at Kingston in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), next to Canberra railway station on the Bombala railway line. Since May 2018, Canberra Railway Museum has been the trading name of a not-for-profit ...
,
Kingston
*Queensland - Rosewood Railway Museum
*South Australia -
SteamRanger
The SteamRanger Heritage Railway is a long broad gauge tourist railway, formerly the Victor Harbor railway line, South Australia, Victor Harbor railway line of the South Australian Railways (SAR). It is operated by the not-for-profit South ...
operates the
Victor Harbor line as a working museum
*Victoria -
Australian Railway Historical Society Museum
The Newport Railway Museum is located on Champion Road, Newport, Victoria, near the North Williamstown station.
History
The museum opened on 10 November 1962, after the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) Victorian Division was allocat ...
,
Williamstown North
*Western Australia -
Western Australian Rail Transport Museum
The Railway Museum, also known as the Rail Transport Museum, is situated in Bassendean, Western Australia. It is run by the Western Australian division of the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), which is called Rail Heritage WA.
In th ...
,
Bassendean
In February 2015, the ACT division commenced operating scrap metal services from
Fyshwick
Fyshwick () is a retail and light industrial suburb of Canberra, Australia, east of the South Canberra district. At the , Fyshwick had a population of 56.
It has many motor vehicle dealers, stores selling home furnishings and hardware, and sto ...
to
Port Botany
Port Botany is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Port Botany is located 12 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick. Port Bo ...
through its commercial division, Espee Railroad Services, with locomotives and wagons leased from
CFCL Australia
Rail First Asset Management (RailFirst), formerly known as CFCL Australia (CFCLA), is an Australian rolling stock leasing company operating in the rail freight market. It leases assets to a number of private rail operators in the local rail indus ...
. In November 2016, the Canberra Railway Museum was suddenly closed after the commercial division, which had been started to subsidise popular but expensive heritage train trips, collapsed with more than $700,000 of debt.
That led to the ACT Division of the ARHS being placed into liquidation.
In July 2020, the Victorian division was wound up, following a number of civil claims made against it by those who, as children, were abused by volunteers.
Both the
Canberra Railway Museum
The Canberra Railway Museum is located at Kingston in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), next to Canberra railway station on the Bombala railway line. Since May 2018, Canberra Railway Museum has been the trading name of a not-for-profit ...
(Capital Region Heritage Rail) and
Newport Railway Museum
The Newport Railway Museum is located on Champion Road, Newport, Victoria, near the North Williamstown station.
History
The museum opened on 10 November 1962, after the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) Victorian Division was allocat ...
are now run by organisations separate from the ARHS.
Railway Resource Centre
Located at the New South Wales division's
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
premises, The Railway Resource Centre is a collection of historical material pertaining to Australian railways, managed by the Society and volunteers. Access to the collection is available to members and to the general public for private research only. It houses thousands of documents, books, periodicals, photographs and slides which the Society has acquired over many years. It is constantly being added to by acquisitions through donations and bequests from Australian Railway Historical Society members and others.
Publications
Books
Each division has published and supported publishing of books and pamphlets about the history of regional railways. Significantly divisions have been the main resource of expertise in creating centenary and other anniversary publications regarding rail history. The New South Wales Division operates a shop in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
. The society also maintains the Railway Resource Centre. The centre houses the thousands of documents, books, periodicals, photographs and slides that the society has acquired over many years.
Magazines
Each Division publishes magazines, at various frequencies. A dedicated magazine for the whole of Australia was also published for many decades - simply as the ''Bulletin'' (1952–2003), it is now called ''
Australian Railway History
''Australian Railway History'' is a monthly magazine covering railway history in Australia, published by the New South Wales Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society on behalf of its state and territory Divisions.Railway Digest
''Railway Digest'' is a monthly magazine, published in Sydney, covering contemporary railways of Australia.
Overview
The magazine's publisher is the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), NSW Division. The first issue was published in M ...
'', ''
Australian Railway History
''Australian Railway History'' is a monthly magazine covering railway history in Australia, published by the New South Wales Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society on behalf of its state and territory Divisions.Newsrail
''Newsrail'' is a monthly railway magazine covering the railways and tramways of Victoria, Australia. It was launched in January 1973 by the Australian Railway Historical Society
The Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) aims to foste ...
''
*WA Division: ''
The Westland
''The Westland'' was the name given in 1938 to the overnight train operated by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) with sitting and sleeping cars between Perth and Kalgoorlie, where it connected with the '' Trans-Australian'' se ...
''
The Tasmanian Division was originally a subdivision of the much larger Victorian Division, until 1965 when increasing interest and falling printing costs made a separate division possible.
Affiliations
Other societies and organisations with which the Australian Railway Historical Society is affiliated include:-
[Australian Railway Historical Society NSW Div. Annual Report 2007–2008]
*Australian Electric Traction Association
*
Canadian Railroad Historical Association
The Canadian Railroad Historical Association (CRHA) (french: L'Association canadienne d'histoire ferroviaire (ACHF)) is a non-profit organization established in 1932 in Canada and is "devoted to preserving and interpreting Canada's railway heritage ...
*
East Coast Heritage Rail
East Coast Heritage Rail is a not for profit company limited by guarantee formed in June 1985 as 3801 Limited to operate steam locomotive 3801 and its associated rolling stock. The company operated heritage train tours from 1986 until 2017, wi ...
*Irish Railway Record Society
*
Light Railway Research Society of Australia
The Light Railway Research Society of Australia is an amateur research society that focuses on narrow gauge railways, tramways, and industrial railways in Australia and places where Australian economic interests were strong, such as Papua New Gu ...
*
Light Rail Transit Association
The Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA), formerly the Light Railway Transport League (LRTL), is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to advocate and encourage research into the retention and development of light rail and tramway/street ...
(UK)
*Narrow Gauge Railway Society (UK)
*
National Railway Historical Society
The National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) is a non-profit organization established in 1935 in the United States to promote interest in, and appreciation for the historical development of railroads. It is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsyl ...
(USA)
*
NSW Rail Museum
The NSW Rail Museum is the main railway museum in New South Wales, Australia. A division of Transport Heritage NSW, it was previously known as the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum (NSWRTM), Rail Heritage Centre and Trainworks.
Transport H ...
*
New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society
*
Rail Motor Society
*
Railway Correspondence & Travel Society
The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (RCTS) is a national society founded in Cheltenham, England in 1928 to bring together those interested in rail transport and locomotives.
Since 1929 the Society has published a regular journal ''Th ...
(UK)
*Railway Society of Southern Africa
*
Royal Australian Historical Society
The Royal Australian Historical Society, formerly Australian Historical Society, is a voluntary organisation founded in Sydney, Australia in 1901Helen Doyle, "Royal Australian Historical Society" in Graeme Davison, John Hirst and Stuart Maci ...
Other groups
Rail heritage is not the exclusive domain of the ARHS in Australia, and at various stages other groups of enthusiasts and individuals have endeavoured to create niches in the publishing and rail heritage businesses.
See also
*
List of railroad-related periodicals
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
Further reading
* {{cite book, last1=Quinlan, first1=Howard, last2=Newland, first2=John R., title=Australian Railway Routes 1854 to 2000, year=2000, publisher=Australian Railway Historical Society - New South Wales Division, location=Redfern, N.S.W., isbn=0-909650-49-7
External links
ARHS ACT DivisionARHS New South Wales DivisionARHS Queensland DivisionARHS South Australian Division (SteamRanger)ARHS Tasmanian DivisionARHS Victorian DivisionARHS Western Australian DivisionEspee Railroad Services
Freight railway companies of Australia
Historical societies of Australia
Organizations established in 1933
Railway societies
Rail transport preservation in Australia
1933 establishments in Australia