About the Society

Reasons For Setting Up The Redwater Creek Steam and Heritage Society Inc.

In 1993 the Second River Tramway Society Inc.,which owns the Rolling Stock currently at Sheffield, experienced problems with land tenure and future commercial viability. It operated a 1km long two foot gauge railway at a location near Lilydale on private property and maintained a small collection of traction engines, a steam roller and portables. The location of the operation was not subject to passing tourist traffic and as such could not become an economically viable tourist attraction. The members of the society realised that the society's collection would be more secure in a tourist attraction situated on lease hold Local Government owned land.

Other substantial collections of vintage machinery have become available (for display) to the society as owners realised that a large museum incorporated with an operating steam railway could become a major tourist attraction, the revenue from which would be used to further the preservation of historical machinery.

Collection owners realise that if no action is taken to preserve vintage rail and agricultural machinery, equipment will gradually disappear from the state. Many items have in the past been sold for scrap or to the highest bidder - usually overseas or mainland collectors of vintage equipment. Many items still exist around Tasmania in an un-preserved state.A few more years in such a state will reduce any chance that these will be restored as the skills and desire to restore this equipment is gradually being lost from our society with the generation of Tasmanians who used, maintained and experienced vintage machinery in its commercial life. With their passing, the skills of using and maintaining once common machines eg. threshing machines, chaff cutters, traction engines, steam locomotives, etc. will also be lost.

Collection owners and societies realising the loss of our heritage have rallied together to ensure that their labours of love and the skills and money required to maintain and continue restoring machinery is not lost by a divided approach. The Redwater Creek Rail, Steam and Heritage Museum is the focus of a unison approach to maintaining our heritage in a working environment.

Our Society was formed in 1993 to preserve the skills and machinery of the steam era by forming a tourist attraction in Sheffield. In November 1993 society members began to relocate and restore the Sheffield Railway Station. We constructed a 15 x 9m locomotive shed, 500m of two foot gauge track and renovated the station in time for the first SteamFest in March 1994.

In March 1996 the Society obtained Planning Approval for Stage 1 of our proposed 4km railway track which is planned to terminate in an area of natural caves, waterfalls and forest near the formation of the original Railton to Roland Branch Line in the direction of Railton.

Simultaneously planning approval for Stages 2 and 3 of our proposal was refused. Further applications for stages 2 &3 may be made when community resistance is overcome.

Since 1996 we have constructed over 1km of track and have completed the run around loop at the end of Stage 1. In 2004 we completed 8 x 15m extensions( cost $14,000) on both sides of our locomotive shed to create a workshop and museum. 2008 saw the completion of the caretakers cottage.

The Society currently has about 80 adult members and we have spent over $200,000.00 at the Sheffield site.

Future Directions and Objectives of the Society

The society aims to develop a self funding rail steam and heritage museum in Sheffield which creates employment, increases tourist retention in the area, educates patrons in the skills and resourceful engineering practices of a bygone era and creates a fund from revenue for the eventual purchase of private collections of vintage machinery.

Our plan over the next 20 years to create the tourist attraction which will allow the fulfilment of these aims include :

1) a 1500 m2 machinery museum (including a workshop for the restoration and maintenance of machinery)

2) a 4km steam operated railway from the museum site to the picturesque Redwater Creek caves, waterfalls and rainforest which following the abandoned Roland Branch Line formation (now part of the National Heritage Trail).

3) a sustainable manufacturing craft village which supports 5 craft industries on the museum site eg. blacksmith, woodcraft's etc.

4) a commercial steam sawmill cutting specialised species for the furniture industry.

5) board walks around the Redwater creek caves and waterfalls to protect the fragile rainforest environment.

6) amenities buildings at both the Sheffield and Redwater Creek ends of the railway.

With this level of development the society will undoubtedly have a world class attraction. Further to this the Redwater Creek Railway has even greater potential to benefit tourism in Tasmania if it is extended 9km from the Redwater Creek caves and waterfalls to Railton.

This construction plan is a long term aim of the society which may be a reality in 40 years time. It would allow connection of the Redwater Creek Railway and Sheffield to Devonport via the 3' 6" gauge mainline in Railton. Attractions which would constitute stopping platforms on such a one hour journey from Sheffield to Railton include the Redwater Creek caves and waterfalls, the Stoodley forest walks amongst the experimental forestry plantations, the existing barbeque area at Stoodley and Sykes's Sanctuary wildlife park near Railton.

It is the objective of the society to begin seven day a week tourist operations in the tourist season subject to the success of aquiring capital development funding and further site improvments.

Social objectives of the overall project when operating are:

1) to provide interpretive displays to demonstrate: the operation, restoration and history of each of the display items, the history of the Railton Branch Line, and the rich agricultural heritage of the area.

2) to train members of the community- particularly young people in the skills required to restore, maintain and operate vintage machinery. The society plans to employ on a full time basis a fitter/turner/boiler maker welder when the income allows, to ensure past engineering practices are not lost with those who maintained equipment from the steam era.

3) to hold regular education orientated field days with a leaning towards enlightening students of the innovative, historic engineering practises and conditions of a bygone era.

For example chaff cutting/threshing demonstrations which employed on average 14 men per gang working from day light to dark 6 days a week in the harvest season.

Tourism objectives of the project are to expand on, maintain and operate a high quality tourist attraction which will:

1) attract more people to the North West Coast to experience the unique combination of a large scale vintage machinery museum and a two foot gauge steam train ride to caves and waterfalls situated amongst picturesque rainforest - with the majority of the journey in view of the magnificent Mount Roland.

2) retain tourists on the North West Coast for a greater length of time by letting them peruse the attractions of the craft village, the vintage machinery display complex, the steam operated sawmill and by taking them on a 4km long train journey to an ideal barbecue/picnic area alongside the terminus at Redwater Creek. Tourists may choose to take a train to Redwater Creek and catch one of the later trains back to Sheffield (trains will operate on an hours turn around basis between approx 10 am and 4pm). During the time at Redwater Creek they can enjoy the surroundings of the caves, waterfalls and rainforest and take a leisurely walk along the National Heritage Trail for 1 kilometre to the Stoodley forest walks around the experimental plantations set up by the Forestry Commission (this area features exotic species - such as Beech and Douglas Fir plantations planted in the 1930s)

3) have the potential to provide a rail link from Sheffield to Railton by constructing an additional 9 km of track from Redwater Creek. This could provide unique to Australia Tourism opportunities. Running a mainline steam service (three foot six inch gauge) from the Don River Railway in Devonport to the Railton railway station where tourists could travel on the Redwater Creek Railway to Sheffield.

Here visitors could visit the murals for which the town is famous, discover country town hospitality in the many craft and eating establishments. Enjoy the displays at the Kentish Museum as well as the other aspects of the steam and heritage museum already mentioned.