Ash Wednesday Fires

Wednesday 16th February 1983 will long be remembered as a day of tragedy for Victoria and South Australia. Within Victoria a total of 47 people died in the Ash Wednesday fires, and 2,080 homes were destroyed. Many businesses, stores, equipment, machinery, stock, and other private assets were also destroyed. The total cost of the property-related damage in Victoria was estimated to be over $200 million.

Several railway lines in Victoria were damaged in the fires. The Belgrave Heights - Upper Beaconsfield Fire (9,200ha) burnt across the Gippsland line near Officer burning sleepers and destroying signalling cables. Buses were used to transport passengers between Dandenong and Pakenham until the line reopened the following day. The Cudgee/Ballangeich fire (50,000ha) damaged a section of the Warnambool line between Terang and Panmure. The line was closed after the arrival of 8234 pass at Warrnambool. Until repairs were completed 3 locomotives were stranded at Warrnambool, B61, Y130 and T396, together with carriage set N10 (30ACN-29BRN-28BN) and a number of goods wagons. Passenger services on the line didn't resume until 18th March 1983. The East Trentham - Mt Macedon Fire (29,500ha) damaged 19km a track on the Bendigo line between Woodend and Riddells Creek. Services were suspended for a two days while repairs were carried out. Bendigo line services resumed with single line working introduced alternatively on the Down and Up lines to allow repairs to continue to be carried out.

Services on the main Western line were affected by the tragic fires which burnt through the Adelaide Hills between Bridgewater and Balhannah forcing the line to be closed. The Melbourne bound Overland (835) was replaced by buses that night. The Adelaide bound Overland (8141) was terminated at Serviceton and passengers transferred to Adelaide by buses. The Overland returned from Serviceton to Melbourne empty during 17th February. A number of interstate goods trains between Adelaide and Melbourne were cancelled or were held at various locations along the Western line until the section of line through the Adelaide Hills reopened.

S313 and S307 haul the empty Overland cars past the Doveton Street sidings. The train was terminated at Serviceton and passengers transferred to buses to complete there journey to Adelaide due to the fires in the Adelaide Hills.

C504 has been reversed onto the Eureka line with an interstate goods which is too long to be held in the sidings in Ballarat yard. The train was held here for a couple of hours before continuing its journey west.

I was 11 and living with my family at Upper Beaconsfield at the time of the fires. Our house luckily survived the fires, but unfortunately the shed that housed our model railway layout was burnt down. I didn't manage to save any of the loco's or rollingstock in the few family possessions that were huriedly loaded into the back of my mum's VW beetle as we fled the fire. I still have the first locomotive that was purchased for the new layout that was built after the fires. This Lima S class is still operating today, 39 years later on my current Ballarat layout.

In late afternoon light, S312 and B81 are refueled at Ballarat East Fuel point. S312 will haul the Ballarat = Melbourne Yard Goods which is scheduled to depart at 2000. B81 will rest overnight at Ballarat and will haul the Melbourne pass the at 0645 the next day. S312 is the first locomotive purchased after my layout was lost in Ash Wednesday fires.