Society Information
About the Society
The Australian Railway Historical Society was founded in Sydney in 1933 and
from small beginnings has grown, till today there are Divisions of the
Society in all States of Australia and Sub-Divisions in several provincial
cities. Total membership of the Society numbers well over 2,500 throughout
Australia, with Victorian members exceeding 980. The Victorian
Division was formed in 1945.
Objectives of the Society are to foster an intelligent interest in
railways and to record and preserve the history, past and present, of
Australian Railways.
The Victorian divison of the society consists of several subgroups having special interests in railway activities ranging from Tours, the Railway Museum, Film and Video Group and Publications to the restoration of station buildings (and other pieces of railway paraphernalia) and monthly Entertainment meetings where members hear from an invited guest speaker and are invited to take place in a monthly slide competition.
The society also operates a twice yearly Great Railway Swap Meet and produce a monthly magazine Newsrail.
Below is a summary of the sub-groups and activities of the society, with links to more information.
Activities
Railway Museum
Champion Road, North Williamstown, open 12.00 noon to 5.00pm on Saturdays,
Sundays and Public Holidays. More than 25,000 people visit the Museum each
year.
Click Here for
details on the Railway Museum.
Tours
Over 360 special rail tours have been organised visiting all parts of
Victoria, other states and overseas. Trips range from short half-day outings
to extended three-week tours of 10,000km. Steam locomotives are used where
practicable.
Publications
The Society's national journal, Bulletin, contains illustrated
articles of historical and current interest and is available to members
only. The Victorian Division also produces Newsrail, a monthly news
magazine of current railway events in Victoria. Books dealing with the
history of railways in Victoria are also published by the Society.
Archives
An extensive collection of negative, prints, plans and documents available
for research by members and the general public.
Reference Library
A collection of historic railway books and magazines are available for
research by members and the general public.
Recordings
Capturing high fidelity sounds of steam locos at work.
Sales Department
Provides a wide variety of railway books, videos, recordings and souvenirs
for members.
Monthly Meetings
The Victorian Division meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at 8.00pm
in the RMIT Union Theatre.
The Great Railway Swap Meet
The Victorian Divison also hold a Railway Swap Meet twice a year. Here
you can buy or sell almost anything to do with railways of any gauge - N
to 5'3"
Membership
Membership is open to everyone with a genuine interest in railways, whether he or she is a layman, or a professional railwayman. All members receive monthly
postings of Newsrail, the Member's Newsletter and Tour Brochures. Special prices apply for Students and extra family members.
Click Here for details on Joining the Society