Checking in again..............

 Looking back at recent posts, it seems like the only August newsfromjude has been customer quilting and an update on my Churn Dash SAL. And as it is already the 20th August, it must be time to look back and see what else there is to report on......

It was a very busy time with the fairy here, as it usually is. It always seems as though I am the whip cracker, but some know that it's really the other way. We have a couple of market days coming up later in the year that we are preparing for, which means lots of packing and sorting has been happening. 

In between the work days, we did venture out of town once and crossed the border to visit a friend. It was a lovely day to be out and about, and was a rare event as we have had so much very cold wet weather this month. It was very strange to feel the warmth of the sun. Not sure if you can read the blue sign, but is says Welcome to Victoria.

After our visit I was turning back onto the highway heading to SA, and suddenly decided to take Raylene off the highway, on a tourist drive back to Bordertown and show her local countryside that she hasn't seen before.

Our first port of call was the little town of Serviceton,.......................... (from a brochure)

Serviceton was established after the Victorian and South Australian govts decided to build a junction station midway between their capitals, when the broad gauge railway line was being built (completed in 1886). The township was to house and cater for Railway employees to enable them to work within their own states.The township was well equipped with businesses in the early years including general stores, bakery, butcher, blacksmith, boarding houses and livery stables, hotel, coffee palace and wine bar.

................and more specifically the Servicton Historic Railway Station.

The Adelaide-Wolseley line was extended from Bordertown in South Australia on 19 January 1887 coinciding with the opening of the line from Dimboola in Victoria. The Premier of South Australia, John Downer, wrote to his Victorian equivalent, James Service, suggesting that the new border railway town and station be named Downer after him. Service wrote back and said that as it was in Victoria, it would be named Serviceton after himself, although at the time of construction the land was claimed by both colonies. As Serviceton was the border station and train crews could only operate within their own state, crews and locomotives were changed between the South Australian Railways and Victorian Railways. A customs house/railway station was commissioned in 1887 with costs shared between the two colonies. The complex of 15 main rooms, including a large refreshment room, was completed in 1889.With federation, customs roles finished in January 1901 although trains would continue to changes locomotives until the 1980s. In 1970, the station was listed by the National Trust of Victoria for its part in the border dispute. Victorian Railways DRC railcar services from Horsham to Serviceton ceased in December 1978. The refreshment rooms closed in 1981 and the station closed in 1986.                                                                                      It ceased to be a crew changeover and train passing location in March 1984 after a new crossing loop opened at Dimboola. In 2011, the station building was restored by VicTrack and leased to West Wimmera Shire Council for community group use. Since then it has housed a display of local and railway memorabilia.

I had only intended to drive up to the railway station to show Raylene the grand building. We got out of the car to read the sign, and it was not long before a local identity came along and gave us a lot of information about the building. And before we knew it, he was asking us if we would like to go through the rooms as he had a key. It was strange to hear that there were different ticket offices for each state..... if you travelled from Adelaide and wanted to go to Melbourne, you had to get off the train and buy another ticket for the remainder of your trip!! There were separate waiting rooms for the men and women. Each state had it's own gauge so the trains had to stop here. The station has 3 levels, including the platform, some upstairs accommodation and the basement area, that was used for storage, and included a dungeon or prison area, which we did not visit!

The ticket office which has a lot of memorabilia of the Station........

This shows how busy the station was back in 1974, when it was still a hive of activity.

This is the kitchen that was once open for meals 24 hours. In 1991 it was reopened for a local group who catered for many local functions. It is once again closed.

I think this 'lady' has been in the waiting room for a long time, for a train that doesn't stop anymore!? Her case is a tad dusty!

It's a bit sad to see this once grand building quiet and dusty, although still in good condition. There are still a lot of trains going through, but no longer stopping. This sleepy little town no longer has a store, (although there is a local bowling club still going,) but once had a population of hundreds in it's heyday.

Our next port of call was the tiny town of Wolseley, a only a few kms up the road toward Bordertown, and now we were in South Australia.

 

Wolseley has some railway history as well........ From the notes.....In 1863 the narrow gauge line was opened from Custon to Wolseley (10km south) connecting the South East Rail Network to the Adelaide-Melbourne line. The Adelaide-Melbourne line was broad gauge so all goods and passengers had to be transferred between the 2 lines at Wolseley. 167 men worked on the transhipping and traffic side at the Wolseley station. Between 1946 and 1953 the Mt Gambier line was changed to broad gauge. During the busy period the rail yard had a mixed gauge of 3 rails. To handle this the station had a turn table, large gantry crane and a loco depot. The station also had a refreshment room to supply food and beverages for the passenger trains. The Adelaide - Melbourne line became standard gauge in June 1995, bringing it in line with the majority of Australia.

Their are quite a few restored buildings in the town and I stopped long enough to take a few photos, as it was getting rather chilly and late in the day by now........ the blue sky had disappeared

Early in World War II, RAAF No. 12 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot was established at Wolseley, with an initial capacity of 1.27 megalitres (280,000 imp gal; 340,000 US gal) in three tanks camouflaged to look like farm buildings. The depot started operations in 1942 and three additional tanks were added later. It was disbanded on 14 June 1944. It is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register as the Wolseley Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot.

After that little interlude it was back to work and the cutting and the packing and sorting.

Robyn had a lesson of designing with EQ, and she worked on one computer and I was on the other one and Raylene was packing some kits at the same time. Quite the production line.

I decided to have a 'little' cutting session of 2" strips ready for a log cabin quilt. (I might have gone a bit overboard, as I have made 2 quilt kits and still have many strips leftover!!)

We had another little social outing one evening by attending a fundraiser for the local chaplaincy fund. There was a quiz/silent auction night which was an interesting evening. Can't claim to any fame with the answers to the quiz questions, but I did 'win' one of the silent auction prizes of a side of pork!!

It arrived this week and has been packed in the freezer.

Once again we saw the sunshine in between the clouds and it was time to farewell Raylene on the train again............

I won't post another photo of the leg up on the high step into the train, but thought this shadow pic might be something different.

Just a few pics to follow of what we achieved..............

One Saturday morning I was surprised to answer a knock at the door and who should be there, but Miss Bridie and her dad. While I talked with her Dad, she goes first to the piano and then requested to sew.

She still needs to have the footstool for her feet, but it won't be long before her legs are long enough.

In amongst everything else I have sent a few customer quilts back to their owners........

.................and had a few evening sewing sessions of my own. But that can wait for another post, as it is almost time for sleep. I will be back soon with more newsfromjude. 

Blessings, From Jude