THE Rydal Railway precinct is now the proud home for a piece of rail history after a rail van built in approximately 1909 and now restored was moved into its new home.
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Rydal was once a very busy and important part of the rail system.
The Rydal Railway Station built in 1869 was once the end of the western rail line for some time and everything was off loaded and sent on by coach or wagon.
Even when the line was extended rail was still an important part of the agricultural and pastoral industry of the Rydal district.
The van has been placed in what was once the loading dock for the station and so it is an appropriate piece of history for Rydal.
The rail van came to Rydal some years ago and is on permanent loan from Bruce Peelgrane.
Now, with the help of the Helping Hand Up program, a work experience program organised by Russel Nursey and under the supervision of Linsey Featherstone and cr Colin Hunter a massive restoration program has been undertaken.
Part of the restoration was to paint the van in the correct colour of the day.
Removing the old paint took hours of labour.
The roof has been repaired making the interior waterproof; damaged timbers replaced using wherever possible recycled wood.
There has been a lot of research into the history of such vans.
The van was built in about 1909 by Ritchie Bros as HG15022 and retired in 1946 as L572.
It is a former goods train Guard’s Van also known as a Brake Van.
These four wheel guard’s vans, were quite common on the NSWGR in the first half of the 20th century.
Such Goods Guard’s van had a second class passenger compartment that could be used by members of the public on less busy lines or by the drovers.
Drovers would occupy the compartment on livestock trains and tend to the animals at stops on route.
A careful look at the van you can see where once there was a door for the passengers to enter.
The Rydal Village Association has funded the restoration costs of the van.
There has been considerable volunteer labour as well as the hours put in by the Helping Hand Up group for whom morning tea and lunch were provided.
The huge task of moving the van into its present location was provided free by Henry Plant and Equipment Hire, a job that could only be undertaken by a company with such specialised skills and equipment.
Coates Hire was also very generous with their help with safety scaffolding during the restoration.
While more work still needs to done to the interior, the van can now be inspected and will be a special feature of the village during Daffodils at Rydal.
