West Coast Railway (Victoria)

at Warrnambool station in 2001 West Coast Railway was formed on 19 September 1993 when the Kennett State Government offered long-distance country rail services previously run by the government-owned operator V/Line to private operators. Bids were lodged in February 1993 and The Victorian Railway Company Pty Ltd, trading as West Coast Railway was announced as the successful tender on 30 April the same year. A trial period of a year, starting from 19 September 1993, was deemed successful with a seven year contract signed the following September. While most other rail services tendered were replaced by road coach services, West Coast Railway successfully tendered to retain a rail service. During the 11 years of WCR operation of the line, patronage increased by 20%. The first rail service under WCR operated on 19 September when V/Line locomotive N466 hauled the 17:00 Warrnambool to Melbourne Spencer Street service. In August 2001, Connex purchased a 50% shareholding. Donald Gibson and Gary McDonald continued to hold the other 50% shareholding. In 2003, Connex sold its shareholding to Australian Public Trustees. On 26 June 2001, the two directors of the company Gibson and McDonald bought a 50% share in Tranz Scenic, the national passenger operator in New Zealand, withdrawing some long-distance trains that were not profitable. ==Rolling stock==

A blue, white, yellow and grey livery was adopted, and was progressively applied to all West Coast Railway rolling stock. West Coast Railway initially purchased ten B and S Class locomotives, former Southern Aurora dining car RMS2360, four CP and one VZDY former guard's vans, and eleven total D, VBCW and VLCX vans, for a total of 27 items of rolling stock. Shortly thereafter, locomotives T363 and T369 were purchased from the Public Transport Corporation and delivered to Ballarat East on 1 March 1995. Locomotives leads a steam-hauled West Coast Railway service out of Warrnambool station, 2001 West Coast Railway operated rolling stock that was notable for being largely made up of 50-year-old locomotives including a steam locomotive, and some rolling stock bought from V/Line. They replaced the 1980s-built locomotives and rolling stock that had previously operated on the line, and contrasted with the successful tenderer for the Shepparton line rail service from Hoys Roadlines, which decided to lease rolling stock from V/Line. The locomotives owned by West Coast Railway were: The first locomotive to be fully overhauled was S300, which began trials on 23 January 1995, entering regular service two weeks later. The railway workshop at Ballarat East was leased by the company as its heavy maintenance base, with transfer runs being made via the Geelong to Ballarat line. becoming the fastest regular steam-hauled passenger service in the world. R711 entered service on regular trains on 21 November 1998 and was fitted with multiple unit control equipment so that it could be used in conjunction with diesel electric locomotives. It was followed by R766 in 2001. The carriages purchased by West Coast Railway were: Auxiliary stock In addition to this, West Coast Railway purchased several luggage and power vans for use in their services: ==Services other than Warrnambool==

As well as operating regular Warrnambool passenger services, West Coast Railway also ran charter services and operated special excursion trains to various destinations within Victoria, often in conjunction with The South Western Railway Society. The company assisted with the restoration of a number of steam locomotives. R711 and Y112 were made operational, and work was carried out on J536, D3 638, D3 641, and A2 986. The company also took advantage of Victoria's newly privatised rail freight market by hiring its T class locomotives to freight operators, as well as its mainline fleet of B class and S class on occasions. ==Demise==

West Coast Railway encountered a series of operational difficulties during 2003/04 which adversely affected its business. The death of one of the company's founding principals, Gary McDonald, on 25 April 2003 removed the guiding light and spirit of the company. Although West Coast Railway stated as late as May 2004 its intention to negotiate a new contract to operate Warrnambool services beyond the expiry of its existing contract in June 2004, with the expected locomotive repair bill to be in excess of $1 million it decided not to seek a renewal. Most of the diesel locomotives were sold to Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia. R711 was allocated to Steamrail Victoria by its owners. Other rollingstock was disposed of thus: • V/Line Passenger purchased S302, ACZ252, ACZ257 and BZ267. • 707 Operations purchased ACZ255, BZ270, BRS224, BS205 and BS212 • Steamrail Victoria purchased B64, BRS 229, BZ269, BS201, BS206, BS207, BK700, BK711, BK714 • Pacific National purchased BRS221, BRS222, BRS223 and BRS225 for use as crew cars ==Steamrail Westcoaster==

Beginning in 2018, the heritage rail tour company Steamrail Victoria introduced a new tour named the "Warrnambool Westcoaster" to Warrnambool as a special homage to the former regular steam services of West Coast Railway. The tour was hauled by ex-West Coast engine R711, which was allocated to Steamrail in 2004 and re-entered service in 2011. Originally operated as a charter for local resident and Steamrail volunteer Edward White, the tour was deemed extremely popular, becoming part of Steamrail's range of day tours from 2019 with heritage diesel S313 assisting. ==References==