Community members make last-minute purchase to save Golden Mile Loopline Railway Society’s train carriages

The Golden Mile Loopline Railway Society parted ways with close to 140 assets at the weekend when items including an diesel electric locomotive, model train displays, signs and tools went under the hammer. But a last-minute move by the community to buy the society’s train carriages means they will remain at the Boulder site for the time being. A live auction was conducted by Ross’s Auctioneers and Valuers at the former Loopline Museum site in Boulder on Saturday, attracting a crowd looking to buy a piece of Goldfields history. They included a group of community members and local business owners who banded together and spent about $30,000 to buy four train carriages with a view to saving them for future use. Long-time Goldfields resident Christopher Potts was among those who contributed funds to buy the carriages, which he described as a “positive outcome”. “We managed to buy four carriages . . . which will hopefully remain here on site,” he said. GMLRS chair Laurie Ayers told the Kalgoorlie Miner large rolling stock including a dining cart, which was not included in the auction, and “local purchases” such as the train carriages could form part of a static display in the future. The society’s future has been in question since plans to build a 16km tourist railway connecting downtown Boulder and the Super Pit were derailed in 2017 when the mine announced it was looking to expand the pit and move its lookout. Mr Ayers said with the group’s assets lying dormant for many years, the committee feared they would soon fall victim to theft, vandalism or disrepair. He said the auction allowed many of these assets to find new homes, where they would be given the attention they deserved. “Happily, I can say that most of the things that we were concerned about have found new owners and the outlook for those is good because they’re looking to put them back up into working order or renovate them,” Mr Ayers said. “To move those things along and have someone else fix them up and use them is a great result. “The line in the sand has been drawn. We’ve made the hard decision, and now we can move forward.” Mr Ayers confirmed Rail Heritage WA acquired some of the society’s large rail assets. With money in the bank to fund new projects and a fresh batch of volunteers expressing interest, he said the group’s future looked promising. “The history of Boulder Station and the history of the Loopline hasn’t gone anywhere — it’s still there,” he said. “It’s now up to finding a different way to . . . display it.” Mr Potts — who was a committee member about 15 years ago — shared a similar sentiment and said he hoped to rejoin the group and attract “fresh blood” to reinvigorate the society. “I’d like to encourage people to become members and come on board with us,” he said. “I’ve spoken with a few committee members . . . and we’ve got a fair (amount) of expressions of interest from people. “Some people have got a can-do (attitude) and have expressed their desire to come here with their machinery and do small, intense bouts of work to try and get things going again.”