Fire has again struck the Newport rail yards, with two historic rail carriages destroyed in a suspicious blaze which ripped through a shed early this morning.
Another carriage was damaged, along with other historic stock, when the 100 metre long timber-framed ironclad shed went up in flames just after 2am.
Thirty firefighters took almost two hours to bring it under control.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but a crime scene has been declared at the site.
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MFB Commander Phil Patterson said the intense heat set roofing timbers alight, with flames at one stage running almost the entire length of the building, causing the roof to partially collapse.
One of the carriages destroyed in the fire was a 1950’s Overland Train sleeping carriage. The second carriage was a 1940’s seating carriage also used on the Overland Train and on country trains in South Australia.
The Overland Train was a premier train running nightly between Melbourne and Adelaide. It was also the main form of travel between the two cities up to the 1960’s prior to air travel becoming cheaper and more available.
Steamrail Victoria board member Michael McGlade said it felt “pretty bad” to be targeted so soon after another fire destroyed four historic red rattler train carriages and two heritage-listed buildings in March.
That fire, believed to have been caused by a faulty switch, destroyed three carriages from the 1880s and also caused substantial damage to the historic building.
“We haven’t recovered from the first fire,” he said. “Where do you pick up the pieces?”
The damage has been roughly estimated at $200,000.
“The damage bill has been difficult to estimate as much of the damaged rail stock had more historic and emotional attachment rather than pecuniary value,” Mr Patterson said.
“There’s certainly heritage significance to the local area community.”
In a statement Steamrail acknowledged “the fantastic work of the fire crews in limiting the spread of the fire to other carriages in the storage area”.
Meanwhile, a suspicious fire at a Footscray factory has caused $40,000 worth of damage.
With The Age
