Hellyer Train Timetable - 1997

The short story behind this timetable seems to be characteristic of many people's experience with the EBR. My first visit to the EBR was in 1997 when it was still under Pasminco ownership, and just under a year away from being integrated with Tasrail. The EBR's rail task is, and has always been challenging, the per way intriguing as it snakes it's way south, the scenery impressive, and the rollingstock interesting. Beyond these facts though, the operation had a very strong and human character. For this first visit in 1997 I rang ahead to see when trains were running. I was kindly invited down to the workshops early the next morning (where the locos were assembled and readied for the day's running). On turning up at the workshops at dawn, I was not only made welcome, but handed a copy of that day's running timetable, copies of the outline events for the upcoming EBR centenary, allowed free reign to walk all around the locoshed and works, and invited for a cab ride to Hellyer and back. Sadly I could'nt take the offer up as I was flying out of Hobart that afternoon, however I did video the running, and each time the driver saw me he waved. This was quite a different experience to most of my interactions with non-private systems at that time. Here's the timetable for that day's operation to Hellyer: