Community
16 April, 2025
Funding needed to re-open an icon
COBDEN Miniature Railway volunteers are hoping to raise $10,000 for the restoration of an iconic part of the park.
Volunteers have been hard at work over recent weeks completing a new fencing upgrade, but have eyed a much larger project of restoring the bridge bearing the “Welcome to Cobden” signage at the main entrance.
The volunteers behind the railway, including president Haydn Howard and secretary Sharron Howard, were recommended to restore the bridge following suggestions stemming from routine maintenance.
“It’s been checked by an engineer and it’s structurally sound but he thinks it needs to be sandblasted and repainted, which will cost around $10,000,” Mrs Howard said.
“We’ve got a company from Warrnambool which is prepared to come in and do it, and they’re the only company who would, so we’ve got to raise the funds.
“We’ve blocked it off for safety reasons at the moment, but we hope we can re-open it soon.”
Mrs Howard said the volunteers behind the Cobden Miniature Railway were hopeful they could secure funding, be it through grants or the generosity of the community.
“We’re hoping we can secure a grant but we’ll have to see what kind of grants can come along, such as through the shire,” she said.
“Otherwise, we’d love it if there were donations which could come from the community or the public.
“We’re happy to put up advertising signage if someone helps us out.”
The restoration of the bridge would accompany around 50 metres of new fencing which members had recently installed, which was made possible thanks to a donation from the community.
“It was a matter of working out what we wanted and purchasing the materials,” Mrs Howard said.
“We were given a donation a few years ago from people which had worked the Ecklin Playgroup, which folded, and a family from there gave us some money towards the fence.
“Our members recently installed and painted it.
“We also upgraded the fencing around the track to keep the cars and trains a bit more separate.”
Mr Howard said the new fencing was a small but important step towards heightening safety.
“The old fence was metal poles and metal rails, and the kids would take great delight in swinging on them,” he said.
“It wasn’t the most ideal and safe thing to have so we went for an upgrade.”
Cobden Miniature Railway has enjoyed a busy summer since celebrating the railway’s 30-year milestone in in October 2024, including drawing a large crowd on Sunday.
“It was busy leading in to Christmas but some Sundays were really hot, so you can’t blame them not coming out,” Mr Howard said.
“It’s been a little slow due to the hot weather but if anyone does turn up, we’re happy to give them a ride.
“The kids are happy, the adults are happy, and our team of volunteers loves it.”
Mr Howard said, after reflecting on the 30-year milestone, volunteers felt it would be almost impossible to have something as wonderful as the miniature railway built in a small town in the modern era.
“To do that now would be so difficult,” he said.
“Back in the day people brought their equipment to do the work they did.
“If you didn’t have those same resources you would have to get people with equipment and throw a lot of money at it to be like this.”
Read More: Cobden