Address & Contact Edit
Mansfield-Tallarook Rail Trail
Cathkin VIC 3714
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Home Creek was a lineside watering point in the early days of the railway for the old antiquated “O” and “Q” class engines that used to work the line in the early days.
The water tanks at this location were replenished regularly by running the Cathkin based engine out from Cathkin. They would pump water out of
Home Creek into lineside tanks for use by the through trains. A steam driven pump attached to the locomotive was used to pump the water out of the creek. These pumping duties for the Cathkin engine appear to be its main duties. Consequently the locomotive clocked up the lowest engine
miles worked per week in the state. These arrangements appear to have remained until 1909 when the line finally reached
Alexandra. The tanks at Cathkin where then decommissioned. At this point the Cathkin engine and crew were reassigned and added to the
Yea work roster. The workload had increased in
Yea due to the newly opened line into the
Alexandra township.