Miniature railyard seeking signatures of support

THE Geelong Miniature Railway (GMR) has begun a petition to lease land at Corio’s Sutcliffe Reserve with the hopes of opening a fully functioning miniature railway track.

Joining up with other organisations, the GMR has teamed up with the Corio Norlane Lions Club to collect the 20 to 25,000 signatures needed to progress to the next step.

Once the required signatures have been collected, Brownbill Ward councillor Eddy Kontelj will present the petition to the following council meeting and a verdict will be decided on.

“Four years ago, the GMR began searching for a new railway with no luck,” said head of the project Brian Gray.

“We saw there was nothing in the northern suburbs, so we contacted the Lions Club and decided to team up and push this project forward to unite the community.”

Since then, Gray and his team have employed numerous tactics to boost the number of signatures such as informing local schools in the area of the benefits a railyard could have on students.

Most recently, members from the railway and the Lions Club put up a stall at the Corio Village Shopping Complex over the span of three days last week.

The stall itself was lined with a seven-and-a quarter-inch Victorian S Class locomotive on display to the public.

Mr Gray is adamant the new initiative will bring an abundance of tourism to the area too, stating that the revenue produced by the railyard will range between three and four million dollars per year based on food and fuel costs from visitors alone.

It would also see visitors learn an abundance of new skills according to their petition in areas like ironwork, soldering, welding, and mechanics.

“People I spoke to were very grateful we chose to put a railyard in the Corio area,” Mr Gray said.

“Mental health issues have skyrocketed to a 64 per cent increase in the area and the railyard provides an awesome activity to get out for some fresh air and bring along their families.”

Mr Gray also noted that up to 11,000 people went out of work due to the closures of car manufacturers such as the Ford factory, and it would be a good opportunity for workers in those professions to pass their skills down to the next generations.

Membership ages range from eight years old to 80 years old and more information for their petition can be gathered on their website or their Facebook page.