Newport Railway Museum

The Newport Railway Museum is located on Champion Road, Newport, Victoria, near the North Williamstown station. History The museum opened on 10 November 1962, after the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) Victorian Division was allocated space at Newport Workshops by the Victorian Railways to develop a collection of key examples of steam locomotives that were then in the process of being replaced by diesel and electric locomotives. By the late 1980s, the early diesel and electric locomotives that had replaced steam traction were themselves nearing end of life, and the museum expanded its collection to incorporate a number of key examples. Following a safety audit by VicTrack, the landlord and owner of most of the exhibits, the museum closed in February 2010. After various improvements, it reopened in March 2014. On 16 June 2020, it was announced that the ARHS had withdrawn from the operation of the museum and a new group, Newport Railway Museum Inc., formed by museum volunteers, had entered into an arrangement with VicTrack to take over the Museum site lease. Site improvements In recent years, projects have been undertaken to construct roof canopies to cover the exhibits and protect the collection from the elements. In 2016, a project was announced to construct a 693 m2 (7,460 sq ft) roof canopy over four wooden passenger carriages and three of the oldest steam locomotives on the site; this project was completed in 2017. In 2019, the Victorian Government announced a project to construct a roof canopy to protect the heritage-listed locomotive H220 Heavy Harry. A 1,134 m2 (12,210 sq ft) structure that covered H220 and several adjacent exhibits was completed in 2020. In announcing the completion of the second roof canopy, Newport Railway Museum stated its intention to continue to construct further roofing over remaining exhibits to ensure their preservation. In late 2023, the second canopy was further extended by 567 square metres (6,100 sq ft) to bring several additional exhibits under cover, including steam locomotive C10, the last-remaining member of a class the museum describes as representative of a step change in the haulage of freight in Australia. In 2025, the museum announced the expansion of its site to take in additional land for future expansion of the collection. Two objects of cultural significance, the Newport Workshops war memorial and a 1/3 scale model of Victoria's first main line diesel-electric locomotive B60, would be accessible to the general public as a result of the expansion. Opening hours The museum's regular opening hours are between 12 noon and 5 pm on Saturdays, and the third Sunday of each month between 12 noon and 5 pm. During school holiday periods, the museum opens on both Saturdays and all Sundays, between 12 noon and 5 pm. Collection The museum contains the largest existing collection of Victorian Railways steam locomotives, a wide range of other Victorian Railways rolling stock, and numerous Victorian Railways artefacts. The collection includes: seventeen steam locomotives eight diesel locomotives three electric locomotives and four electric suburban carriages five country/interstate passenger carriages ten freight wagons and two guards vans five railway cranes rail tractors and postal trolleys a signal box an O scale model railway Steam locomotives Diesel locomotives Electric rollingstock Passenger carriages Vans Freight wagons Other items Gallery References External links Media related to Newport Railway Museum at Wikimedia Commons