Back in 1955 the Victorian Railways entered the first annual Moomba parade with a large-scale model of diesel electric locomotive B60 ‘Harold W Clapp’ – the pride of their fleet. Sixty years later, a photo of the same parade float has been doing the rounds of the various ‘remember when’ Facebook groups, ripped from the Victorian Government’s ‘Culture Victoria’ website – so what is the story behind the scale model?
State Library of Victoria. Image H91.330/4268
Built to 1/3 scale, the model of B60 was constructed by Victorian Railways apprentices at the Newport Workshops, and was unveiled in 1954 to celebrate the centenary of railways in Victoria. It then went on display on the main concourse at Spencer Street Station.
Public Record Office Victoria. VPRS 12800/P1, item H 2664
The 1955 Moomba parade commenced somewhere on St Kilda Road.
State Library of Victoria. Image No: A29530. Accession No: H91.330/4252
These first two photos appear to show the start of the parade.
State Library of Victoria. Image No: A29554. Accession No: H91.330/4277
Note the Victorian Railways staff riding on the float.
The official photographer then skipped ahead to Flinders Street Station to capture the parade.
State Library of Victoria. Image H91.330/4268
They then turned around and captured a quick parting shot of the railway’s float continuing up Swanston Street.
State Library of Victoria. Image H91.330/4268
Footnote
The ‘Flinders Street Station’ website has more on the construction of the model, as well as some photos:
In 2011 Malcolm sent me some photos of the patternmakers who built the B60 diesel loco at the Newport Workshop that was to be named ‘The Harold Clapp’. Malcolm was a 3rd year patternmaker apprentice in 1954 and along with patternmakers Max Small, Merv Williams and Anderson, constructed the model out of timber under the direction of Foreman Pattern-maker, Davey Yates.
Surprisingly enough, the model of locomotive B60 still exists today. By 1990 the model had been put into storage at the Newport Workshops, but it since been relocated to an enclosed shelter in the main workshop car park.
If you visit the North Williamstown Railway Museum, the model is visible when you peek through the cyclone fence into the workshop proper.
Sometime after 1962 the model was placed in the new Spencer Street station building. It was situated in the luggage room against the eastern windows that opened onto exit from the car park. Seeing the model was one of the highlights of catching the Overland in the seventies.
I haven’t had any luck finding a photo of that end of the station – this one is from the second floor balcony, looking down on the ‘Cavalcade of Transport’ mural:
http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/175018
My memories of that end of the station is the Bourke Street Bridge, which was built in the early 2000s:
http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/248353