PUFFING Billy Railway volunteers are steaming mad as thieves continue to take precious wood which the icon uses on a daily basis.
The wood is being stolen from Puffing Billy’s land.
Puffing Billy chief executive John Robinson said people were taking wood regularly, which he said was not only stealing from Puffing Billy but also trespassing on private land.
“It is a great shame that it keeps happening, and I’m sure if people realised this is actually a criminal offence, they would not do it,” he said.
Mr Robinson said trees and branches often fell along the railway line, due to severe weather conditions or decay, and the Puffing Billy works crew were responsible for clearing it, especially if there was safety concern.
This wood is then used by the railway in an effort to be as sustainable as possible.
Mr Robinson said the wood was used as ‘light-up wood’ for the locomotives.
Some are milled on site to make building materials such as fence palings, while logs are burnt in fire places within the station buildings so that patrons and volunteers can keep warm.
“Puffing Billy is a not-for-profit organisation run by 900 dedicated volunteers, so sustainable, cost-saving practices are important to us,” Mr Robinson said.
“Utilising the wood saves on heating and supply costs which would place a dent in the operating budget.”
The land along the railway line is managed by Puffing Billy Railway and the works crew and volunteers take pride in maintaining it to a high standard.
Mr Robinson said it was disheartening for the staff and volunteers to discover that wood was being removed from railway land.
He hoped that people will refrain from removing wood in the future.
