My partner and I went for a day drive from Geelong to see Old Tailem Town and it is well worth it, even at the entry price, we spoke with the owners and the main issue is they don't have the volunteers to help keep everything looking ship shape, we spent a good 4 or 5 hours and got so many wonderful photos, if you go in summer, please take heaps of water and look out for snakes or nope ropes as some call them. The site itself is the vision of the owner and as he told me "I made this town in the style of how I think the old town of Tallem Bend may have looked"
Monarto South was the station building from, Monarto South. The trams were used as a heritage fleet, but stopped,. because they would derail on the new North Terrace curves.
I love the English language and how the word 'Interesting' is used, considering the absolute lack of people there it looks like the Zombie apocalypse has happened
Will, a very interesting place to visit, thank you for sharing the details with us. As you said, it is looking a little bit worse for wear, and some of the items could be fixed, before they completely disappear. Thank you for sharing, cheers, and stay safe, Michael
G'day Will, like you l have driven past many times and never called in, next on holiday in that area it's a must, thanks for the heads up cheers mate, Neil 🤠.
G'day Will, Cool video. Yes, quite a lot of the rolling stock looked to be a little well worn and weathered, but it looked to be a reasonable collection. I guess somebody has to do it (keep a collection) and hopefully with more exposure, the town will gain more visitors/tourists and hopefully the monies made can go into preserving some of those iconic pieces. Cheers, Gary.
I was there not that long ago and I saw a 8300 class brakevan that you could open and explore in, it definitely made my day seeing what an old piece of ANR history looked like on the inside😁
Nice video Will. Very interesting place to visit. I do agree some of the exhibits could do with a bit of TLC but I'm sure it will happen one day. To have the rail trolleys in operation would definitely make the entry cost worth while.
that looks like a very interesting place. i have a very unfavourable opinion of the third truck on the right in the opening and closing scenes. i had to drive one of them a couple of times many years ago for a mate's father. he was a pom and had a thing about pommy stuff. the truck, an austin, was horrible. no synchros, all crunchy gears. the slack in the steering wheel was more than a quarter turn. the worst truck i ever drove.
It's good that you showcased this place. It definitely has a look of decrepitude. I'm sure there are some very rare things just rotting away there and it is a terrible shame. There appear to be one or two cars (like that Fiat 1100) that are rare and I am amazed that they are still there and haven't been purchased by a collector. I think the place needs a saviour. I hope it can be saved, or at least some of the things in it can be.
I was born and grew up in SA, and I'm afraid 'Old Tailem Town' looks to have received pretty much zero in the way of preservation work since I was a kid - it looks the same now as it did in the 1970s, only even more run down. Many of the old historic sites in SA are just as neglected so it isn't unique in that respect. There have been many attempts over the years to engage with investors for a number of historic sites but SA is a very parochial state, it's the reason I moved to Vic years ago. Sadly, the items there are destined to return to nature whence they came. It's a huge shame, as you quite rightly pointed out.
@contributor7219 Thank you for the reply, it fills in some missing details. The neglect may be regretted one day. At least Will James has made a video record of it.
I enjoyed this video, great you incorporated a non-railway attraction/venue with items of railway interest for viewers. If I may give my 2c on this facility after visiting last year, Old Tailem town is an absolute haven and goldmine for a lot of things…. ….. like complete sheer non-existence of OH&S and public liability! Holy s**t, half the buildings are at risk of collapsing on you, if not the floorboards are going to snap and you’ll fall through them! Sharp pointy edges everywhere, completely non-existent disability access, Exposed electrical cables, holes on canopies…. Then there are the bees nests! Tonne of then everywhere!! Imagine being stung and the first aid at the desk doesn’t have an epi-pen.....
That place turned me right off 24 years ago when I took a visitor from Canada to show her some of our history and after paying the substantial admission price, walking around for a couple of hours before finally returning to the entrance tables and chairs for the included ‘cup of tea’,..I was amazed to see that the cup of tea did NOT include a two cent biscuit. I even jokingly mentioned the Aussie tradition of the traditionally included biscuit with the cup of tea,….. only to be bluntly told “We don’t supply a biscuit”… WOW,.. see ya,….and I’ve never been back to that miserly attitude there since.
Lol, last time I was at Tailem Bend the caravan park rented us a mouldy overnight cabin and my lungs are still in recovery! Nasty attitudes from the locals don’t encourage people to go back again!
Considering this is All the dream of Peter Squire who single handedly created and runs this place, with no outside help or financial support apart from a couple of family members and a few close friends thjat help in the shop. Peter has been battling serious illness for a number of years. Iam sure if some of you railwaY nuts approahed Peter he would love some volenteer hours offered.
Again, another vlog saying tailem town is run down due to lack of volunteers. The pricing on entry should then be reflected but isn't. Birdwood Mill is clean and well kept and not run down or displays falling into dis repairs dust cobwebs no cleaning even the Cafe could do with a make over. Don't charge a premium for a wooden spoon .
My partner and I went for a day drive from Geelong to see Old Tailem Town and it is well worth it, even at the entry price, we spoke with the owners and the main issue is they don't have the volunteers to help keep everything looking ship shape, we spent a good 4 or 5 hours and got so many wonderful photos, if you go in summer, please take heaps of water and look out for snakes or nope ropes as some call them. The site itself is the vision of the owner and as he told me "I made this town in the style of how I think the old town of Tallem Bend may have looked"
Monarto South was the station building from, Monarto South. The trams were used as a heritage fleet, but stopped,. because they would derail on the new North Terrace curves.
I love the English language and how the word 'Interesting' is used, considering the absolute lack of people there it looks like the Zombie apocalypse has happened
Will, a very interesting place to visit, thank you for sharing the details with us.
As you said, it is looking a little bit worse for wear, and some of the items could be fixed, before they completely disappear.
Thank you for sharing, cheers, and stay safe, Michael
Many thanks!
G'day Will, like you l have driven past many times and never called in, next on holiday in that area it's a must, thanks for the heads up cheers mate, Neil 🤠.
Brilliant video Will James
Awesome !
I've been meaning to visit for quite some time
Thank you.
That looks awesome! I love their variety of vehicles. Nice video Will!
This is absolutely incredible.
Fantastic video, you've covered this place well! I'm going to have to pay this area a visit, they have some great stuff.
G'day Will,
Cool video. Yes, quite a lot of the rolling stock looked to be a little well worn and weathered, but it looked to be a reasonable collection. I guess somebody has to do it (keep a collection) and hopefully with more exposure, the town will gain more visitors/tourists and hopefully the monies made can go into preserving some of those iconic pieces.
Cheers, Gary.
Have been there once it's a pity the owner isn't able to get help to bring the place back into better condition
I was there not that long ago and I saw a 8300 class brakevan that you could open and explore in, it definitely made my day seeing what an old piece of ANR history looked like on the inside😁
Thanks Will Andrew
As an ex- South Australian, now in the Sth West of WA, I never knew or heard of it, even on Google maps. I`m going to see if I can find it soon.
great vid thanks for share
Nice video Will. Very interesting place to visit. I do agree some of the exhibits could do with a bit of TLC but I'm sure it will happen one day. To have the rail trolleys in operation would definitely make the entry cost worth while.
Awesome video...
While your in Sa you should go to the south Australian railway modellers association
that looks like a very interesting place. i have a very unfavourable opinion of the third truck on the right in the opening and closing scenes. i had to drive one of them a couple of times many years ago for a mate's father. he was a pom and had a thing about pommy stuff. the truck, an austin, was horrible. no synchros, all crunchy gears. the slack in the steering wheel was more than a quarter turn. the worst truck i ever drove.
Best part of Tailem Bend? Driving to Adelaide won't take that long.
I never knew it was so extensive, shame there is no public transport to Tailem Bend. Lots of old railways in regional SA, sadly no trains.
It's good that you showcased this place. It definitely has a look of decrepitude. I'm sure there are some very rare things just rotting away there and it is a terrible shame. There appear to be one or two cars (like that Fiat 1100) that are rare and I am amazed that they are still there and haven't been purchased by a collector. I think the place needs a saviour. I hope it can be saved, or at least some of the things in it can be.
I was born and grew up in SA, and I'm afraid 'Old Tailem Town' looks to have received pretty much zero in the way of preservation work since I was a kid - it looks the same now as it did in the 1970s, only even more run down. Many of the old historic sites in SA are just as neglected so it isn't unique in that respect. There have been many attempts over the years to engage with investors for a number of historic sites but SA is a very parochial state, it's the reason I moved to Vic years ago. Sadly, the items there are destined to return to nature whence they came. It's a huge shame, as you quite rightly pointed out.
@contributor7219 Thank you for the reply, it fills in some missing details. The neglect may be regretted one day. At least Will James has made a video record of it.
I enjoyed this video, great you incorporated a non-railway attraction/venue with items of railway interest for viewers. If I may give my 2c on this facility after visiting last year, Old Tailem town is an absolute haven and goldmine for a lot of things….
….. like complete sheer non-existence of OH&S and public liability!
Holy s**t, half the buildings are at risk of collapsing on you, if not the floorboards are going to snap and you’ll fall through them!
Sharp pointy edges everywhere, completely non-existent disability access, Exposed electrical cables, holes on canopies….
Then there are the bees nests! Tonne of then everywhere!! Imagine being stung and the first aid at the desk doesn’t have an epi-pen.....
That place turned me right off 24 years ago when I took a visitor from Canada to show her some of our history and after paying the substantial admission price, walking around for a couple of hours before finally returning to the entrance tables and chairs for the included ‘cup of tea’,..I was amazed to see that the cup of tea did NOT include a two cent biscuit.
I even jokingly mentioned the Aussie tradition of the traditionally included biscuit with the cup of tea,….. only to be bluntly told “We don’t supply a biscuit”…
WOW,.. see ya,….and I’ve never been back to that miserly attitude there since.
Lol, last time I was at Tailem Bend the caravan park rented us a mouldy overnight cabin and my lungs are still in recovery! Nasty attitudes from the locals don’t encourage people to go back again!
Isn't this place at risk of closing down because no one goes there?
All those buildings were bought from Victoria
Bro didn’t even recognise the historical significance of the 800/850/860 class carriages
Perhaps you could help us all out by sharing the significance of these carriages?
Considering this is All the dream of Peter Squire who single handedly created and runs this place, with no outside help or financial support apart from a couple of family members and a few close friends thjat help in the shop. Peter has been battling serious illness for a number of years. Iam sure if some of you railwaY nuts approahed Peter he would love some volenteer hours offered.
Guess it’s time to wake up from his dream then.
Again, another vlog saying tailem town is run down due to lack of volunteers. The pricing on entry should then be reflected but isn't.
Birdwood Mill is clean and well kept and not run down or displays falling into dis repairs dust cobwebs no cleaning even the Cafe could do with a make over.
Don't charge a premium for a wooden spoon .
This principle/concept isn’t new.
Anyone remember “Old Sydney Town”? Come on people