# Bendigo Workshops > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bendigo_Workshops > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bendigo_Workshops.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bendigo_Workshops > Source revision: 1278171371 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Railway workshop in Victoria, Australia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox factory |name = Bendigo Workshops |image = |caption = |coordinates = |built = November 1917 |location = [Bendigo](/source/Bendigo), Australia |products = [Train](/source/Train)s |buildings = 31 |area = 10.3 hectares |owner = |website = |defunct = }} '''Bendigo Workshops''' is a [railway workshop](/source/railway_workshop) in [Bendigo](/source/Bendigo), [Victoria, Australia](/source/Victoria%2C_Australia). It is located in the north of the city beside the junction of the [Yungera](/source/Yungera_railway_line) and [Deniliquin](/source/Deniliquin_railway_line) railway lines. The site covers 10.3 hectares of land and has 31 separate buildings, including a 10,000 sqm main workshop building and six kilometres of railway track.[https://web.archive.org/web/20080719210152/http://www.nylexlimited.com.au/page.asp?PartID=132 Austrim Nylex Limited's Rubber Business Boosted] [Nylex](/source/Nylex) 6 November 2002 ==History== thumb|Exterior of the workshops thumb|Main workshop building [[File:Bendigo Workshops interior.jpg|thumb|Lifting a [DD class](/source/Victorian_Railways_Dd_class) steam locomotive]] The workshops were opened in November 1917 by the [Victorian Railways](/source/Victorian_Railways). It opened in response to political pressures from provincial groups for decentralisation, with the Victorian Railways preferring the cheaper option of expanding the existing [Newport Workshops](/source/Newport_Workshops) in suburban [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne).{{cite book|author=Lee, Robert|title=The Railways of Victoria 1854-2004|publisher=[Melbourne University Publishing](/source/Melbourne_University_Publishing)|year=2007|isbn= 978-0-522-85134-2|page=144}} Furthermore, unemployment had risen in both Bendigo and [Ballarat](/source/Ballarat) due to a decline in mining operations.A Job for Life ''[Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin](/source/Australian_Railway_History)'' issue 727 May 1998 pages 176-187 The main work carried out was repairs and maintenance of existing wagons and locomotives, however during 1919-22 thirteen new [steam locomotive](/source/steam_locomotive)s were also built - eight [DD class](/source/Victorian_Railways_Dd_class) (1033 - 1037, 1047 - 1049) and five [A2 class](/source/Victorian_Railways_A2_class) (1078 - 1082).[https://web.archive.org/web/20080801133553/http://museumvictoria.com.au/railways/theme.aspx?lvl=3&IRN=504&gall=689 Victorian Railways: Country Workshops] Museum Victoria From the 1950s onwards, numerous steam locomotives were scrapped at the workshops. During the years immediately following nominal [dieselisation](/source/dieselisation) in 1968, they were, at times, cutting up locomotives at the rate of one every two to three weeks. The workshops were also the site of the first VR brass [foundry](/source/foundry), which was transferred to Newport by the 1960s. Also throughout 1965 VLX louvred vans were constructed at the workshops, at a rate of one a week. Other tasks included [spring](/source/Spring_(device)) manufacture, construction of stainless steel footwarmers, and assembly of [pantographs](/source/Pantograph_(transport)) for electric trains, with a staff of 720 employed during 1966. By the 1980s, refurbishment work was also being carried out on Melbourne suburban [electric multiple unit](/source/electric_multiple_unit)s. The 1980s were also a time of restructuring, and on the breakup of the Victorian Railways the workshops passed to the [State Transport Authority](/source/State_Transport_Authority_(Victoria)) and then the [Public Transport Corporation](/source/Public_Transport_Corporation). With privatisation the workshops were closed, with the loss of 262 jobs.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110706123006/http://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/bc348d5912436a9cca256cfc0082d800/c6f9041ba8af1935ca2573ee00755c55 Coalition snubs regional Victoria in a return to the bad old days] Minister for Regional & Rural Development 13 February 2008 In February 1996, the workshops were taken over by [A Goninan & Co](/source/UGL_Rail).Bendigo Workshops ''[Newsrail](/source/Newsrail)'' May 1996 page 133 In October 1999 the workshops were purchased by [Great Northern Rail Services](/source/Great_Northern_Rail_Services), with A Goninan & Co remaining as a tenant.Railway Workshops Contract Awarded ''Newsrail'' October 1999 page 292Workshops ''[Transit Australia](/source/Transit_Australia)'' October 1999 page 234 In February 2001 A Goninan & Co vacated the site.Bendigo North Workshops to Close ''Newsrail'' March 2001 page 68Newsline ''[Railway Digest](/source/Railway_Digest)'' April 2001 page 10 The workshops were redeveloped in 2002 at a cost of $6.5 million - $4 million from [VicTrack](/source/VicTrack), $2 million from the State Government Regional Infrastructure Development Fund and $500,000 by the [City of Greater Bendigo](/source/City_of_Greater_Bendigo). The redevelopment was officially opened in 2004, with Empire Rubber (a division of [Nylex](/source/Nylex)) the major tenant, producing rubber vehicle components until the company collapsed in 2007.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110706123014/http://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/bc348d5912436a9cca256cfc0082d800/11d6b221bf7ea7a3ca256e900006192b%21OpenDocument Railway Workshop Redevelopment Opened] [Department of Treasury and Finance](/source/Department_of_Treasury_and_Finance_(Victoria)) 7 May 2004Bendigo Workshops Redevelopment Opened ''Newsrail'' September 2004 page 297[https://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/3953132/empire-rubber-saga-settles-no-money-for-workers/ Empire Rubber saga settles, no money for workers] ''[Bendigo Advertiser](/source/Bendigo_Advertiser)'' 7 June 2016 Since 2009, the workshops had been leased to [Southern Shorthaul Railroad](/source/Southern_Shorthaul_Railroad), who use the site for locomotive and rollingstock maintenance for [Aurizon](/source/Aurizon), [GrainCorp](/source/GrainCorp), [Metro Trains Melbourne](/source/Metro_Trains_Melbourne), [Pacific National](/source/Pacific_National), [Qube Holdings](/source/Qube_Holdings), [Rail First Asset Management](/source/Rail_First_Asset_Management) and [V/Line](/source/V%2FLine).[https://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/706949/festive-fix-up-for-historic-chimney/ Festive fix-up for historic chimney] ''Bendigo Advertiser'' 17 December 2009[https://web.archive.org/web/20231008093707/https://bendigomanufacturing.com/members/bendigo-railway-workshops/ Bendigo Railway Workshops] Bendigo Manufacturing Group[https://web.archive.org/web/20230327163604/https://ssrail.com.au/workshops-services/ Bendigo] [Southern Shorthaul Railroad](/source/Southern_Shorthaul_Railroad) In 2012 it built two [BRM class](/source/BRM_class) locomotives at the workshops.BRM001 ''Newsrail'' September 2012 page 282 ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Victorian Rail Workshops|state=collapsed}} {{coord|-36.7457|144.2976|type:landmark_region:AU|display=title}} Category:Buildings and structures in Bendigo Category:Railway workshops in Victoria (state) Category:1917 establishments in Australia Category:Bendigo Workshops locomotives --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bendigo Workshops](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bendigo_Workshops) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bendigo_Workshops?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.