Cleaning up the MUSS Pile

Published as ‘Treasures of the MUSS Pile’ in Junee Southern Cross on 13 August 2018 - our text is reproduced below.

It’s amazing what you find when you clean up the MUSS Pile. The “Maybe Useful Someday Stuff” accumulates over the years until one day someone says: “Enough, time for a clean up!”

The MUSS Pile is often tucked away in an obscure corner of an establishment and is added to at random by all who work there. The bits and pieces that just ‘might come in handy’ because you ‘never know what you might need’ and ‘you can’t throw that out, we might need it’ reflects the thrifty thinking of a bygone era. A time when a latch, a piece of timber, or a particular type of bolt would be needed to keep essential pieces of equipment operating.

Volunteers at the Roundhouse Museum, Vince, Jonathon and Trevor have been busy for several weeks tidying up the storage area and putting things to rights. In doing so they made two exciting discoveries. Fortunately Jonathon (son of a Perway worker) and Trevor (ex breakdown train crew) recognised the bits and pieces of steel and very soon had the fettlers’ rail cutting tool assembled. It is now on display in the museum. Such a clever implement that could be carried easily on a trike to an area of broken rail, assembled and within minutes (so we are told) have a new piece of rail cut to size and ready to be dog spiked into place.

The second equally exciting discovery was the uncovering of an old anvil. Research done by Allan, another volunteer, has revealed a piece of history which has direct links to the old Junee loco depot before the Roundhouse was built. The anvil took a bit of persuading to reveal its origins but Vince scraped and rubbed off accumulated gunk until the original steel shone through and the maker’s name and number could be seen. It seems that this marvellous old item made by Peter Wright at his ‘Railway Wheel, Vice and Anchor Works, Dudley’, began its life in England somewhere between 1880 and 1910 and travelled to Australia (probably as ship’s ballast) before ending up in Junee in the blacksmith’s forge. Manoeuvring the anvil into its display position and onto its table plate required some railway ingenuity as it weighs about 6 cwt (in old measure) and roughly 300kgs in metric. Visitors to the museum will see this unusual piece of Junee railway history now on display as they tour the Roundhouse.

The third item causing some excitement has been the handing over of an original NSW Department of Railways Coat of Arms for locomotive 4401. Museum Curator, Ron Ison, managed to persuade NSW Rail Heritage to part with one of two such items so it could be rightfully put in its place on the nose of the locomotive. It is quite a sight to behold and adds the finishing touch to the original livery of this first generation main line diesel.

The Roundhouse Museum has an impressive display of locomotives and equipment pertinent to Junee railway history and thanks to the dedicated hard work of volunteers the museum exhibits and storage area are spruced up and looking pretty good.

N. K. Milliken and I.W. Gray

Jonathan Douglas and Trevor Follett with the rail saw

Neville Hyde, Allan Tucker, Jonathan Douglas and Vince Hollis with the anvil