On Thursday, September 22, 40 members of the Retired Railway Employees Association met at the Victorian Railways Institute hall in Seymour for their tri-annual lunch event.
The lunch was planned as a memorial lunch to honour former RREA president Bob Philp, who passed away two years ago.
The memorial lunch was originally scheduled for last year, but was delayed due to COVID-19.
Mr Philp’s railway career involved various posts across the state, rising to the highest appointment of Spencer St station master.
The lunch fell on the National Day of Mourning for Queen Elizabeth II. A minute’s silence was held to commemorate both individuals.
Further to the occasion’s significance, this year marks 99 years since the formation of the RREA in 1923.
RREA president and event co-ordinator Richard Gilbert joined the railways in 1967. He says the VRI and RREA provide a sense of community and camaraderie that makes life on the railways so unique.
“The railway family was very well connected. You always knew who was down the line at the next station,” he said.
“People who joined learnt their craft through the VRI. It was like a TAFE college for railway people. It kept people together.”
The RREA has approximately 120 members; however, Mr Gilbert says that number is declining due to changes in the social fabric of society.
“Social change is seeing people become more individual, it’s hard to keep members,” he said.
The RREA holds three lunches such as this a year. The group travels around the state by train to railway locations of significance, such as Seymour, Warrigal and Ballarat, where local members will assist the president in co-ordinating the lunch at the VRI hall. The association also holds a Christmas lunch in Melbourne, social days out and annual multi-day bus trips to various regions.
This month also marks 150 years of the railway in Seymour. To mark the milestone, the Seymour District and Historical Society held an open day on Sunday, September 25.