Orange Council has thrown its support behind the embattled scale railway in Matthews Park, as surging costs threaten to slam the brakes on its tiny locomotives.
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Earlier this month it emerged the club had been hit with an unexpected 50 per cent hike to insurance premiums, leading organisers to fear any further increases could force the historic attraction to close.
Councillor Tammy Greenhalgh revealed staff have since reached out to the Orange Society of Model Engineers (OSME), and said she is "optimistic" a solution will be found.
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"We'll do what we can to support them, because we'd hate to see this facility be without the miniature trains ... we really just want to keep [it] here."
Cr Greenhalgh said a range of options would be explored if required, including an application via the small grants program or community fundraising efforts.
The news came as council pulled the covers off a new playground for children in Matthews Park, kitted out with train-themed equipment.
Alongside the reveal, plans for new picnic tables and increased greenery at the park were also confirmed by Cr Greenhalgh.
An outpouring of community support for the scale railway has surfaced over the past fortnight, with at least half-a-dozen 'letters' sent to this masthead expressing disappointment.
The track was built by the OSME in 1984, and now includes a miniature station, ticket booth, signal box, track switches, control lights, two bridges, and almost 700 metres of track.
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Ride-on events for kids have been run on the second Saturday of each month since at least 1989, and usually attract crowds of between 600 and 1000 over several hours.
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