A LACK of money, time and volunteers is hampering the upkeep of the old railway line in Rosewood.

This was explained by Vice President and Secretary of the Australian Railway Historical Society, John Pollard, when the Moreton Border News contacted him about complaints that the line was unkempt and overgrown.

The contact was triggered by concerns raised by Bernadette Crescent resident, Shirley Smith, about the overgrown grass and large trees that have taken over the old line that runs from Railway Street to Walloon Road and up to Upper John Street in Rosewood.

Ms Smith has been a resident of Rosewood’s Bernadette Crescent for more than a year.

“Bernadette Crescent backs onto the railway line and my main concern is the lack of maintenance in the railway area, which results in a perfect breeding ground for snakes that can easily make their way from the long grass areas into house yards,” she said.

“This is a major concern to me, I am elderly and not as fast on my feet as I once was, so if I was to come across a snake in my yard, I would not have much of a chance in moving quickly to avoid a potentially dangerous situation.

“I also hear young children who live in the area, playing in their backyards, and it concerns me that they may come across a snake.

“As a result of this situation I have been questioning what is going on, and who exactly is responsible to maintain this area.

“I have contacted the Ipswich City Council on numerous occasions with no success in gaining a response and I have even considered contacting the State Government.

“I also look at this situation in a different light and think that maybe if the area was cleaned up and the tracks were visible then what a nice area it would be for families to walk, while talking about and recalling the history of the Rosewood line.”

Vice President and Secretary of the Australian Railway Historical Society John Pollard said he was aware that the area is currently overgrown.

“I am totally aware that the area is in need of mowing, but there are currently obstacles that have made it impossible to maintain that area,” he said.

“The gearbox on our tractor that is used to mow the area was smashed due to coming into contact with large concrete, bricks and rubbish that has been thrown over the fence of the house blocks into the railway paddock.

“As a result of the tractor being severely damaged, we have not been able to mow the area, because it costs money to be able to fix the problem.”

He said that lack of funds was the issue.

“We do not have running days anymore and as a group we receive little to no support from the government, because funds are getting harder to come by.

“Families need to take responsibility.

“This means they need to simply stop throwing concrete and rubbish into the railway paddock, their rubbish is creating a huge problem.

“Also, most of our volunteers are elderly, and the number of volunteers is dwindling.

“We need more help and we need people to understand that we are doing the best that we can with what resources we have.

“As a group we do plan to clean up the area as soon as we get our tractor up and running again, it is our goal to keep the track clean and tidy, it simply just takes time and money.”