Linda's Scones

The following was given to me for publication by Linda Sutton of Billy Tea Rooms
after I stopped by there for lunch.

THE TRAIN THAT STOPPED FOR LINDA'S SCONES.

When Linda Sutton first started up the Billy Tea Rooms, the goods trains used to stop
for about thirty minutes in Glenrowan, waiting for a train traveling in the opposite direction
to pass by.

One day Linda was in the toilet and nearly jumped out of her skin when one of these train
drivers blew his whistle.

The drivers used to walk up to Billy Tea Rooms for their scones and Linda made the
mistake of telling them off for frightening her in the toilet. From then on they blew their
whistles every time in the hope of catching Linda in the toilet again.

When Vicrail did away with the thirty minute stops, the drivers lamented missing out
on Linda's scones. She suggested the drivers ring through for their scones and she would
deliver them to the train if it could slow down. One of them decided to take up her offer.

For the last three years Victor from Vicrail regularly drove a goods train from Melbourne
to Sydney and back again. Everytime he reached Wangaratta on the homeward run he would
ring Linda (from the Billy Tea rooms) and ask her to meet him beside the railway line in
Glenrowan with scones and a Kelly Kola.

Linda would bundle up some scones and run down the line behind her shop. On approaching
Glenrowan, Victor would slow down the train, jump off, get his scones from Linda and get back
on the train to continue his journey to Melbourne. This was a regular happening.

About three months ago there was a train crash at Ballarat (or Ararat) where a 42 year old
train driver was killed/ Linda had no way of knowing that it was 'her' special train driver.

Linda rarely watches television, but around that time she caught a glimpse of the TV news
which was showing part of the train driver's funeral.

The driver's brother who was giving the eulogy looked like Victor and spoke of Victor's
love of trains. Instantly Linda knew it was 'her' Victor who had been killed in the train crash.
She told Colin, her husband, that it was Victor's way of letting her know that he had been
killed.

A recent visit to the Billy Tea rooms by some train driver friends of Victor's confirmed
what Linda already knew in her heart - Victor would not be stopping his train for scones
ever again.

For more information about the crash see these links:

http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11318391.htm
http://www.vicsig.net/?page=news&id=322
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200604/s1626620.htm
http://abc.net.au/news/australia/vic/ballarat/200604/s1626620.htm