Marija and I left Ararat and drove to Horsham where we called in for morning tea to my Aunty Dawn and Uncle Jack’s home. It was great to catch up. We also drove passed my Nana’s old house in Horsham which brought back lots of fond memories from my childhood.

We then headed to the Remlaw silo VK-RMW3. Remlaw is a small district a few km west of Horsham in western Victoria.

Above:- Map showing the location of Remlaw. Map c/o Google Maps.

The silos are located at the intersection of Remlaw Road and Remlaw Station Road.

The silo is located alongside the old Carpolac railway line which served a number of grain silos in the Wimmera district of Victoria. The line branched off of the Serviceton railway line at Horsham and was opened in stages. It was opened from Horsham to East Natimuk in August 1887, East Natimuk to Goroke in July 1894, and then from Goroke to Carpolac in May 1927.

Above:- A stack of wheat bags at Remlaw surrounded by a mouse guard. Image c/o Trove.

During the 1980s the line closed in various stages, with the section between the junction to East Natimuk and Horsham being the last to close.

We parked right alongside the silo. The noise floor was zero as we were quite some distance from any noise-causing sources. We operated from the 4WD, running the Icom IC-7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 8350 1.5 metre stainless steel whip).

Above:- The activation zone at the Remlaw silo. Image c/o SiOTA website.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK3PF
3. VK3ZSC
4. VK5HS
5. VK2LEE

Marija worked the following station on 20m SSB:-

1. VK3APJ

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3SQ
2. VK3PF
3. VK3ZSC
4. VK5HS
5. VK2LEE
6. VK3SMW
7. VK5IS
8. VK7LG
9. VK1AO
10. VK2MET
11. VK3NP

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK3APJ
2. VK2IO
3. VK7XX
4. VK5CZ

References.

1. Railpage, 2023, <https://www.railpage.com.au/photos/54046>, viewed 4th May 2023.
2. SiOTA, 2023, <https://www.silosontheair.com/silos/>, viewed 4th May 2023.
3. Wikipedia, 2023, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpolac_railway_line>, viewed 4th May 2023.