Bruce continues family tradition

Many local commuters may have seen Bruce DeHaas on a V/Line trip at some stage. For almost 50 years, railway has been a prominent part of Bruce's life.

Born and raised in Warragul, his grandfathers, Harold Lindsey and Anthony DeHaas, both worked on the railways in metropolitan Melbourne and Gippsland respectively while his father, Martin 'Marty' DeHaas, was a driver with VicRail for many years.

So it wasn't surprising that Bruce decided to follow in their footsteps and set out on his own career in the railways back in May 1977.

Working alongside his dad at the Jolimont rail yards early in his career is a cherished memory for Bruce.

After 49 years of driving trains around regional Victoria, and as a practical driver trainer out of Bairnsdale in recent years, Bruce has retired, driving his final shift on Friday.

Bruce, who now lives at Bairnsdale, has filled many roles during his time with V/Line, including as locomotive driver for many years as well training and assessing trainees and is currently a practical driver trainer.

He's driven a variety of trains over the years with the locomotive among his favourites.

A popular part of the V/Line family, Bruce has played a significant role in the career development of many employees and a number of Gippsland-based drivers – including acting eastern regional driver manager Helen Candir.
He was still being paired with new drivers right up until his final shift to ensure he could pass on his wealth of knowledge of the network and the VLocity train fleet.

"I've enjoyed my time working with V/Line and I am leaving with a lot of fond and cherished memories after 49 years.
"I will miss the people I work with. I've developed a lot of relationships over my time and some of them feel like my family.

"I was so privileged to be able to work alongside my dad, Marty, who was also a driver, when I first started in the railways and some of my fond memories are spending time with him in the meal room at Jolimont.

"I've seen many changes to the rail network over the past four decades, including the modernisation of the V/Line fleet and I've been proud to be part of training young drivers and watching their careers progress."

"I'm looking forward to seeing my daughter, Megan DeHaas, shortly become a parent herself and spending time with her and my grandchild."

Ms Candir said Bruce had made a huge contribution to the rail industry over his five decades.
"Bruce is a larger-than-life character of the Gippsland driver group down here and will be greatly missed," she said.