Graffiti vandals who spray-painted an historic railway carriage at Richmond Vale Railway Museum – causing damage estimated at $1800 – may be sorry they left their calling card.

A tag on one of the 52-year-old carriages left shortly after Christmas has been traced to that of a known graffiti gang based in west Newcastle – the group that struck at the same spot two years ago who were caught and convicted.

Museum director Ray Hennessy said the graffiti tag had been traced and identified by State Rail officials and details were given to the NSW Police Graffiti Unit at Newcastle.

“It’s great news. We are confident these vandals will soon be caught,” Mr Hennessy told the Maitland Mercury yesterday.

But the spirits of heartbroken volunteers were further on the mend when Mr Hennessy also revealed his latest plan to deal with vandals.

“We estimate that the cost of removing spray paint in vandalism such as this would be about $1800, mostly for expensive cleaning materials,” he said.

“But this latest incident has also provided us with an opportunity to test a project we have had in mind for some time.”

“We will use this painted carriage to try out a new scheme – painting straight over the graffiti.”

Mr Hennessy said he would paint the silver carriage in the same brown and yellow colours of the old-style wooden carriages.

“I have been wondering what would happen if we painted these colours straight onto a spray-painted carriage without first removing the graffiti,” he said.

“Now we have the very opportunity to try out this scheme.”

“If it works and the graffiti is obliterated in the new colours, it could mean a whole new approach to repairing such damage.”

“To restore this particular carriage by painting over the graffiti would probably cost us $500 – instead of the $1800 it would have cost.”

Mr Hennessy revealed another trick to obliterate graffiti vandals’ tags as soon as possible after they had struck.

“Past experience has shown that vandals become very deterred if they can’t show pictures of their work to their mates,” he said.

“We know this, because we cleaned the paint off one carriage as soon as it was discovered.”

“The vandals were pretty annoyed – and they never came back.”

In the latest incident, Mr Hennessy said the vandals had cut a hole through a fence, sighted a security camera and run out again – cutting another hole in the fence further down.

“They came up under another security camera there,” he said.

“But they pulled a pipe from the ground and pushed one camera out of position, so it was pointing at the sky.”

“Then they carried out their dirty work on the other side of the carriages.”

“They must have been there for quite a while too.”

Mr Hennessy said security at the museum site would be further upgraded, with two more security cameras being installed.

Source: $1800 vandalism bill hurts railway museum

THIS is Perth’s teenage train-surfing graffiti vandal in action.

The boy’s nine-month tagging spree came to an end in July when he was charged with numerous trespass and vandalism offences.

He cannot be identified because he was a juvenile at the time the offences were committed.

But in court yesterday, he admitted to scrawling graffiti on trains and other railway property.

Security video shows the boy clinging to the back of a train while he tags the window.

The teenager was fined more than $6000, which included a $5000 contribution toward cleaning graffiti from the trains and property he had vandalised.

His sentencing coincided with an unrelated police operation which targeted graffiti vandals who were allegedly planning to tag trains and City of Perth property in Halloween damage spree.

Acting on information, Police Rail Unit officers and Perth police arrested 20 people during the two day crackdown across the metropolitan rail network, codenamed Operation Trackside 59.

Read More: Perth’s teenage train-surfing graffiti vandal

GRAFFITI vandals are costing Connex $11 million a year in train damage and delays.
More than 280 trains were delayed in the past week because of vandals, many coming from interstate.
In contrast, attacks on Connex trains delayed 270 services for the whole of September.
Transit Police say Melbourne has become “the place to be” for those wanting to vandalise trains and trams.
Connex said there had been 48 separate attacks on trains since last Wednesday, including 17 involving graffiti on windscreens.
Vandals from New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland are regularly coming for a weekend of tagging public transport.
Many of those caught are found with video equipment so they can post “brag videos” on the internet.
But Chief Inspector Brian Jennings from transit police said the footage makes vandals easier to identify and catch.
“There is an intelligence exchange between the various units who police the transport system in the different states,” he said.

Read More: Graffiti vandals causing havoc with trains

CHILDREN as young as seven are being taught graffiti vandalism techniques through a new range of toys.

Graffiti opponents have called for an Australia-wide ban on Urban Colourz, toys inspired by street graffiti, for fear they glorify a criminal act.

The State Government is investigating if sale of the toys breaches new laws that outlaw promotion of illegal street art.

The toys teach children how to create graffiti “tags” of the sort illegally scrawled on Victorian walls and buildings.

A range of products are available under the Urban Colourz brand name including:

A BATTERY-powered airbrush that sprays paint.

MULTI-coloured coloured pens shaped like spray paint cans.

BOOKS filled with graffiti tags, drawings and pictures.

STENCILS of graffiti motifs to colour in and copy.

TEMPORARY tattoos and graffiti stickers.

Residents Against Graffiti Everywhere (RAGE) president Steve Beardon says the toys glorify a crime that costs Victorian tax payers millions of dollars each year.

Read More: Outrage on graffiti toys
You can check out the toys they are arguing about here: Urban Colourz

A GRAFFITI vandals’ paradise is operating out of a train station owned by the State Government.

The This Is It store, advertised on one of the city’s biggest pro-graffiti websites, is leasing a shop in Richmond railway station.

The revelation comes days after the Government launched a graffiti crackdown.

A Sunday Herald Sun investigation has revealed:

- The store is advertised with the scrawled tag This Is It on the side of a train.

- A website the store is advertised on includes a gallery of dozens of defaced Connex carriages.

- Inside the shop is a display of more than 100 spray cans.

Anti-graffiti campaigner and Liberal MP Murray Thompson said: “It beggars belief that you can buy graffiti paraphernalia from a store in a railway station.

“What next: homemade bomb shops at airports, balaclavas at banks or free flares for soccer fans?”

Read More: Richmond train station home for graffiti shop

TOUGH new laws to wipe out graffiti were introduced to State Parliament yesterday.
Vandals could spend up to two years behind bars or be slapped with fines of more than $26,000.
The legislation will give police the power to lay specific graffiti charges.
Other key features of the new laws include:
A BAN on carrying spray cans near public transport without a legitimate reason, and fines of up to $2750 for breaking it.
STRONGER powers for police to search suspected graffiti vandals.
FINES of up to $2200 for selling spray paint to anyone under 18, unless for work reasons.
A CLAMPDOWN on spray paint advertising that encourages graffiti.
GIVING officials the right to enter private property to clean up graffiti.
The State Government will also fund new surveillance equipment to help police catch vandals in the act.
Programs to force graffiti vandals to clean up their own mess will also be expanded.

Read More: Graffiti vandals face fines of up to $26,000

THE sale of paint spray cans could be outlawed across New South Wales in an attempt to tackle graffiti vandalism which generates an annual $100 million clean-up bill.

The NSW Attorney General, John Hatzistergos, has launched an urgent review of legislation surrounding graffiti vandalism and said that a total ban on spray cans may be the only answer.

Graffiti costs local councils millions to remove with Sydney City alone spending up to $3 million a year to clean up in the CBD.

“Last year the Government set up the NSW Anti-Graffiti Action Team to drive new measures to reduce graffiti,” Mr Hatzistergos said.

“One of our election commitments was that the AGAT would review all relevant legislation and examine the possibility of a total ban on spray paints.”

Read More: Paint spray cans may be banned to stop graffiti