General News
22 February, 2023
Heritage Train
RAIL enthusiasts will have the opportunity to go all aboard for a taste of nostalgic luxury when Seymour Railway Heritage Centre brings its summer shuttle day trips to south west Victoria next month.
The Warrnambool Royal Train Shuttles will provide patrons a first class experience aboard carriages dating back to as early as 1906.
Three separate 2.5 hour services will run on Saturday, March 4 from Warrnambool Station to Boorcan; departing 9.05am, 12.05pm and 2.55pm.
Seymour Railway Heritage Centre president John Croft said the train and carriages will be in the region as part of a larger tours operation.
Due to public demand and recently rail upgrades, the smaller shuttle day trips have been added to the schedule.
“Two years ago we opened up and let people look at the Royal train and that generated a fair bit of interest,” Mr Croft said.
“Lots of people were asking how they could ride.
“The problem was we couldn’t schedule shuttle trips back then, but with the recent completion of the Boorcan Loop on the State Government’s Warrnambool Line Upgrade we now have enough capacity.
“The shuttle trip gives the locals an opportunity to come for a ride and experience the Royal train and state car, so it will be a great outing.”
The train will consist of historic heritage cars, including the 1912 era restored Victorian State Car No. 4 and century-old wooden carriages.
It was on this carriage the train earned its royal moniker. “State cars had a protocol allowing only two uses; transporting the state governor around the state and used for royal visits,” Mr Croft said.
“They were not used for any other purposes. “State Car No. 4 was manufactured in 1912 and has been involved in every royal train since then through to the end of the Victorian Railways era when the Car was withdrawn.
“It was involved in the 1954 Queen Elizabeth coronation and was also used quite famously in the 1983 Royal tour by Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their trip to Ballarat.
“So there is a lot of history there, and people can come along and stand on the rear platforms where they stood.”
In addition the eye-catching 111 year-old Yarra Parlor Carriage, with viewing platforms and Parlor seating, will also be on the shuttle. “It was used on the Sydney Express, the Victorian Railway train which ran from Melbourne to Aubrey before the prior to the gauge connection right through to Sydney,” Mr Croft said.
The original 1937 Spirit of Progress Dining Car will also available, brining an Australian iconic to the south west.
“It was probably Australia’s most iconic train,” Mr Croft said.
“It also ran through to Aubrey to provide the connection through to Sydney, and at the time it was one of the world’s first all-steel, all-air conditioned trains.
“In 1937, it was absolutely breakthrough technology.”
The carriages will not be the only historically important pieces on the line as two heritage diesel-electric locomotives from the 1960s/1980s carry the load.
Bookings are essential and can be booked online at srhc.org.au.
