Three in one day

Given we’ve just passed the Winter solstice, the weather on the weekend in Central Victoria was remarkably sparkling. It certainly wasn’t warm, but Sunday was particularly vibrant, with clear skies, and not a breath of wind.

Janelle and I were in Bendigo Saturday afternoon to visit an exhibition at the art gallery with her parents, and stayed overnight. While we planned to head back to Melbourne in the morning, a photo in a chat group from a friend of the Victorian Goldfields Railway J 549 sitting in the sun at Castlemaine changed that! The loco was at the head of a train soon to depart for Maldon, a 45 minute journey through farmland and dry Central Victorian forest.

Bendigo to Maldon is just over a 30 minute drive, and it was 35 minutes until the train was due there, so it was game on!

It was a very easy familiar drive, one I’ve made many times before as a passenger when I was younger, and by myself.

We made the Bendigo Road level crossing with time to spare, so I headed off down the track to take advantage of the 1 in 40 gradient down, and back out of the dip where there was once a small trestle bridge at the 88 mile post.

Having a bit of time to think about things, I remembered walking the same bit of track years ago with dad, well before the railway was reopened by the dedicated volunteers, some of whom are still at it today.

The line reopened as far as the Bendigo Rd. crossing in 1986, and was gradually extended until it reached Castlemaine, the junction with the Melbourne to Bendigo railway.

For some years, a mostly volunteer team under direction of Ganger Will Maylor have been steadily working at replacing the original light branchline weight rail with heavier, longer lengths, and the timber sleepers with concrete ones cascaded down from regional upgrades and level crossing removals to turn the railway into a less labour intensive, more sustainable line for the future. There’s regular updates posted on the VGR Civil blog which make interesting reading, and show how much can be achieved by a small dedicated crew!

Eventually stirring me back out of my daydreams, J549 could be heard working up the long climb from Muckleford, the line’s intermediate station through the forest. One of the last classes of steam locomotives introduced into the Victorian Railways, the 1950s built J is certainly right at home on the branchline.

It was the second steam loco restored by the railway, the first being 1940s K160, which is currently under major overhaul at Steamrail Victoria’s Newport workshops, where it was built.

The J itself has only recently returned from overhaul, and looked magnificent as it dropped over the crest of the hill, descended the 1 in 40 grade to the 88 mile post, and then commenced climbing for Bendigo Rd, and into Maldon station.

J549 and its train in the dip at the 88 mile post mark.The optical illusion of a long zoom lens, and cropping afterwards gives the impression the train is closer than it actually is!

Safely off track, the J starts to work harder as it gets into the climb that continues almost all the way to Maldon station, about one and a half kilometres away.

Once the train had passed, we were thinking of lunch options, and, as we enjoy visiting Daylesford, headed for the famous spa town, another 30 minute drive away, which is also home to the Daylesford Spa Country Railway (DSCR).

It’s a pleasant drive between the two former gold mining towns, the only other settlement of any note being Newstead, on the Loddon River, and now closed Castlemaine - Maryborough railway. We paralleled the rusty overgrown rails of what used to be a heavily trafficked line, particularly in grain season, before cutting across to the central highlands, and into Daylesford.

Patchy internet hadn’t turned up any availability for lunch at a couple of places we want to try, so we opted for a charcuterie platter and glass of wine at one of our regular spots when we’re in the area, Winespeake, which is always a good experience.

Lunchtime also coincided with a lull in the DSCR timetable, so once we’d had a break, we were right to go about ten minutes before the train departed.

The DSCR operates heritage rail motors, dating from the 1930s, 50s and 70s over a nine km section of the former Victorian Railways branchline from Carlsruhe to Daylesford. Like the Maldon railway, and many others across the state, it had closed in 1978. The Railway is aiming to extend the line to Trentham, the major intermediate town on the line, which is also a popular spot with day-trippers from Melbourne.

We checked out a couple of likely photo spots before settling on one at Musk, a small halt on the railway, and waited for the Diesel Electric Rail Motor (DERM) to arrive. 63RM (Rail Motor) was constructed in the early 1930s with a Winton petrol engine, and like its classmates, was eventually fitted with a pair of General Motors diesel engines, saving the railways a considerable amount in fuel.

The DERMs lasted in service until the early 90s on commuter services to Sunbury and Bacchus Marsh, with a handful passing into preservation. I’ve been lucky enough to bounce all the way from Ballarat to Mildura on one!

I took a couple of shots at Musk, and then we headed to Bullarto, the terminus of the line for another shot.

Wintery colours and soft light, the Central Highlands are a great part of Victoria.

Bullarto is currently the highest railway station in Victoria, and most years sees a dusting of snow which makes for a great scene if it happens to coincide with the railway’s operating Sunday.

The Last climb into Bullarto, and Victoria’s current highest railway station.

From here, we headed into Woodend, and back onto the Calder Highway to head for home.

Steamrail Victoria were operating shuttles between Watergardens (Sydenham) and Sunbury on the Bendigo line, so of course it made perfect sense to try and line that up too!

Once near Sunbury, a quick call to a mate who was on the train established we had a little bit of time up our sleeves to find a spot, and get set up.

I took a turn too early, and didn’t end up where I wanted, and with a lot of other people to boot.

There wasn’t a lot of time to play with, so I ended up rolling the dice on something completely random, which worked ok.

Last trip for the day, A2 986 leads the Tait electric train back to Flinders St. from Sunbury.

The train comprised of 1907 built A2 986 attached to the Tait ‘red rattler’ suburban set of cars, which works well for these shuttle trips, as the electric Tait train can power in one direction, and the steam loco the other.

After getting the shot, we headed for home, via the supermarket, and after sorting the groceries, I headed back up to Newport station for one last shot of the day of the train heading back to the Steamrail depot.

Almost home, the Tait leads the way back into Newport, a little late due to congestion at Flinders St. due to football loading.

A catch up with the mates travelling on the train was in order at the Junction Hotel, before heading home after a successful weekend.

Steamrail have a fairly busy weekend schedule for the remainder of the 2024 season up into November, if you’re interested in travelling you can find details here.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post, and you consider visiting one of these great volunteer run organisations!

Regards,

Scott