STEAM S DOWN UNDER
WEDNESDAY, May 19, 2021. It was chilly at 06.00 on platform three of Melbourne’s Southern Cross station, but something big and noisy was approaching through the darkness.
An R Class 4-8-4 was arriving and, wreathed in steam, it stopped next to me, uncoupled from the train, and ran round to join forces with asecond RClass – ready to set off at the start of the six-day ‘Australian Southern Steam Spectacular’ around the state of Victoria.
The trip was the brainchild of Richard Boyce in cooperation with touring company Cruise Express and preservation group Steamrail Victoria, and had been two years in the planning.
Coal-fired No. R761 was painted in black and red, reminiscent of German steam loco livery, while oil-fired No. R711 was in blue with yellow lining. Magnificent they looked too, as I watched them from my carriage, roaring around a right-hand bend.
Historic coaches
The train was made up of 11 historic coaches dating from 1908 to the 1950s. The one I was booked in
