After travelling for two days the train will stop in Echuca at 11.50am on Saturday so its passengers can enjoy a paddlesteamer cruise on the Murray River before leaving for Deniliquin at 3.30pm.
This is the first time the route from Echuca to Deniliquin has seen steam in 17 years as steam trains rarely travel long distance in Australia any more.
Cruise Express, an Australian travel agency specialising in rail and cruise holidays, has chartered the historic locomotive and carriages as part of a six-day ‘Great Southern Loop’ rail tour from Sydney to Melbourne and return through regional areas via Echuca, Deniliquin, Parkes, Orange and Bathurst.
More than 150 passengers will join the nostalgic journey back in time but locals along the route across two states can also join in the spectacle as the rare trains pass through.
‘‘There’s growing interest in great old trains and the magic of slow travel and we’ve been running sell-out tours around Australia featuring historic trains for the past three years,’’ Cruise Express managing director Meg Hill said.
‘‘As life speeds up, more of us want to slow down and return to simpler, more graceful times and these beautiful old trains offer us an opportunity to step back in time for a few days to savour the romance and excitement of old steam and diesel locomotives and the traditional, period carriages that follow them.
‘‘Even if people see and hear these great old trains thunder past their train, they can experience a little of that nostalgia and charm.’’
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