Historic steam locomotive chugs into Drysdale

BELLARINE Railway’s heritage steam locomotive is set to return to Drysdale for a limited run next month, offering community members a scenic ride to Lakers Siding.

The 90-minute return trip will be offered over four Saturdays in February and March and take passengers through steep hills, forests, and over a trestle bridge.

The steam locomotive slated for the run was built in South Australia in 1917, while the first-class carriages date back to the 1950s.

Intended to act as training days for the railway’s newly qualified drivers, the sessions have been opened to the public following a large number of requests for the return of a Drysdale service, which stopped in 2020 as a result of the COVID pandemic.

Bellarine Railway president Steve Dalton said the driver training sessions were an important step toward bringing the service back permanently.

“We haven’t forgotten about Drysdale.

“We do want to return trains to Drysdale because that’s what the railway is all about but it’s just a matter of how and what we do.

“It hasn’t been an easy task and we’ve got to make sure it’s what the public wants as well.”

Recent track upgrades between Queenscliff and Drysdale have made that task easier, but Mr Dalton said there was still work to be done before a regular service can return.

The Bellarine Railway and its fleet of locomotives are operated and maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers from the Geelong Steam Preservation Society.

Keeping the locomotives in working order is both difficult and costly, and more than 60 per cent of the revenue raised through ticket sales is spent on maintenance.

“From my perspective, as the president of the railway, before I commit to running more services, we need to make sure we’ve got more locomotives,” Dalton said.

He praised the Bellarine Railway’s “fantastic bunch of volunteers that just go above and beyond the call of duty in restoring locomotives and carriages”.

“We’re all working hard to keep the railway open and keep Australia’s history going.”

Trips to Lakers Siding will run February 10 and 21, and March 9 and 23, with trains departing Drysdale at 10.30am, 12.30pm and 2.20pm each day.

For more information, or to book tickets, head to bellarinerailway.com.au/drysdale-special-trains