{"id":105043,"date":"2025-06-06T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/?p=105043"},"modified":"2025-06-05T13:05:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T03:05:35","slug":"go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/","title":{"rendered":"Go back in time on classic loco"},"content":{"rendered":"

TRAIN lovers of the vintage kind will be out in force this long weekend to welcome themselves aboard Steamrail Victoria’s classic Glasgow-manufactured R711 locomotive, which sat in the park next to Bendigo Station from 1985 to 1991 and is hence named Spirit of Bendigo.<\/p>\n

Passengers can choose to join a day trip to Echuca and back on Saturday (departing 9.30am and returning at 6.10pm) or embark on a shorter, child-friendly 40-kilometre return journey to Woodvale on Sunday or Monday (55 minutes total, various departure times).<\/p>\n

Noah Clancey from Steamrail Victoria’s operations team explained what’s attractive about this type of transport.<\/p>\n

“I think a lot of people agree that it’s a great way to travel and when you come on these trips, it’s about the experience being on the train,” he said.<\/p>\n

“A lot of trains you go on these days, V\/Line or Metro, it’s really about just getting from A to B, whereas with these, it’s about enjoying the ride and the destinations.<\/p>\n

“The day trip to Echuca is fantastic, but I think the star of the show is experiencing the old school carriages and hearing the whistle of the engine.”<\/p>\n

(So) join in while it’s here.<\/p>\n

“We don’t get to run these up at Bendigo very often, so while it’s in town, it’s a great opportunity to have a ride. It’s not something you get to do every day.”<\/p>\n

The full timetable for the weekend and tickets are available on the Trybooking website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TRAIN lovers of the vintage kind will be out in force this long weekend to welcome themselves aboard Steamrail Victoria’s classic Glasgow-manufactured R711 locomotive, which sat in the park next to Bendigo Station from 1985 to 1991 and is hence named Spirit of Bendigo. Passengers can choose to join a day trip to Echuca and […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":105046,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-105043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGo back in time on classic loco - Bendigo Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Experience vintage steam train rides on the R711 'Spirit of Bendigo'! Day trips to Echuca or short family journeys. Book now!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Go back in time on classic loco - Bendigo Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Experience vintage steam train rides on the R711 'Spirit of Bendigo'! Day trips to Echuca or short family journeys. Book now!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bendigo Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-05T18:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2025\/06\/AC-22.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adam Carswell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adam Carswell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/living\\\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/living\\\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Adam Carswell\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/adf4371b5a9ae0b61f7839c29319f35c\"},\"headline\":\"Go back in time on classic loco\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-05T18:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/living\\\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":261,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/living\\\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/AC-22.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Living\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/living\\\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/living\\\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\\\/\",\"name\":\"Go back in time on classic loco - Bendigo Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/living\\\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/living\\\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/AC-22.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-05T18:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Experience vintage steam train rides on the R711 'Spirit of Bendigo'! Day trips to Echuca or short family journeys. Book now!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/living\\\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/living\\\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/living\\\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/AC-22.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/AC-22.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Whistle-stop tour: The impeccably restored Spirit of Bendigo is returning to town for a run of excursions. Photo: SUPPLIED\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/living\\\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Go back in time on classic loco\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Bendigo Times\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Bendigo Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/BDT-logo-masthead-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/BDT-logo-masthead-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":491,\"caption\":\"Bendigo Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/adf4371b5a9ae0b61f7839c29319f35c\",\"name\":\"Adam Carswell\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/author\\\/adamcarswell\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Go back in time on classic loco - Bendigo Times","description":"Experience vintage steam train rides on the R711 'Spirit of Bendigo'! Day trips to Echuca or short family journeys. Book now!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Go back in time on classic loco - Bendigo Times","og_description":"Experience vintage steam train rides on the R711 'Spirit of Bendigo'! Day trips to Echuca or short family journeys. Book now!","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/","og_site_name":"Bendigo Times","article_published_time":"2025-06-05T18:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2025\/06\/AC-22.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Adam Carswell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adam Carswell","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/"},"author":{"name":"Adam Carswell","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#\/schema\/person\/adf4371b5a9ae0b61f7839c29319f35c"},"headline":"Go back in time on classic loco","datePublished":"2025-06-05T18:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/"},"wordCount":261,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2025\/06\/AC-22.jpg","articleSection":["Living"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/","name":"Go back in time on classic loco - Bendigo Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2025\/06\/AC-22.jpg","datePublished":"2025-06-05T18:00:00+00:00","description":"Experience vintage steam train rides on the R711 'Spirit of Bendigo'! Day trips to Echuca or short family journeys. Book now!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2025\/06\/AC-22.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2025\/06\/AC-22.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Whistle-stop tour: The impeccably restored Spirit of Bendigo is returning to town for a run of excursions. Photo: SUPPLIED"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/go-back-in-time-on-classic-loco\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Go back in time on classic loco"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/","name":"Bendigo Times","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#organization","name":"Bendigo Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/02\/BDT-logo-masthead-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/02\/BDT-logo-masthead-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":491,"caption":"Bendigo Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#\/schema\/person\/adf4371b5a9ae0b61f7839c29319f35c","name":"Adam Carswell","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/author\/adamcarswell\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/187"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105043"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=105043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}