THE nostalgia of travelling throughout the region by steam engine power returned to Kerang on Saturday.
Steamrail Victoria’s 2016 Northern Weekender tour stopped at the town as part of a three-day expedition to Swan Hill and Echuca
More than 60 passengers and volunteers arrived by train in the town before 7am, enjoying a breakfast cooked by the Rotary Club of Kerang and served by Kerang Progress Association members.
As passengers and volunteers enjoyed a hot meal of bacon, baked beans, eggs and toast at the Kerang Senior Citizens Rooms; a second group of people helped relocate the R761 engine and six carriages onto the Kerang railway station’s secondary line to enable the Melbourne-bound passenger train to pass by.
The visit attracted a number of bystanders to the railway station, many whom wanted a reminder of a bygone era of travel.
“The tour is a great opportunity to showcase the town and make people aware of what we have here,” Gannawarra deputy mayor, Cr Mark Arians said.
It was the third time in four years that the tour has visited the town, with previous expeditions occurring in 2013 and 2014.
