Easter Satuday picnic train

A train trip that was not only back in time, but also to Tocumwal was enjoyed by hundreds of people on Easter Saturday.
The nine carriage-long Tocumwal picnic train carried passengers from Seymour, picked up many more at Shepparton and then journeyed onto the small town just north of the River Murray.
Tocumwal was once a major rail junction, being the place where mis-matched Victorian and New South Wales rail gauges met and passengers changed trains.
Fortunately trains from Victoria can still terminate at Tocumwal, but the New South Wales network has now deteriorated to the point where its use is no longer possible.
The Easter Saturday train was one that has been salvaged, restored by the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre and at least kept in service for outings such as the Easter Saturday picnic train to Tocumwal.
Some of the cars on the Easter train were more than 100 years old and several others were first used in 1930s and had been a part of the historic Spirit of Progress, a train that most older Victorian would have of at least heard about.
In fact, the Spirit’s Parlor Car (above - note the American spelling of Parlor) entered service in November 1937 and gave those a sense on the Easter Saturday train of what train from decades ago would have been like.
The train left Shepparton at 10:16am and arrived in Tocumwal after a leisurely and trouble free journey about 90 minutes later.
Two diesel powered locomotives pulled the train – both 875hp units that entered service in 1962 and 1965.
Heritage train services, such as that in Easter Saturday, are restricted to 80km and are allowed to delay scheduled V/Line Services.
More details about the centre’s other services are listed at the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre website.