List of named trains in Victoria

Suburban Rambler

This name was allocated to tours that started in the city and ran to three or four random destinations in the suburban area.

The Boat Train

The Boat Train was a short-lived experiment that used a set of Tait trains, specially painted, on shuttle runs between Flinders Street Station and Port Melbourne to meet ships arriving from overseas.

Fruit Flyer

The Fruit Flyer (also known as the Mildura Fruit Flyer) was a fast overnight freight train operated by the Victorian Railways to bring fruit from the Mildura district to the Melbourne Markets. It first ran on 13 October 1958.^[2]

It departed Mildura at 17:00, loading at Irymple, Red Cliffs, Carwarp and Hattah before running express to Dynon Freight Terminal arriving at 03:00. To allow it to operate at the line speed of 110km/h, the wagons were fitted with bogies similar to those fitted on passenger carriages.^[2]

It initially operated three times weekly on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights, but within a few weeks this had increased to four times.^[2][3] By 1961 it was running six times a week, Sunday to Friday.^[4][5]

Geelong Flier

The Geelong Flier was a named Australian passenger train operated by the Victorian Railways, running from Melbourne to Geelong and return, which began running in 1926. As the first officially-named flagship service of the Victorian Railways, the train took pride of place on the timetable, and operated with the best available locomotives and rolling stock. In 1927, the outbound journey was extended to Port Fairy and the name was shortened to The Flier.

School Train

This name was given to various trains around the state at different times, all on rosters explicitly designed to take children in regional areas to and from schools. Some operated with rail motors, while others used older passenger carriages such as the PL series.

The Overland

The Overland is an Australian passenger train service between Melbourne and Adelaide. It first ran in 1887 as the Adelaide Express and has been called the Melbourne Express by South Australians.^[6] It was given its current name in 1926. Now operated by the private company Journey Beyond Rail Expeditions, the train completes two return trips a week, covering 828 kilometers between the state capitals.^[7] Originally an overnight train, it now operates during the day.

The Vinelander

The Vinelander was operated by the Victorian Railways, and later V/Line between Melbourne and Mildura from 1972 to 1993. Operating overnight along the Mildura line, it included motorail and sleeping-car facilities.

The Westcoaster

Quick facts Overview, First service ...

The Westcoaster

Overview
First service	1987
Former operators	V/Line, West Coast Railway
Route
Termini	Spencer Street Warrnambool
Technical
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)

Close

The Westcoaster was a passenger train operated by the Victorian Railways, running from the state capital, Melbourne, to the regional city of Warrnambool, with buffet facilities available beyond Geelong. The name was first used in 1988.^[8] Between 1993 and 2004, the private operator, West Coast Railway (WCR), used the name on its services to and from Warrnambool. After the demise of WCR, the name fell out of use.

The Ghan

In November 1998, one of the Ghan services from Darwin to Adelaide was extended to Melbourne.^[9][10] The extension was withdrawn in November 2002.^[11]

Intercapital Daylight

The Intercapital Daylight ran between Melbourne and Albury from 1955 to 1962, connecting with a standard-gauge service of the same name operated by the New South Wales Government Railways to Sydney. After the standard-gauge line was extended to Melbourne, the train ran the whole length from Melbourne to Sydney.

School Train

This name was given to various trains around the state at different times, all on rosters explicitly designed to take children in regional areas to and from schools. Some operated with railmotors, others with older passenger carriages such as the PL series.

Between Kyabram and Echuca, the run was operated by a 153 hp Walker railmotor hauling three trailer cars, which was only possible because the line was practically flat. It left Kyabram at 7:37 am each school day and made about 30 stops at both stations and level crossings en route to pick up around 200 students, many of whom left their bicycles unguarded at the pickup point for the day. Students were segregated by gender, and second preference was given to allocating separate carriages for each school. The complete consist had to be sent to Bendigo Workshops for repairs every school holiday period.^[12]

Southern Aurora

The Southern Aurora ran overnight between Melbourne and Sydney from 1962 and 1986. It was jointly operated by the Victorian Railways and the New South Wales Government Railways.

Spirit of Progress

The Spirit of Progress ran between Melbourne and Albury from 1937 to 1962, connecting with a standard-gauge service to Sydney. After the standard-gauge line was extended to Melbourne, the train ran the whole length from Melbourne to Sydney, acting as a sweeper service to the new premier Southern Aurora service.

Sydney/Melbourne Express

The Sydney and Melbourne Express trains ran from 1986 to 1993, replacing the Spirit of Progress and the Southern Aurora.

Maryvale Paper Train

After several years of negotiations, V/Line Freight won a contract for the transport of large quantities of containerised paper products from Maryvale, in the Gippsland region, for both Victorian and interstate customers. Trains would be split in the city, with one portion unloaded at Footscray Road and the other at the Dynon terminal; the latter loading was then transferred to National Rail freight trains running to Sydney or Adelaide, as required. The first service ran on 12 March 1996, using VQDW "Jumbo" container flat wagons, each of which could be loaded with two 40 ft containers. The initial contract was worth about $1.6 million per year for five years, with 160,000 tonnes of goods expected to run in the first year (about 800 tonnes per train), of which about two-thirds was domestic and the balance interstate.^[13]

In 1999, the contract transferred to Freight Victoria (later Freight Australia), which were purchased by Pacific National in 2004. In 2013, the contract was handed over to Qube, ^[14][15][16] partially because Pacific National was withdrawing most of its Victorian operations. At the time, Australian Paper was transporting less than 300,000 tonnes of freight per year by rail, with the balance by road. To cater for an additional proposed 100,000 tonnes per year of loading, Qube invested in a fleet of 80 ft skeletal flat wagons, some of which were deployed on the Maryvale run.^[16]

As of 2019, the most common operation used two of the four locomotives VL353, VL356 & VL360, G512 and G515, hauling the equivalent of around 30 and 40 ft containers on about twenty Jumbo-length wagons.^[17]

School Train

This name was given to various trains around the state at different times, all on rosters explicitly designed to take children in the regional areas to and from schools. Some operated with railmotors, others with older passenger carriages such as the PL series.

The Gippslander

The Gippslander was a named passenger train operated by the Victorian Railways from Melbourne through the Gippsland region to Bairnsdale. Operating along the Gippsland line daily except Sundays, it had buffet car facilities available.

The train was named in 1954 to celebrate the electrification of the main line as far as Traralgon, but 66 years after the passenger service had commenced along the line.^[18] The train was originally hauled by an L class electric locomotive from Melbourne to Traralgon, where an R class steam locomotive took over for the journey to Sale, with the final leg to Bairnsdale hauled by a J class steam locomotive.^[19] Steam traction on the service was later replaced by T class diesel locomotives.

After the decommissioning of the overhead system in the 1980s, a variety of diesel locomotives could be seen hauling the train. The Gippslander name is still in use today for V/Line intercity services in the line, but no special facilities are provided.^[20][21][22]

The Snow Train

Quick facts Overview, Current operator ...

The Snow Train

Overview
Current operator	Steamrail Victoria
Technical
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)

Close

This train runs yearly from Melbourne to Traralgon, generally using double R class locomotives and hauling 10–14 carriages.

Explorer trains

The Explorer trains are a range of heritage tours operating from Melbourne along the remaining broad-gauge regional mainlines, providing day or overnight trips using heritage vehicles. Typical examples are the Goulburn Valley Explorer, Northern Explorer, Otway Explorer, and others, generally using similar consists and operating once or twice per year.

Food-and-drink experience trains

Many of Victoria's preserved railway groups operate dining trains on a regular basis, ranging from annually to daily. Examples include the Ale trains on the Mornington and Victorian Goldfields lines, the Luncheon and Night Train specials on Puffing Billy and the Q Train and Blues Train on the Queenscliff line.

Melbourne Limited

The Melbourne Limited was a steam-hauled luxury train that operated between 1985 and 1987. It used steam locomotive R766 and carriages from the South Australian Railways' steel fleet, refurbished, repainted and named after Victorian lakes.^[24]

Michael Wansey and Peter Cleaves of Newcastle, New South Wales had secured funding to revive the already-defunct train, in the form of a A$5,600,000 loan from the Victorian Government, and expected to operate the train in conjunction with the SS South Steyne docked at Station Pier and a Douglas DC-3 aircraft based at Essendon Airport.^[25]: 53

Murder/Mystery-themed trains

Many of Victoria's preserved railway groups operate themed murder/mystery specials around late October each year.

Southern Cross Express

The Southern Cross Express was the successor to the above-mentioned Melbourne Limited, which had previously been operated by Steam Age.

The Vintage Train

Train of Knowledge

Veteran Train

Weekender trains

The Weekender trains are a range of heritage tours operating from Melbourne along the remaining broad gauge regional mainlines, providing full weekend tours departing on Friday nights and returning late Sunday night or occasionally on Monday. One such example is the Maldon Weekender, which operates in conjunction with the Victorian Goldfields Railway and is often used to swap rolling stock between that group and Steamrail Victoria. The consists use sleeping and dining carriages drawn from the pools of various heritage operators. On the weekends between the outbound and return trips the carriages are sometimes used to provide local shuttles, such as between Bendigo and Castlemaine. These trips tend to run once or twice per year.

Better Farming Train

The Better Farming Train was an agricultural demonstration train which toured Victoria, Australia in the 1920s and 1930s to promote better farming practices. It was the first of two agricultural demonstration trains to run in Australia.^[26]

Commissioner's Train

Hospital Train

Jubilee Train

News Train

These trains departed Flinders Street around midnight each weekday for the regional areas, dropping off freshly-printed newspapers for distribution.

Overhead Inspection Train, later Greaser

Inspection train

For regular inspection of the network, Parcels Van 3CM was constructed with a cupola in the centre of the roof and a raised observation platform, to allow maintenance staff to observe overhead wiring under load and without disrupting services.

In 1961 3CM was damaged, so its sibling 10CM, a converted Swing door parcels van which had been in passenger service until 1955, was fitted with similar equipment and entered service as a second inspection car around July 1961; the design was slightly modified in the following year.^[31] The sides were completely stripped and replaced with a similar style to that of the Tait parcel van fleet, though the car maintained its thinner body of 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m). Outward-swinging doors were kept, in three pairs, at spacings which divided the car into four roughly equal sections, although the outer two were partially driver's compartments. The guard facility at the raised-roof/pantograph end was retained. When complete, 10CM was painted in blue with a thick yellow stripe along the sides, curving to a point in the middle of the ends. The number and code was adjacent to the outer sets of doors and, on either side of the middle door, there was advertising for the Victorian Railways' parcel services, identical to the Tait design.

When 3CM was repaired in 1963 it was fitted with an experimental Faivley pantograph. 10CM was involved in a collision in early 1967 and was awaiting scrapping, but it was instead returned to service and fitted with new bogies and a lightweight pantograph.^[31]

Inspection trains would often run with two randomly selected Tait or Swing Door motor carriages, one either side of the inspection car which would have its own pantographs locked down.^{[citation needed]}

Puffing Billy

The name Puffing Billy, while now used primarily to refer to the Belgrave to Gembrook tourist line, was originally used to describe the narrow gauge ^NA class locomotives running on all four of Victoria's narrow gauge railways.

RESO Train

The Reso Train, officially the State Resources Train, was a train operated by the Victorian Railways to bring business leaders from Melbourne and regional Victoria together. The concept was promoted by Harold Clapp, Chairman of Commissioners of the Victorian Railways with the city leaders travelling on the train to various parts of the state. It was complemented by the Better Farming Train from 1924. The first train ran to Swan Hill and Mildura in August 1922.^[40]

A typical consist in 1934 when the train was making its 22nd journey, accommodated 60 passengers with the train made up of a parlor car, three sleeping carriages, a dining car, an office car, a staff car and a van.^[40] It ceased with the outbreak of World War II, before resuming in May 1947.^[41]

The train was described in the August 1954 Victorian Railways News Letter as having four or five sleeping cars, plus an unidentified 42-seater dining car, the original Norman, the first Carey, Goulburn and possibly a brake van.

A typical itinerary is demonstrated by the trains 53rd journey in March 1959 where it left Melbourne on a five-day journey with the passengers visiting the Hume Weir, Rutherglen Research Station, Mount Buffalo National Park, Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme and the rayon and wool industries of Wangaratta.^[42]

Royal Train

The Display Train

The Medical Train

This train ran around the state on a semi-regular schedule, with a travelling doctor who provided checkups for railway employees at isolated locations. In addition to living quarters and normal doctor facilities the carriage included a black, 26ft long corridor with red, yellow and green lights at the far end which was used to test for colour and distance sighting.^[43]

The Weedex and Fire Attack trains

This train ran around the state each year spraying weed-killer along the trackside. This was done to prevent growth of weeds which could later dry out and become a fire hazard.

During the fire season some of the train vehicles could be mobilised to form a consist that could spray water lineside, although this was rarely used.