24/06/2026
This photo required a 3 hour drive. To put in better perspective, 200km from Ballarat.
On Friday the 19th of June 2026, R707, leading A62 & A66 headed into Southern Cross Station to pick up passengers for the coming weekender trip "The Grainlander" to Sea Lake. The train left Southern Cross and had a pretty uneventful run – that was until the lead steam locomotive, R707, had a boiler issue addressed by the drivers, around the Millbrook area. The two As then pull the train with the R class still on the front into Ballarat, where it would be taken off the train for the rest of the weekend.
On Sunday the 21st, the returning day for the train, I headed to Dunolly to chase it back into Melbourne, and that's what happened.
A62 can be seen leading A66 on a curve onto a straight section just outside Dunolly, making all the right noises in fact, the train could be heard from miles away.
