A quick trip through the Newport Railway Museum was in order while I was in the neighbourhood. This Victorian Railways Suburban System map note that the City Loop is under construction, and that railway buses link East Camberwell and East Kew, and Sandringham, Cheltenham and Southland. This was inside of Hitachi unit 187M.
The stored Harris rail greaser unit (794M and 797M) at the Newport Railway Workshops Open Day 2026. This unit is from the last build, and does not contain asbestos unlike earlier units. The Harris units were commonly referred to as Blue Trains as they wore VR’s Blue and Yellow livery similar to T364. The Harris units started to replace the Tait unit, known as Red Rattlers.
The Clock Tower and office block of the Newport Railway Workshops during the 2026 Open Day.
Victorian Railways T Class diesel-electric T364 sit at the head of of rake of carriages. T364’s train is alongside the West Block of the Newport Railway Workshops during the 2026 Open Day.
Victorian Railways Walschaerts fitted A2 Class, A2 986, at the Newport Railway Workshops Open Day 2026.
A2 986 is one of the final batch of 60 A2s built with Walschaerts valve gear instead of Stephensons used on the first 125. This change, higher boiler pressure and larger cylinders, meant that the later engines had a higher tractive effort. The original spoked driving wheels had developed fatigue cracks, and were replaced with Boxpok wheels.
Victorian Railways A2 Class, A2 986, and Y Class, Y419, take their turn at the head of the photo line-up at the Newport Railway Workshops Open Day 2026.
A2 986 has featured on the blog before, as a mural on the Mooroolbark Miniature Railway.
Victorian Railways (VR) Parlor Car Yarra heads up the heritage train at the Newport Railway Workshops Open Day 2026. The heritage train was made up of wooden-bodied VR E type carriages from the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre.
Yarra was built in 1906 and was included in the Sydney Limited. The Spirit of Progress was introduced in 1937 with new steel S type coaches, and the E type carriages were displaced. A career highlight for Yarra was being used in the rehearsals for the Royal train in 1954.
Victorian Railways R Class R711 basks in the sunshine at the Newport Railway Workshops Open Day 2026. West Coast Railway restored R711 and used her on their regular steam-hauled Saturday service to Warrnambool. With the collapse of West Coast in 2004 R711 returned to Bendigo Council, and Steamrail became her custodian. In 2011 she returned to the mainline.
R711 was repainted in Victorian Railways Blue and Gold livery in time for the 2026 Open Day. This matches the Steamrail S-type coaches and they will be able to run a train reminiscent of the original Spirit of Progress.
The builder’s plate for Klondyke, seen at the Newport Railway Workshops Open Day 2026.
Built at the Perry Engineering Company Works
Dec 1927
No 271
Adelaide & Gawler South Australia
Klondyke was probably the smallest steam engine on display at the Newport Railway Workshops Open Day 2026. She is a 0-4-2 steam engine built by Perry Engineering in 1927 as an 0-4-0 (builder’s number 271). The State Rivers and Water Supply Commission of Victoria bought twelve locomotives to use in the construction of the Hume Weir near Albury.
Klondyke was used in the Queensland cane fields, where she acquired the rear axle, before returning to Victoria in 1971. In 2001 Tasmania’s West Coast Wilderness Railway hired Kloondyke, while they waited for the restoration of their original locos. Klondyke now wears a light blue livery that allows her to impersonate Thomas for special events on the Bellarine Railway.
A Steamrail restored S type second class carriage at the Newport Railway Workshops Open Day 2026. The vestibule steps made a useful access point for the rake of carriages on display with no platform available. The carriages were providing refreshments and comfortable shady seats on a very sunny day.
Victorian Railways (VR) D3 Class 639 at the Newport Railway Workshops Open Day 2026. 639 entered service in 1903, and it’s makers plate featured yesterday. The D3 class were relatively light and powerful 4-6-0 steam locomotives that saw use across the VR network. 639 was the Commissioner’s Engine from 1956 until 1964, and remained in use until 1974.