See those numbers on the train? Locomotive 3801 is returning to Canberra. Photo: Jane Wheaton.
One of the country’s best-known and well-travelled locomotives is returning to Canberra to take passengers on steam-powered trips.
Locomotive 3801 was first introduced into service in 1943 and can reach a top speed of 115 km/hr, according to Transport Heritage NSW.
It even set a new speed record for a Sydney to Newcastle trip in 1964, when the green-painted locomotive crossed the 167-kilometre distance in just over two hours.
It’s also the only steam locomotive to visit every mainland state and territory of Australia.
Canberra Railway Museum director Jane Wheaton is among those looking to step on board.
“3801 is not the only heritage locomotive Transport Heritage NSW has, but it’s probably … Australia’s most famous locomotive … [and was] the first of [its class] that was built,” Ms Wheaton said.
So she isn’t surprised that tickets for a tour of the historic locomotive are selling fast.
“There’s only been a handful of places that they’ve taken her since they put her back into service after this latest restoration,” she said.
“She is an iconic steam locomotive in NSW rail history, and she’s quite beautiful. … They’re certainly not modern carriages as we see them.
“Nothing like the Xplorer, for example. This is travelling in style.”
When Locomotive 3801 returns to the tracks, it will make its Canberra comeback over three days in early September.
On 4 September, passengers can take a two-hour ride through the rolling hills of southern NSW.
Slightly shorter trips are on the cards.
Each trip takes just over an hour, with passengers travelling from Canberra Railway Station to Burbong in NSW and home again.
Ms Wheaton pointed to “spectacular” views of the Molonglo Gorge as a highlight of the trip.
“It’s not the Grand Canyon, but it is very scenic nonetheless,” she said of the route.
“As you travel through – especially if there’s been some rain – you see waterfalls and the river running.”
During their trips, people can travel in an open saloon or a private car.
Ms Wheaton said that while our modern light rail is “not quite the same” experience as steam-powered trains, rail travel still holds an allure.
“There’s something really relaxing about train travel.
“Perhaps not your morning commute, but train travel for a kind of purpose like this one – a tourist purpose – is. They’re still popular all over the world.”
After all, Walter Burley Griffin’s original plans for Canberra included a plan to have light rail run the length of Northbourne Avenue.
“The railway came to Canberra as the city was being built as the national capital … We present the Burley Griffin plan that he developed, which ultimately wasn’t proceeded with,” Ms Wheaton said of the railway museum.
“That would have seen a suburban rail network for Canberra, certainly a rail network around the city centre, but it was never proceeded with.”
You can book tickets for the Locomotive 3801 tours online. It will visit Canberra between 4 September and 6 September, with departure times between 8 am and 5:30 pm.
