The Victorian Goldfields Railway tourist train service between Castlemaine and Maldon is a tip of the hat to an era of travel many have missed.
It is an adventure the volunteer-run group likens to the days of the Orient Express — a long-distance passenger train which travelled intercontinental Europe into western Asia between 1883 and 2009 stopping at London, Athens, and Istanbul.
It is a steady rocking on the rails, a slow-paced journey, and opulence you tend to only see in period films.
Now with new first-class carriage Acheron renovated and lovingly restored over the past five years, the journey between the two central Victorian towns is even better.
New chapter in railway history
Victorian Goldfields Railways (VGR) president Steve Strangward started volunteering with the organisation in the 1980s and said interest in trains was always there, but keeping these living pieces of history alive was a very different experience.
But over time, and with more investment by volunteers and recognition by governments that it is a unique offering in rail and tourism for regional Victoria, that has changed.
"Now I see us being accepted as a tourism product in the region and we're growing," Mr Strangward said.
"We genuinely have a fantastic destination in Maldon, as well as Castlemaine, being our new base."
The organisation has taken some of the most historic and abandoned carriages and turned them into something unique.
The Pullman car, which was built in the 1920s in America and originally ran on The Overland to Adelaide, was used as a sleeping car and then converted into a club car.
The newly launched Acheron had a similar life as a sleeper on The Overland.
"It's been a massive amount of work to restore those over the last 15 to 20 years."
Maldon on the map
While the pandemic kept travellers away for the last few years, the hardest part for the VGR and other tourism operators has been trying to attract visitors back to the region.
Jamie Heffernan from Experience Maldon and Maldon Getaways said the new organisation was hoping to put a spotlight on the small regional town.
He said during the lockdowns, with people stuck at home and connecting with the world online, the door of exposure for the town was opened.
"It gave previous visitors to Maldon, and new people, insight into what's out there after lockdown," he said.
"They had more time to research and find out what to do in rural, country areas, and central Victoria.
Having a train that carries passengers to the town as a destination is something that will ultimately benefit the local economy.
"We're very excited to work with VGR and the train board to possibly have guests come from Melbourne, on VLine, and then jump on the VGR steam train and come to Maldon," Mr Heffernan said.
Locals restore Acheron carriage
VGR used mainly businesses from Bendigo and Castlemaine to complete the restoration of the 99-year-old Acheron carriage.
Aileen Caddy, part of the team refurbishing the carriage's upholstery, said the experience was something quite special.
It was not an easy task though, and provided a creative challenge to Charles Caddy Upholstery.
"The original carriage was refurbished at some stage, but probably not since the 1960s," Mrs Caddy said.
"You had to negotiate all the different pattern matching."
And seeing people react to the restored carriage was a new experience for Mrs Caddy.
"It is quite a rare thing to do because normally when you send a piece of furniture out you never get to see where it sits in the house or in the room," she said.
"So this is different, it is really nice to see people reacting to your work."
Attraction for the region
With this latest project completed by the VGR, Mr Strangward said their next challenge was to encourage more volunteers.
"Drivers, stewards, fireman guards, conductors, station staff are all volunteering their time to make this happen."
But as with most voluntary organisations, the more along for the ride, the merrier.
