The little Red Hen that could..

The thing about my line of work is that you end up becoming a train-spotter.

It's just one of the pitfalls of the job.

So imagine my surprise when I came upon this familiar looking feline in a rail yard in the tiny township of Koromburra, in the picturesque Gippsland region.

Its a restored 300-series Red-Hen train! Not to be mistaken, of course, for the 400-series which had a drivers compartment at each end. It's the very same as the one I used to catch to school each morning when I lived in Adelaide.

The great thing about these old rattlers was that the doors were opened and closed manually. And all the tough teenagers (like me) would all sit by the door with their heels jammed in the door sill, keeping them open to allow ventilation for their ciggarettes. Apparently some smart Alex felt that this was 'unsafe', and sadly the trains were decommissioned in 1996. Many of these fine steeds were scrapped for junk metal. Wistful sigh.

I can still smell the heady mixture of diesel fumes and asbestos brake pads...

For those people that don't have handy access to Victoria or $380, and would like to drive one, there is a simulator here...

I mentioned to my rather attractive Dutch work colleague for whom I have hots that it would make an excellent outing for a date. They even throw in a free lunch! She shook her head and replied that if anyone took her on a date to a train-ride she would dump them straight away.

Feisty. I like that in a woman.

For more photos like the one that I stole, and a comprehensive history of this little slice of heaven, look here.