The Rail Way

Victorian Railways 5’3” gauge J549 (Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England, No 6095 of 1954) leaves Muckleford for Maldon on the Victorian Goldfields Railway, 29 June, 2025.

The Castlemaine to Maldon railway opened in 1884 to connect central Victoria’s gold mining towns. It carried passengers and goods for many decades but gradually declined, with passenger services ending by World War II and full closure in 1976. Soon after, volunteers formed a preservation society to restore the line. Operating as the Victorian Goldfields Railway, they reopened sections over time, beginning in 1986 near Maldon and completing the full 15-kilometre route to Castlemaine in 2004.