Two R Classes in Gippsland; Steamrail Gippslander Day Trip to Bairnsdale October 2024 R711 & R761

On the 13th October 2024 Steamrail Victoria held their extraordinary Gippslander day tour from Melbourne to Bairnsdale and back. The tour was hauled by two R Class steam locomotives with R711 hauling the 275km trip from Melbourne to Bairnsdale in the morning. To enable the daytrip to take place Steamrail transferred R761 to Bairnsdale the day before to enable it to haul the return trip back to Melbourne, allowing both trips to run funnel-first at line speed.
Along with ‪@Comeng998‬ & ‪@PannierProductions9600‬ we chase the day trip both ways from Melbourne to Bairnsdale and back. It was a wonderful chase and in terms of number of clips we obtained, among one of the most successful Gippsland Line chases I've ever done.
We start the morning chase as R711 leaves Melbourne at Cremorne with the city skyline in the background. We catch it again on the Skyrail at Noble Park, before seeing it at Nar Nar Goon and Warragul where it took on water. We see the train at various other locations including Trafalgar, Hernes Oak, Morwell, Flynn, Kilmany, Stratford, and arriving into Bairnsdale.
On the trip back with R761 we see the train at numerous locations including Bairnsdale, Stratford, Montgomery, Rosedale, and Traralgon where the train took on water. We then see the train arrive and depart Hernes Oak where we witness an extraordinary departure with plenty of noise from R761. We then see the train at Trafalgar, Drouin, Bunyip, Berwick, before ending the video as the train arrives into Melbourne on the Flinders Street viaduct at Southbank.
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