Victorian Goldfields Railway (VGR) is thrilled to be welcoming home its beloved historic K160 steam locomotive tomorrow.
The return of coal burning steam locomotive marks an exciting milestone in the overhaul and restoration of this 86-year-old gem.
Built by the Victorian Railways in 1940, K160 is a member of the famous K Class of steam locomotives that were once a familiar sight across Victoria’s country railway network. Designed as versatile branch-line locomotives, the K Class worked passenger and goods trains throughout the state and became synonymous with Victorian country railways during the steam era.
The VGR acquired K160 from the Victorian Railways in September 1979 after its service as the Bendigo Workshops Shunter ceased, for the scrap steel price of $1,600.
The VGR completed an initial restoration of K160 in 1986 and it had the honour of hauling the first VGR train from Maldon Station in Easter 1986. K160 served the VGR until 2012, when it became necessary to undertake a heavy overhaul. It was moved by truck to Newport Railway Workshops in 2014 to facilitate this major project.
After many years of work by a dedicated team of volunteers and with the assistance of Steamrail, K160 received a complete restoration to mainline operating condition and was welcomed back onto the mainline in early 2026.
This overhaul work was made possible through some extremely generous donations and countless painstaking hours work by dedicated volunteers.
K160’s is returning home to the VGR tomorrow Saturday August 22 and will be hauling Steamrail Victoria’s Vintage Train with sister engine K183 – the train will be making its way up from Southern Cross Station arriving into Castlemaine Station around 10.15am.
Once transferred over the VGR’s railway line at Castlemaine, the train will venture out to Maldon to celebrate this milestone in K160s history – arriving into Maldon around 12.30pm.
The Vintage Train will return to Melbourne later in the afternoon, however K160 will remain at the VGR to complement their other Steam Locomotive J549.
VGR CEO Will Maylor said it will be a monumental day for the volunteer organisation.
“K160 is an important part of Victoria’s railway story, and we’re delighted to see it returning to the Victorian Goldfields Railway.
“The return of K160 demonstrates the enormous amount of work undertaken behind the scenes to keep Victoria’s railway heritage operating for future generations.
“Heritage railways are about much more than preserving locomotives in museums. They allow people to see, hear and experience these machines doing
the job they were built to do,” Maylor said.
K160 will be pressed into service operating VGR’s Goldfields Explorer Services in late August and September, complemented by J549 until October when J549 will enter the workshops for some maintenance.
The Victorian Goldfields Railway operates over the former Victorian Railways branch line between Castlemaine and Maldon, preserving not only historic locomotives and carriages but the experience of travelling by rail through the Central Victorian goldfields.
The special services are expected to attract railway enthusiasts as well as families and visitors to the region, providing an additional tourism drawcard for Castlemaine, Maldon and the wider Central Goldfields.
Further information and tickets for Victorian Goldfields Railway services are available from www.vgr.com.au.