Chugging through grain country

The small town is as far north as we will go on our journey aboard The Grainlander which has pulled up alongside massive grain silos. Victoria's Mallee is now famous for its Silo Art Trail but these particular silos have not been painted. Instead, this is movie night in Quambatook and as soon as night falls, the Australian movie Seriously Red, about a Dolly Parton impersonator, will be projected onto the silos.

The locals - some of whom have got into the spirit by dressing up as Dolly Parton - are already setting up their fold-up chairs and settling in for the night's entertainment while local organisations are busy cooking sausages, hot potatoes, hamburgers and waffles for the hungry crowd.

The Grainlander's volunteer crew have given us coupons to exchange for whatever food we want to purchase. Slow Rail Journeys has a deliberate policy of supporting and giving back to regional communities, wherever it goes, which is why you will be dining at great local pubs on this journey, not eating pre-packaged meals carried from Melbourne, and why you will be attending local community-run events such as movie nights, agricultural shows and food and wine festivals.

Over the course of the weekend we will travel 550 kilometres along the Geelong, Yalta, Robinvale and Ararat train lines, so yes, this is a slow rail journey. However much of the time is taken up with exploring the vastness of the Mallee.

We'll visit by coach the wonderful painted silos at Lascelles and Nullawil (where the kelpie Jimmy painted on the silo makes a surprise personal appearance), dine al fresco at the historic Woomelang Hotel one day and the Railway Hotel Dunolly the next and visit the remarkable Spanner Man Gallery at Barraport. Here the late John Piccoli created unique larger than life sculptures made entirely of old spanners he purchased at swap meets and other places.

The off-train excursions serve to break the ice among the passengers who are mostly seniors, some travelling on their own. A cheerful widower sports a badge reading "Olden, 51 model, one owner, test runs welcome."

Solo passengers have their own small single compartments with shared toilet and shower facilities. The beds, made up by the crew for the first night, easily fold down and convert to seating during the day but if anyone has difficulty, there is always a crew member willing to help.

No-one working on the train gets paid. As tour leader Matt Lucas explains "they're here because they want to be here". While many are retired, others come from professions like IT or hospitality. They all have one thing in common, however - they love trains.

The organisation, which sees itself as the custodian of unique heritage locomotives and carriages, has evolved over the last few years from running trips just for railfans to running trips for travellers keen to explore those out-of-the-way places which have an interesting story to tell.

There is a choice of sleeping accommodation onboard. We are in one of the twinette sleepers from the old Southern Aurora. Remember the ashtrays beside the bunk beds, the conductor call button and the en-suite with its pull-down stainless steel-toilet and washbasin? Considered superior accommodation in the 1950s and 60s, you will find it all still here and serving its purpose just as well (no smoking though!).

Upcoming journeys are:

The journeys are normally by steam train but because of fire risk, diesel engines replace steam trains over the summer period.

More volunteers are always welcome - from those willing to get their hands dirty on restoration tasks in the railway workshop to those who want to come aboard and help out with the myriad of hospitality tasks. "You don't need to be skilled", Matt says. "You just need to have a good attitude and we can train you."

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