The Mornington Tourist Railway is a heritage railway near Mornington, a town on the Mornington Peninsula, south-west of Melbourne, Victoria. The line is managed by the Mornington Railway Preservation Society and operates on part of the former Victorian Railways branch line which ran from Baxter to Mornington.
History The Mornington railway line was a rural railway branching from the Stony Point railway line at Baxter. The line operated for 92 years before closing. Ten years later, the line was reopened as a heritage railway. 1888—In August the contract for building the line was given to David Munro for £25,000. A short branch line was built to Moorooduc quarry to transport stone for ballasting the line. 1889—Baxter to Mornington railway line opened on 10 September. 1942—Passenger service ceased. 1966— Passenger service reinstated. 1981—The line was closed. 1984—The Mornington Railway Preservation Society (MRPS) was formed. 1988—Locomotive K163, restored and began running on the mainline network. 1991—The MRPS negotiated the lease of the Mornington Line from the junction at Baxter to Nepean Highway level crossing, Mornington. 1999—The line was reopened as a heritage railway from Moorooduc to Mornington. 2014—The Mornington railway celebrated 30 years of operation and 125 years of the Mornington line 2015—The Mornington railway received W241 from 707 Operations and 7CV from Seymour Railway Heritage Centre (SRHC). 59RM was sent to DERMPAV for eventual restoration 2017— The group obtained Melville for the SRHC, and was transferred from Newport Workshops to Moorooduc Yard in 2019. 2020— On 13 February, K163 was transferred from Moorooduc to Steamrail Victoria for maintenance work. In March, 34BE was transferred from the former South Gippsland Tourist Railway to Moorooduc, for eventual restoration. 2021— The former city-bound station building from Cheltenham station, arrived at railway to be rebuilt at Moorooduc Station
Mornington Railway Preservation Society The Mornington Railway Preservation Society (MRPS) was formed out of a public meeting in 1984, with the objective of securing access to the then-closed Mornington railway line. The vision was to reopen it as a heritage railway, focusing on the operation of steam-hauled passenger trains.
On 9 October 1986 a train operated from Tottenham Yard to the Lysaght's Siding, where the society was then based. The train consist was locomotive B65, 471ZD, 85WW, an HD van, 278W, 152W, 257W, 469ZD, 98G, 611ZD, and NOBX81U. After arriving and shunting the locomotive, NOBX and three guard vans departed, leaving the Society with four workmens sleepers and a storage truck, plus its first passenger carriage, Tait dual electric/gas lighting carriage 98G. A community employment grant provided funding to restore two of the vehicles, and about two weeks later they were shunted along new track laid by the Society into a dedicated shed using nearly completely restored engine K163.
In 1991, the MRPS was granted a State Government Order in Council, giving access and operating rights to the line, so it could be operated as a heritage railway.
Prior to the granting of the Order in Council to the MRPS, the final section of the line between Rail Motor Stopping Place (RMSP) 16 and the former Mornington terminus, which was considered to have significant commercial value, was sold to private investors by the State Government. The track and infrastructure at the station was removed and some parcels of the land were subsequently developed, including an extension to the Mornington Bush Nursing Hospital and a new shopping complex erected on the site of the former Mornington station itself. A commemorative plaque and replica station name board, erected by Mornington Historical Society adjacent to the shopping centre, is now the only visible evidence of the original terminus.
The turntable from Mornington Station was removed by SteamRail Victoria, which had been the custodians of it by arrangement with the State Government up until the time the site was sold. The turntable was later overhauled by SteamRail and re-installed at Warrnambool, where it is still in use, being required there to enable R class steam locomotives to be turned at that location. SteamRail offered the MRPS a turntable, formerly at Yea, as a substitute, which is suitable for turning K, J, D3 and Y class locomotives. They are the only steam locomotive classes considered likely to operate on the line in the foreseeable future.
The station building at Mornington was made available to the MRPS for re-use, but was found to be infested with termites and largely unusable. The MRPS was able to recover most of the points, and some track, from the station yard. They will eventually be used to provide additional sidings at Moorooduc station, the main operating centre of the railway. Two palm trees, which graced the garden in front of the original station building for many years, were relocated to the new station site, but did not survive the transplanting in their new location.
At present, the heritage railway runs between Moorooduc station and the new Mornington station, which is sited at Yuilles Road in Mornington, 100m from the site of RMSP 16. The new station was opened formally on Sunday 18 April 1999, as a platform requiring pull-push working. A run-around loop was added later. There is an intermediate stop at Tanti Park station. There are plans for the remaining section of line, between Moorooduc station and Baxter station, to be restored. The Peninsula Link freeway has been constructed with an overpass across the line to allow for continued operation, and might even assist future operations to Baxter by removing significant traffic from the Moorooduc Highway level crossing.
Operations The MRPS is in possession of four former Victorian Railways K class steam locomotives, K 163 (formerly plinthed in Frankston), K 177 (donated by Langi Morgala Museum in Ararat), K 159 (formerly plinthed in Hamilton) and K 191 (formerly plinthed in Wangaratta). K 163 is the only one currently in service. K 177 is under heavy restoration, and K 191 has been disassembled for inspection and long term restoration. The MRPS also has two T class diesel locomotives (T334 and T411) and a Victoria Railways rail tractor.
Tourist trains run on each Sunday of each month between Moorooduc and Mornington railway stations, although the current Mornington station is displaced somewhat due to the original alignment having been built over.
Steam locomotives NumberImageYear builtBuilderStatusNotesK 159 1940Victorian Railways Newport Workshops Stored Previously plinthed in a park in Hamilton in country Victoria. Stored for possible future restoration. A locomotive was reassembled as a composite of unrestorable parts from K159, K174 and K177; this unnumbered locomotive is now displayed at K159's previous home in the park at Hamilton.K 163 1941 Operational Was plinthed in a park in Frankston after withdrawal from service by the Victorian Railways. Restored to steam by the MRPS in 1985, it saw mainline service until early to mid‑1990s. It was then booked for its 25-year overhaul in 2005 and returned to service 2010. In 2016 it wore K177 plates for the 75th birthday of K177. On 23 February 2020, the locomotive was transferred by road to Newport for an overhaul. On 8 January 2023, the locomotive relaunched at Moorooduc following the overhaul.K 174 Disassembled/Scrapped Salvaged from static display in Edinburgh Gardens, Fitzroy North by the MRPS in 1997. The locomotive as a whole was in very poor condition and unrestorable, however numerous components have been used in the restoration of K177 (including the frames). K 177 Under restoration Donated to the Mornington Railway by Langi Morgala Museum in Ararat. Under heavy restoration, using parts from other locomotives (including K174). As the restored locomotive uses the frames from K174, it would normally have been known by that number; however the Mornington Railway wished to honour their agreement with the Langi Morgala Museum to restore a locomotive with the number K177.K 191 1946 Stored dismantled Formerly plinthed in a park in Wangaratta. Brought to Mooorooduc in 2001 for eventual restoration, its boiler is now in use in K163.
Diesel locomotives NumberImageYear builtBuilderStatusNotesT 3341956EMD/clyde NSWOperationalWas painted pink in 1985T 4111968EMD/clyde NSWOperationalhas a 567C motor and was formerly painted in MTR Blue yellow and grey W 2411959Tulloch LimitedOperationalClass leaderTC 1UnknownUnknownStoredTrack Chief. Ex-BHP, is named Bob ParnellTC 2UnknownUnknownStored Track Chief. Spare parts for TC 1
Passenger carriages NumberImageYear builtBuilderStatusNotes3 ABL12 April 1900Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Mower & PartyStored 10 ABE2 September 1909Victorian Railways Newport WorkshopsUnder Overhaul 34 BE7 October 1910Victorian Railways Newport WorkshopsStored Pending RestorationFitted with air conditioning45 BE23 March 1910Victorian Railways Newport WorkshopsStored Pending Overhaul58 BES28 July 1910Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Bell & PartyStored86 BPL18 June 1921Victorian Railways Newport WorkshopsStored6 BCPL7 April 1922Victorian Railways Newport WorkshopsStoredFormerly was at McDonalds in Southland24 AW5 July 1918Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Scott & PartyOperational27 BU27 February 1914Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Fowles & PartyOperational63 ABW13 August 1926Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Scott & PartyStored Pending Restoration65 AW22 October 1926Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Gaulton & PartyOperational152 W1883Johnson & Co., MelbourneStoredWorkmen's Sleeper257 W1883Bevan, PStoredWorkmen's Sleeper278 W16 April 1886PicklesStoredWorkmen's Sleeper98 G12 July 1944Victorian Railways Newport WorkshopsOperationalTait dual lighting trailer. Used for birthday partiesACN3316 September 1982VicRail Newport WorkshopsOperationalBRN492 July 1983VicRail Newport WorkshopsOperationalBN25July 2 1982VicRail Newport WorkshopsOperationalBZN2751962VicRail Newport WorkshopsOperational1946T6 May 1976Victorian Railways Newport WorkshopsOperationalHitachi trailerMelville30 April 1901Victorian Railways Newport WorkshopsOperationalState Car No.2
Vans NumberImageYear builtBuilderStatusNotes5 CV26 June 1906Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Herbert & PartyStored Pending Restoration7 CV26 June 1906Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Herbert & PartyUnder Restoration2 CW28 November 1913Victorian Railways Newport WorkshopsStored17 CW25 June 1935Victorian Railways Newport WorkshopsStored Pending Overhaul35 C1 January 1892Australian Rolling Stock Co. SpotswoodStored604 ZD19 December 1928Victorian Railways Newport WorkshopsStored Pending Overhaul364 ZL21 October 1912Victorian Railways Newport WorkshopsOut of ServiceStationary vehicle for Ticket Office at Moorooduc Station457 ZL20 June 1914Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Rankin & PartyOperational586 ZL30 March 1928Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, Grigg & PartyScrapped
See also Tourist and Heritage Railways Act
Further reading General news: K181 candidate for restoration, Newsrail, April 1986
Notes
References
External links Mornington Railway "OzRide - It's your Business" video uploaded by Mornington Railway to YouTube on 5 October 2026.