Trainspotting is one thing (watching trains at railway stations and writing down their serial numbers), but buying an actual train is quite another.
Watson resident Simon Mitchell is an avid train enthusiast, but perhaps “fanatic” is a better word.
“Who else buys a bloody Southern Aurora and restores 11 of the carriages to operation and runs rail tours?” Simon laughed. “Sprung, I’m a train nerd. Dad is the one that gave me the train spotting disease – it’s a disease like madness.”
There’s a perfectly sane reason why Simon and Danielle bought a train.
When the Canberra Railway Museum went into liquidation in 2016, two-thirds of its historic assets were auctioned off.
“We really wanted the Southern Aurora to be preserved,” Simon said. “They sold off things that were no longer economical to run, particularly the air-conditioned sleeping trains.
“It’s very hard for a rail preservation society to make a go of that and so the carriages were destined to be turned into farm sheds.”
Simon and Danielle tried to save as many carriages as possible (purchased for between $2,000 and $85,000 each) and started up a business to use the train as it was intended.
“But that was a stupid thing for two people to do,” Simon said. “Absolutely stupid. We restored 11 back to operating condition and ran 29 tours in regional NSW over five years, but we really struggled to promote the tours with the resources we had.”
The last tour was in 2024 when Simon and Danielle had to give it away, selling it to Journey Beyond Rail, which runs The Ghan and Indian-Pacific.
“That’s now part of their portfolio and to our great pleasure, they’ve continued to run and improve on our tours that we designed,” Simon said.
If you think selling a 328-metre train would leave a gaping hole in Simon’s life, think again.
He also owns a commercial bus and a commercial ferry.
To be precise: a 1954 flexible Clipper bus called “Scarlet Rose” and a 40-foot Sydney ferry built in 1916.
There’s another perfectly sane reason why.
“The bus is part of a fleet in Katoomba and I can grab her if she doesn’t have a booking,” Simon said.
“Our current plan is to have her in Canberra in November to take Canberra City Big Band to Captains Flat for the centenary of the village hall.”
You see, when Simon’s not chasing trains, he’s an accomplished trombone player and president of Canberra City Band.
As for Simon’s 110-year-old ferry, it lives at Batemans Bay.
“I’ve been restoring her and maintaining her for the last 10 years,” Simon said.
“She’s a small ferry and pretty typical of the turn of the century, she’s an absolute classic.”
The ferry sat high-and-dry, hidden in suburban Batemans Bay, for about eight years and then on Clyde River for another nine years.
“She spent 17 years ashore and then we got her back in the water in 2014 and steamed her up to Sydney for her centenary and she’s been on the Clyde River ever since.”
As for Simon’s rail obsession, he still has a O-Gauge railway model at home, a couple of locomotive lamps, and a builder’s plate from the Southern Aurora. He even built an 11-metre-long model of the Bradford (Exchange) Station, UK.
“I’ve got to say that with chasing trains, it’s a lot easier to buy a ticket and go on the train and enjoy it,” Simon said.
“I don’t miss the stress of running a working train – or the derailments.”
Next on Simon’s train-spotting list is locomotive 3801, which rolls into Canberra Railway Station 5-6 September.
It’s high on his watch list because it hasn’t visited Canberra since 1988, when it created history as the only steam locomotive to visit every mainland state and territory of Australia.
“I’m pretty sure it’s Henry from Thomas the Tank Engine, the big green one,” he said.
To book a 65-minute steam train ride from Canberra Railway Station to Burbong and back on 5-6 September, visit: thnsw.com.au/experiences/canberra
