Back in the mid 60's my father was a guard based in Leongatha and every second Sunday he took the Sun night pass to Tooradin and came back on the returning train when they crossed over. I used to go with him quite often. It was amazing to know that Tooradin station did not have power at that time. The trip was a slow and cold one during the winter months when sometimes the train had only a handful of people on the whole train.

    For myself, and our neighbours, it was a way to fill in the afternoon as we used to go to the station and fire up the foot-warmer heater and get the foot-warmers ready for the train. When it was moved into the platform we would throw in all the foot warmers into each compartment, and I can assure you when you are a 14-15 year old scrawny teenager the damn things were heavy.

    I can remember coming back one night and was fortunate enough to ride up front in the old T which was travelling long end first, at times I thought the thing would bounce off the tracks as it thumped from side to side, although this was before the track was re-laid with the longer welded rails.

    The carriages that were stored at Leongatha were almost always covered inside and out in Super Phosphate as this was loaded into trucks from open GY wagons right along side the carriages.

    The two sidings where they were stored are still there but not used for anything any more as with all the other sidings.

……Frank Loftus.