Mr Campbell and his wife Nancy have been running the Campbelltown Miniature Railway since 1984. Mr Campbell, who is the steam and diesel train driver at the Belgrave-Hallam Road complex, told the News his passion for trains stemmed from childhood years.
“My interest in trains was just like a little girl’s fascination with dolls,” he said.
“The older I got, the bigger my trains got,” Mr Campbel
l said. The 79-year-old spent many years travelling with carnivals and setting up the miniature railway as an amusement ride, before building the permanent mile-and-a-half long track in Narre Warren North.
“We used to travel to Ballarat and Sorrento, setting up at the various carnivals,” he said. The couple set up the miniature railway in Christmas 1978, with help from friends and contractors, and welcomed the first passengers in Christmas 1984.
“It was an enormous job,” he said. “We had to cut 75,000 sleepers and plant 5800 trees.”
They have been living on the 20-acre property for more than 26 years. There are two rides at the complex, the boulder mountain ride which costs $4 per person and the cavalier ride which costs $5.50 per person. Riding on the trains, the passengers will pass through a countryside of lakes, hills and forests of pines and willows.The Campbelltown Miniature Railway also has playgrounds to entertain the children, and parkland suitable for picnics and parties. It’s open every Sunday, Wednesday during the school holidays and on public holidays, and this weekend to mark Anzac Day it will be open on Saturday and Sunday. For details call 9796 8481.
