Farewell Lilydale. A2 986.
“These little town blues
They’ve all melted away
I’m gonna make a brand new start of it…”
Wait. This isn’t New York, its Lilydale.
A² 986 at Lilydale, representing many years of history. 10 July 2021 would be a historical moment in the Victorian Railways history books as the Last Steam Train out of Lilydale’s old station as it left and started trundling back to Melbourne at 1557pm.
The scene was set, the A² was prepped as the steamers started moving towards the Maroondah Highway level crossing and whistled its iconic five-chime whistle as it left the old Lilydale Station for the final time.
A² 986 was the last A2 class steam locomotive to go onto the Healesville Line back in 1963. Since 1963, an A² hasn’t been sighted until 2021.
In 2021, Steamrail Victoria brought K153 and A² 986 to Lilydale to farewell the old station for good. A² 986was facing Melbourne, just like the time it was photographed back in 1963 whilst it was on an ARE tour at the time.
The photographer could’ve captured lineside footage alongside the Ringwood to Lilydale shuttles but instead, document the changes of Lilydale station as the station is bound to be closed in September 2021.
This was more historically significant in my opinion as soon, these shots will become history.
