Kevin Wright, left, Mick Spooner Colin Rutledge, and Stephen Lumsden from the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre are pictured with the Junction Express, which was removed from its site, behind the Tourism and Arts Centre. The carriages are being converted to scrap, while the loco traveled back to Victoria.
It was the last parade for the carriages of the Junction Express.
The carriages were loaded onto trucks and transferred to a vacant block in Port Pirie last week.
As they travelled down Florence and Norman streets, one visitor likened it to a final parade.
Meanwhile, visitors from Victoria were in Port Pirie to take the loco of the Junction Express to the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre.
There it will be put back together and rebuilt.
President Colin Rutledge said it would be based in Seymour and travel throughout New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.
Treasurer Kevin Wright said it would be used to pull freight trains, which it was made to do, and also used on passenger trains.
“Restoring locos is our passion,” he said.
Council administrative services manager Colin Byles said the restored loco would be renamed the “City of Port Pirie”.
“Eventually it will be restored and renamed the City of Port Pirie,” he said.
“They will bring it back in a couple of years.
“We were happy that it will be refurbished and restored.”
It was sold for $30,000. Mr Byles said the carriages would be cut for scrap, while the bogey wheels would be taken back to Victoria.
The rail heritage centre also paid for Max Cranes to remove the loco and carriages.