2351 - LAN class roomette sleeping car

LAN class roomette sleeping car

Built: 1962

Builder: Commonwealth Engineering, Granville

Current status: Static display

LAN 2351, along with other stainless-steel cars, was ordered as a joint venture between the New South Wales Government Railway (NSWGR) and the Victorian Railways (VR), for use on the new Southern Aurora between Sydney and Melbourne. The car has 20 single-bed compartments, arranged in a zig-zag corridor design, with a pair of shower stalls at one end.

In 1969, LAN 2351 was a part of the train involved in the Violet Town Disaster, where the driver of the Southern Aurora suffered a fatal heart attack, failing to slow for a passing freight train and causing the two to collide head on. 9 people lost their lives in the tragic accident.

LAN 2351 would be repaired and returned to work. However, domestic air travel was fast becoming the preferred mode of travel between the two cities. For all the comfort the train provided, it simply couldn’t compete with the speed of an airliner. The Southern Aurora would be amalgamated with the Spirit of Progress and renamed the Sydney/Melbourne Express in 1986, and ceased operating altogether in 1993, replaced with the XPT service that still runs today. The carriages would be sold to various heritage organisations. LAN 2351 provides a look into the “last hurrah” of luxury express trains.

LAN 2351 is kindly on loan to Canberra Railway Museum from VicTrack.