It’s been a long time since this old steam carriage saw active service on the Australian railways. But now it’s been restored as a first class home
Nestled at the end of a quiet, unmade lane in Forrest, a former logging town full of weatherboard shacks two hours from Melbourne, you are greeted by a couple of unexpected properties: a quirky steam train carriage and a three-storey cabin made out of wood and upcycled train parts. Neither are your stereotypical Australian structures, but then convention is not something that the owners, Fleur and Mike Leslie, are drawn to.
The black-painted steam carriage, located on the fringes of the Great Otway national park, close to lush surrounding rainforest and world-class nature walks and bike trails, lends a nostalgic nod to days gone by – a time when life was less frenetic and train travel more elegant. “We bought the plot back in 2013. It had been on the market for many years and was totally run down, but immediately triggered a reaction in us both,” says Fleur. “Initially we were drawn to the main house and the train was an aside, but it quickly became a passion project, too.”
