{"id":427783,"date":"2025-12-06T02:12:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T02:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/427783\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T02:12:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T02:12:21","slug":"australias-biggest-miniature-railway-opens-to-the-public-in-the-central-victorian-town-of-harcourt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/427783\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Australia’s biggest’ miniature railway opens to the public in the central Victorian town of Harcourt"},"content":{"rendered":"

A hobby club in central Victoria has spent a decade building what they claim is “Australia’s biggest” miniature railway.<\/p>\n

It was a 2012 visit to the world’s pinnacle of miniature railway, Train Mountain in Portland, Oregon, that set the wheels in motion.<\/p>\n

Andrew Mierisch, a lifelong enthusiast, and a group of friends had shipped over three engines they’d built, wanting to take them on a run on the American track.<\/p>\n

After the six-hour miniature train ride Andrew had made up his mind \u2014 “Australia needs one of these”.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Andrew Mierisch says the miniature railway station is modelled on Maryborough’s train station. (ABC News: Anna McGuinness)<\/p>\n

Thirteen years later and the Victorian Miniature Railway is officially opening to the public this weekend.<\/p>\n

The 2.7-kilometre track is nestled on the slopes of a former paddock in Harcourt, central Victoria.<\/p>\n

While just a fraction of Train Mountain’s 523 kilometres, the 26-hectare Harcourt site means there’s plenty of room to grow.<\/p>\n

Family passion<\/p>\n

Andrew has been around miniature railways his whole life.<\/p>\n

His father, Colin Mierisch, was involved in the Diamond Valley Railway at Eltham, on the outskirts of Melbourne, for decades.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Andrew and Colin Mierisch take in the view from the overpass. (ABC News: Anna McGuinness)<\/p>\n

“I’ve always been my dad’s shadow, I was that little budding apprentice beside his father,” Andrew said.<\/p>\n

He remembers pushing a matchbox around in the dirt and then getting to drive the trains himself as he got older.<\/p>\n

Colin is a toolmaker by trade and said his passion began when his own father bought him a steam engine when he was 7 years old.<\/p>\n

“The thing I do enjoy the most is the passengers,” Colin said.<\/p>\n

“The little kids jumping on the train with such excitement and taking them for an enjoyable ride on the train.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Colin Mierisch on the train platform. (ABC News: Anna McGuinness)<\/p>\n

The father and son are just a small part of the Victorian Miniature Railway club, home to more than 50 members all dedicating their passion, skill and time to the project.<\/p>\n

So much so that Andrew estimates 95 per cent of the work has been done by the club members.<\/p>\n

“It’s such a massive feat, to fund it wouldn’t be financially possible or viable. It’s only a hobby and a club at the end of the day,” he said.<\/p>\n

Many are “genuine train nuts”, but others are there to tinker and make things or put their green thumb towards transforming the old paddock.<\/p>\n

And nothing about the railway is an accident.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

One of the model trains ready to take passengers for a ride. (ABC News: Anna McGuinness)<\/p>\n

From the station \u2014 modelled on the 130-year-old train station at Maryborough, 50 kilometres west of Harcourt \u2014 to the tracks, diesel and steam engine trains.<\/p>\n

“We are fanatical modellers,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Andrew said.<\/p>\n

“We aim for every detail \u2014 the door handle, the horns, windows, the glass, we put everything on there we possibly can.”<\/p>\n

The scale, 2.5 inches to every foot, is strictly adhered to \u2014 apart from carriage seats to allow for a comfortable ride.<\/p>\n

Opening at last<\/p>\n

Andrew said it’s been a “really hard” decade of work after hitting unexpected granite and rock on the site and being stalled for two years by COVID.<\/p>\n

He said the whole club is eager to let the public in and share their work, for more than one reason.<\/p>\n

“It can get pretty boring just driving around in circles by yourself,” Andrew said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Members of the Victorian Miniature Railway during the build. (Supplied: Victorian Miniature Railway)<\/p>\n

The railway’s opening weekend, December 6 and 7, is just another milestone for the club.<\/p>\n

“It’s a bit like restoring a car \u2014 you’re always going to want to make something a bit better, add, or get the next thing,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Andrew said.<\/p>\n

The tickets, at $5 a ride, are a “peppercorn rate” to cover the bills for the club, which will open to the public each Sunday going forward.<\/p>\n

As for Harcourt, a town of about 1,000 people known for its apple cider and scenic bush backyard, Andrew said he is confident it’s about to make a splash on the global miniature railway scene.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A hobby club in central Victoria has spent a decade building what they claim is “Australia’s biggest” miniature…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":427784,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[199025,4740,199028,199023,199029,50,1440,140575,199027,199026,199024],"class_list":["post-427783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-andrew-mierisch","tag-australia","tag-longest-miniature-railway","tag-miniature-railway","tag-model-trains","tag-news","tag-open","tag-ride","tag-train-mountain","tag-victorian-miniature-railway","tag-victorian-miniature-railway-club"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115670207016060731","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}