Red-rattler carriages dating back to 1906 being pulled by a 1960s diesel engine was scheduled to roll into town on February 13 - with organisers already having bought the supplies for the sold-out trip - when Premier Daniel Andrews made the call to shut the state for five days.

But Steam Rail Victoria's Eddie White and Noah Clancey are now hoping locals will jump back on onboard the rescheduled train event on March 13.

Mr White said the train was out ready to go and they had already purchased food for the trip when late the day before they had to call everything off.

"For people like Noah who put all the work into it, it was pretty gut-wrenching," Mr White said.

About $35,000 in ticket sales had to be returned for the return trip from Melbourne to Camperdown, and a side return trip from Camperdown to Warrnambool for locals booked to take a trip down memory lane on the old carriages.

But despite losing money on the venture, the event was eligible for a state government grant which has helped them to revive the journey at short notice.

A blue and gold diesel S313 streamliner, which turns 60 this weekend, will pull five or six red rattlers from the 1910s and an art deco carriage dating back to the 1930s.

Mr White said sales for the first-class carriage had taken off because it had air-conditioning but a ride in the red rattler carriage was also popular.

"Especially because they've got the opening windows, the old-school air-conditioning," Mr White said.

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The engine, featuring the bulldog nose, was the kind frequently seen on the Warrnambool line in the 1960s and '70s, and used to pull the Spirit of Progress from Melbourne to Albury as well as the Southern Aurora - an overnight express between Melbourne and Sydney.

Mr White said that type of train had not visited Warrnambool since 2004. "A lot of locals wouldn't have seen these before," he said.

The trip departs Camperdown for Warrnambool at 12.50pm and will arrive about 1.40pm for an hour-long stay where locals can get a look at the vintage train.

Not all of the activities for the Melbourne to Camperdown trip are still on offer with a beer and wine side trip having to be cancelled because it couldn't be rebooked at such short notice.

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