R class locomotives saw a relatively brief but notable return to operation of regularly scheduled mainline passenger rail services when in the late 1990s, two of the remaining locomotives were extensively modified and returned to service.
Private rail operator West Coast Railway, which had successfully tendered for operation of the Warrnambool railway line in the privatisation of the Victorian passenger rail network, modified the locomotives as part of an ambitious plan to operate steam-powered express passenger services running to the same timetable as those operated by modern diesel electric locomotives.

In order to ensure the locomotive's ability to reliably keep to the timetable, a number of notable design changes were made.
These included the replacement of the original single blastpipe with dual Lempor ejectors, conversion to oil firing, fitting of power reverse, and the addition of a diesel control stand to allow for multiple unit operation with diesel electric locomotives where required.
R 711 entered service on regular trains on 21 November 1998, and design refinements based on its performance in service were made to the subsequent conversion, with the exception of a diesel control stand, for R 766.
For a number of years, the modified R class locomotives could be seen in regular operation between Melbourne and Warrnambool, keeping a fast 3 hour 13 minute schedule which included six stops along the 267 km (166 mi) route.
In 2001, locomotive R 766 suffered a mechanical failure of its connecting rod assembly while running at 115 kilometres per hour (71 mph).
The connecting rod became detached at one end and dug into the trackbed, although the locomotive was not derailed.

In 2004, West Coast Railway ceased operations after a number of operational problems made the business unviable.
The two R class locomotives made a final trip back to Newport Workshops, where they passed into the care of Steamrail Victoria.
R class locomotives saw a relatively brief but notable return to operation of regularly scheduled mainline passenger rail services when in the late 1990s, two of the remaining locomotives were extensively modified and returned to service. Private rail operator West Coast Railway, which had successfully tendered for operation of the Warrnambool railway line in the privatisation of the Victorian passenger rail network, modified the locomotives as part of an ambitious plan to operate steam-powered express passenger services running to the same timetable as those operated by modern diesel electric locomotives.
In order to ensure the locomotive's ability to reliably keep to the timetable, a number of notable design changes were made. These included the replacement of the original single blastpipe with dual Lempor ejectors, conversion to oil firing, fitting of power reverse, and the addition of a diesel control stand to allow for multiple unit operation with diesel electric locomotives where required. R 711 entered service on regular trains on 21 November 1998, and design refinements based on its performance in service were made to the subsequent conversion, with the exception of a diesel control stand, for R 766. For a number of years, the modified R class locomotives could be seen in regular operation between Melbourne and Warrnambool, keeping a fast 3 hour 13 minute schedule which included six stops along the 267 km (166 mi) route. In 2001, locomotive R 766 suffered a mechanical failure of its connecting rod assembly while running at 115 kilometres per hour (71 mph). The connecting rod became detached at one end and dug into the trackbed, although the locomotive was not derailed.
In 2004, West Coast Railway ceased operations after a number of operational problems made the business unviable. The two R class locomotives made a final trip back to Newport Workshops, where they passed into the care of Steamrail Victoria.
Victorian Railways R class