While other kids were kicking a footy around at recess at North Fremantle Primary School, Kevin Pearce had just one thing on his mind in the 1950s — trains. Kevin’s school was located alongside the Perth to Fremantle line and the youngster would stand up against the fence, entranced by the new diesel trains. The Mt Pleasant rail enthusiast parlayed that early love of trains from a hobby into an enduring career, but Kevin’s affinity with travel goes back even further than his primary school days.
“We lived in West Perth and my mother told me that whenever I was restless, she used to wheel the pram down to the railway line,” he says. “As soon as I saw and heard the trains, not a whimper. So that’s how it started!” When Kevin was old enough to get a bike, he was able to explore further afield, such as at the busy North Wharf where trains shunted goods to and from the ships.
He also chased trains along the long-gone Rocky Bay line which ran to the sugar refinery in Mosman Park. In the 1960s Kevin discovered kindred spirits at the Railway Historical Society and soon after joining, became active on their tours committee organising rail trips. Kevin, turning 81 in December 2024, has spent 40 years professionally organising rail tours, although he was organising hobby and charity rail tours some 20 years before that.
While working at Watsonia in export shipping, Kevin organised the company’s annual picnic train, a two-car diesel with 124 seats. “But this small tra.