It might be the last place you would expect to see a Melbourne train carriage.
But for nearly 20 years, visitors to Allora Gardens on Darwin's outskirts have been surprised to find a Hitachi Trailer 1971T Carriage nestled at the back of the nursery, crammed to the brim with plants like people in peak hour.
It doesn't have an air-conditioner, most of the seats are missing and its wheels are spaced too far apart to fit on the Northern Territory's only rail line.
But that hasn't stopped Allora Gardens' owner Estelle Cornell from putting the vintage train carriage up for sale.
"We're hoping someone will embrace this beautiful classic carriage … we're asking a small price of $70,000," she said.
But Ms Cornell said the price tag and isolated location hasn't deterred interest, even from prospective buyers interstate.
Darwin-based train buff Stewart Whiteaker said the train carriage was out of his price range, but offered up other means of matching the asking price.
"I would be willing to sell a kidney for it," he said.
Mr Whiteaker, who dabbles in driving virtual trains on his home computer, said he was surprised to find the real-life retro train carriage far from home.
"Why the hell has this thing ended up in Darwin? I went up and had a bit of a look through it. My inner fan boy came out."
'Charm' of trains not forgotten
The Hitachi carriages began ferrying passengers around Melbourne in the 1970s in Melbourne and the last one was only pulled from service in 2014.
By the time they were retired, the train sets were literally rusting on the rails.
Mr Whiteaker said the Hitachis represented "a bit of rail history" for Victoria, lacking features passengers today would take for granted.
"These beautiful stainless steel carriages didn't have air conditioning, but there's just a charm about riding one of those around the city," he said.
"The smell of the oil, just the way the [Hitachi] trains ran, the sound of the engines. There's just something almost romantic about rail travel and the different sites and sounds of a railway."
After this particular carriage retired, it took a long and unlikely trip to a city which doesn't even have a commuter rail line: Darwin.
Long journey to the territory
Ms Cornell said she and her husband first came across the carriage in the backyard of a Sunshine Coast property, where another enthusiast had recovered the locomotive.
They instantly wanted it as a new addition to their Darwin nursery.
"I've always wanted to have a cafe at the nursery so how about we just put it on the back of a truck and bring it to Darwin," she said.
Using a crane, they lifted the carriage out of the yard and drove it 3,500 kilometres to Darwin.
There, it spent its retirement housing plants and as a gift shop.
From time to time it became a place of meditation.
And while this carriage may be departing from its tropical home, Ms Cornell said she is happy it's finding a new station.
"I guess there's a bit of mixed emotions for me… There's a bit of my heart there I've done many hours of creating and innovating in that train carriage," she said.
