The ‘Train of Thought’ has arrived at the new Living School in Lismore’s CBD.

The 1928 steel train carriage was lowered into place by a crane today on top of the school’s existing building on Conway Street.

The school’s founder John Stewart said the red rattler would become a learning space for the new progressive school, and would be named in Harry Potter style as Platform 9 ¾.

“Getting it into place was a huge logistics exercise, involving Essential Energy and local Council,” John said. 

The Living School's new classroom is lowered into place. Photo: Steve Mackney

“The carriage came from Marom Creek and was donated by the Rhodes family. It’s similar to the railway carriages we used to travel to Byron on when I was young.”

“We’ve cut the rust out of it and are doing it up to become a sound recording and film editing suite at one end, as well as a quiet learning space for yoga and meditation.

“The back section will have a small chemistry lab where students will learn about sustainability of soils and atmospheric meteorology.

“It was serendipitous that it was placed here on the birthday of children’s Shaun Tan – it looks like the artwork in his book The Lost Thing.”

John said the second floor carriage would be linked to the first floor.

“Students can play underneath it and little kids can look up and see the train where the older kids will learn,” he said.

The carriage arriving is a milestone in the creation of the new school, which has been a two year journey to come to fruition. 

Staff will be moving into the school next Friday to finish the building work and get the school ready for it’s opening date – February 28.

The school building is John’s father’s house, where John was conceived, and its repurposing represents to him keeping an important connection to the past. 

He has designed the new building with floods in mind, especially after living through the 1974 flood.

Johns said the progressive school is not alternative or mainstream, but is about adapting the best policies and practices in the world, without a specific doctrine. 

“The Living School is here to support the learning needs of students, teachers and parents,” he said.

“A big part of the teaching will be to help children reconnect with the environment and setting an example for others.

“We will propagate and grow 180 species of big scrub rainforest plants and put them in place on this planet.

“We want to create biophilia - a love of nature, not a fear of climate change and pollution – that’s ecophobia.

“We can drive away fear through education and create love, passion and purpose.

“If you love something, you’ll take care of it.”

John also said the school was designed with ecological principles in min, using recycled plastic, not steel in the concrete.

“The lighting also has no blue light – which is a mood changer.

“We’ll focus on growing garden beds outside and have solar panels and electric powered buses.”

“We want to do this for the Lismore community and make Lismore our learning environment - we are not a private school.”

Applications are now open for the 2020 school intake. For more information, visit https://livingschool.com.au/