 Three hundred invited guests joined the train for the inaugural run, ranging from Attorney-General of Australia former Railways Minister Robert Menzies to Mr AO Henty, descendant of Edward Henty, the Victorian pioneer after whom the train's locomotive was named.The train reached against a headwind on the Down journey to Geelong, and on the return leg reached a new official Australian rail speed record of between Werribee and at Laverton before speed was cut to avoid stray livestock on an unprotected level crossing.While not officially acknowledged, the steam-hauled "Spirit of Progress" is reported on occasion to have reached speeds as high as while in regular service.