Antique treasures destroyed in a Melbourne rail yard blaze

Antique rail carriages dating back to 1886 were destroyed this morning when a train yard at Newport in Melbourne's inner-west went up in flames.

The blaze was sparked by a short-circuit of wiring under one carriage.

Materials in the yard were ignited just after 1am, with four cars from the oldest surviving electric train in Victoria destroyed, and the heritage listed workshop damaged.

Called swing door cars, they carried passengers from the suburbs into the city from the 1880s, before being converted to electric trains and used until 1974.

Fire crews managed to stop the fire before it destroyed other restored trains on-site.

Brothers Kevin and Tom Clarke have spent the last 35 years restoring the now-gutted carriages.

"Just shattered to see the condition, they're just completely destroyed," Kevin Clark said.

Michael McGlade from Steamrail Victoria said volunteers are more welcome than ever.

"We need all the help we can get now, in any facet," he said.