At Going West 2005, Television presenter and talk-back host Marcus Lush delivers a witty account of his life-long love affair with rail, his relationship with the train-spotting fraternity, and his enormously popular television series Off the Rails: a Love Story which chronicled his journey along New Zealand's railway lines. 

This was a fitting last hurrah for a Going West tradition: a literary steam train journey from Auckland out to Helensville, echoing the train journey in Maurice Gee’s Going West that inspired the original festival. Lush spoke at the Grand Hotel in Helensville, at the end of Going West’s line. 

It also serves as a reminder that Going West has always been about the word in its meaning forms, not just books.

The Listener described Off the Rails as ‘a small beautifully shot work of art’. Lush reveals it ‘was the greatest thing I’ve ever done’ and led to an absolute passionate transformation with his love for his country.

Lush first rose to prominence on the radio, at the University of Auckland’s 95bFM. A high profile radio career followed and, after some early forays into television, he carved out his own niche as the presenter of uniquely New Zealand shows that travelled the country and explored its curious corners.

Off the Rails won acclaim and awards including gongs for best director and best information/ lifestyle programme at the 2005 Qantas Screen Awards