John Kennedy was a man with a quirky, larger-than-life personality - and a taste for good billy tea.

But, his family said in a statement released on Tuesday night, "to try and sum John up in a few words, would be a gross misrepresentation of how great a husband, father, grandfather, mate and bloke he was".

The 54-year-old train driver, killed with pilot Sam Meintanis in Thursday's Sydney-to-Melbourne XPT derailment at Wallan, north of Melbourne, died doing what he loved.

Train driver John Kennedy was killed in the Wallan crash.

He joined the railway at just 14 and "his love for the rail never changed, if anything it just grew stronger," his family said. It showed "in his work ethic, passion and dedication to the railway".