DownsSteam Railway at Toowoomba

 Yes, I admit it. I love trains and it's a pleasure to visit a museum where I can view and touch old engines and carriages, particularly those I grew up with.

Drayton Station is a few miles southwest of the Toowoomba Station.

The entrance where we paid $5 each into an honor box.

A couple of old steam engines.

The first item of interest is an old Melbourne tram. Since Melbourne is in a different state, I have no idea why the tram is here.

Apparently, this type of tram was not particularly successful.

These stainless steel SX carriages were used on the Brisbane surburban network during the 60's and 70's. They were not airconditioned and it was hard work opening the doors. I hated them.

The old station.

Inside a carriage.

A wooden Guard's Van. These were always placed at the back end of each train.

When I was young and would go for a train ride, I was always intrigued by these racquet-shaped hoops that carried the authority to travel on the next stretch of railway line. The station master would hold up the racquet and the driver could easily pick it up with his arm without stopping the engine.

Wash basin. They were made to last back then.

A dining room in another carriage.

It would have been fun to travel on one of these.

First class sleeping compartment that would have been used on the Sunlander and other famous Queensland trains.

Back in September of 2011 I bought myself an Ausrail Pass and traveled on most of the long-distance trains in Australia, particularly in Queensland. From what I had read at the time, it looked likely that these services would be downgraded or cut entirely. It turned out that I was right and ten years later, most of these sleeper carriages are in museums like this. Here is a blog of one of those trips in 2011. I was in a 2nd class sleeper that had three levels.

With the advance of time and the pandemic, I was fortunate to have been able to do as much travel as I have. I wonder what will be possible in the future. 

Continue along this track and you arrive in Toowoomba.

The bar and food service area in a dining car.

Passenger lounge.

Dining car which is similar to the one in the blog of 2011. I remember sitting on the stools having a beer with some other passengers.

Made up beds. It beats sitting up all night by a long way.

Menu.

The carriages appear to have a different colour scheme from the Queensland Railways colour scheme. I believe the museum plans to run it's own trains.

A C-16 steam engine that was built locally in Toowoomba in 1914.

This one was painted green, though a brown version used to puff around in the railway yard at Maryborough when I was young. More info about the C-16 class here.

There must have been a couple of dozen men working in the shed.

In the background is a blue and white diesel-electric 1170 class engine built in Maryborough by Walkers. The rail line to the factory ran behind our house just a few yards away and I would often see new engines pass by in the 50's and 60's.

The museum has a set of railmotors that were converted into the Çommissioner's Inspection Car. The Commissioner was the title of the CEO of the Railway. Prior to 1991, they were used for normal passenger service and I traveled in them as a passenger several times back in the 60's. Back in the 60's the Commissioner had a special carriage and I got to travel on it once.

Where the driver sat. Since my father worked for the railway as a Maintenance Engineer, he occasionally took me out on the job while he did an inspection. One time, we both stood up behind the driver with a good view out the front. Thrilling times.

However, the best part of the museum was the Dreamtime Coach. Click here to get an idea of what I will be writing about.

An indigenous man, Domi, painted the inside of one of the stainless steel coaches during a 19 week period as part of his prison rehabilitation period. He had been jailed for 30 years so the crime was serious. The guide who describes the paintings is very good and shows you details that you would miss unless you know what to look for. Because of copyright issues, photography is not allowed. The paintings are absolutely amazing.

Domi has done his time and now has his own art gallery near Toowoomba Station. Here is a link to his website which shows some of his paintings.

Before my family moved to Maryborough in 1953, my father worked in the Toowoomba Station, probably on an upper floor in one of the offices. It's quite an impressive structure.

Prior to taking this photo, the last time I stood on the platform was back in 1953 when we took the train to Brisbane and then on to Maryborough. Actually, I am incorrect. My older sister remembers we took a bus down the range to Helidon from where we caught a train to Brisbane. It would have been much faster than taking the train all the way from Toowoomba.

The platform is only used four times a week when the train from Brisbane to Charleville stops. It's much quicker and cheaper to take a bus to Brisbane and there are eight buses in each direction per day.

Toowoomba suffered a major flood in 2011. I seem to remember that the station was flooded. 

A walk in the Bunya Mountains

 Since Omicron hit Australia, we have been more reluctant to attempt longer trips down south and will postpone them until later in the year. We have both received our booster shots, but for the moment we prefer to stay in Queensland which is handling Omicron pretty well and the number of Covid patients in hospital appears to be on the downswing.

So we decided to do a mini trip to Toowoomba via the Bunya Mountains, partially to get away from the heat of Summer in Hervey Bay. We drove the same route a year ago when we went to Lismore and it's a very pleasant drive though the country.

The old Woolooga pub.

The highway passes through Woolooga.

Hills behind Woolooga. After all the rain we have received since the beginning of the year, the countryside is remarkably green.

Playground and public toilets.

The nearby Kikivan golf course has a peculiar feature. The greens are dirt. Don't be deceived, the fairways are usually very brown. Presumably putting is challenging on a dirt surface. I looked up their Facebook page and they call them 'browns'. 

An unusual plant beside the highway that reminds me of a thistle. 

We stopped in Kingaroy for lunch at an old bakery that sold meat pies. I enjoyed mine, but Marianne was less impressed. The price of $3 for a pie is very low.

We drove up the Bunya Mountains to a park where there is a good view if the sky is clear. Not this day, unfortunately. I had a nap.

A few miles further on we came to an area where you could do walks through the rain forest to see the Bunya Pine trees. We had to pass through this gate affair.

Organisms on your shoes can damage the pine trees, so you use the red brush to remove dirt, and then the green thing squirts disinfectant on your shoes.

Marianne displays an elegant leg as she brushes her shoe.

And now she steps onto the green plate and disinfectant sprays onto your shoe.

Success! What a talent.

Path down into the rain forest.

Aussie rain forests are studys in browns, greens and greys.

A bunya pine from below. Most of them are from 100 to 150 feet tall and they live for about 500 years.

Bunya Pines have this distinctive top.

Lots of ferns. It was distinctly cooler here on the mountain than down on the flat. The altitude is about 3000 feet.

The bark of a Bunya Pine.

This is a large tree. You get much of the same sensation you get in a Redwood forest, except the Redwood forest seems quieter. The birds in the Bunya Mountains certainly let you know they are there.

A fallen tree that has been cut into small sections.

This was interesting. Every few years, various Aboriginal mobs would come from hundreds of miles around to meet and enjoy the Bunya Nuts. Click on the photo to enlarge it.

The grooves used to climb the trees.

Root structure.

Creek flowing to a waterfall.

We only walked this far and decided we did not want to descend all the way into the valley and then have to climb back up.

Marianne is growing this variety of plant indoors at our unit. This is the full-size version.

This tree had lost some bark.

We got back in the car and continued along a ridge.

Communication towers.

TV towers.

A bench with an Aboriginal snake theme carving.

Next morning we had breakfast at a cafe across the street from our motel. Marianne ate this huge mound of smashed avacado.

The cafe is next to a former restaurant that my family used to go to whenever we were in the area. We had been going there for fifty years. It served a huge lavish smorgasbord and was quite a treat when I was young.

It closed in 2015 and the building now houses a vet. Outside is a fenced area to hold your dog while you are waiting for your appointment.

Speaking of dogs, here is Marianne being unfaithful to the Airedale breed. For the past few weeks, these Great Danes have been walking on the beach while we have dinner. Marianne decided to get a closer look. They are certainly magnificent.