West Coast Wilderness Railway - Tasmania | Travelsnapz

The West Coast Wilderness Railway

Previous slide

Next slide

Rotate to landscape to view slideshow

Queenstown to Strahan - On a rack

The Mt Lyell Mining Company had a problem – lots of copper, but with the mine in a remote area of Tasmania, difficulty in getting the ore to market.

The nearest port at Macquarie Harbour was almost inaccessible from the mine site due to the wild terrain – wild rivers, dense rainforest and steep inclines. Dr Carl Roman Abt to the rescue.

Dr Abt invented a system that enabled the locomotive to lock into a rack of teeth on the railway that would help pull the train carrying the valuable copper ore up hills and control its descent down hills. And so the train started operations in 1892.

With increasing maintenance costs and the improvement in road transport, the railway ceased transporting ore in 1963 and was almost forgotten. Until someone had the idea to re-establish the trip as a tourist attraction. That took a lot of work. Rail had to be relaid, bridges repaired, rolling stock acquired. But it got done and the wilderness tourist railway commenced operations in December 2002.

When we took the journey on the West Coast Wilderness Railway you could do the length of the line in one go (we did the Strahan to Queenstown trip). We started out with a deisel locomotive but swapped over to the specialist ABT steam loco before we got to the ABT track system which is installed on the steepest part of the track. I understand that the trip options have now changed so make sure you check and book prior to your trip.

And it’s a great ride. Through the thick rain forest, over trestle bridges, crossing the King River – a trip of about 35km.

The journey has a few breaks to change locomotives and to allow you to have a good look at the scenery and the track.

Watch out for the station called Dubbil Barril near the King River, just because it’s a cute way to spell the name.

Share this destination

0 Comments

Oldest

Newest Most Voted

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

More from Australia

The Art Silos at Brim, Victoria

The Art Silos at Brim in Western Victoria celebrate the local famers who have lived and worked in the area for generations.

The Twelve Apostles

A helicopter ride can be thrilling anywhere, but over the Twelve Apostles, that’s magic.

A surfing spot on Phillip Island Victoria known as Anzacs

Phillip Island Extended – Tranquility shouldn’t be had in short bursts

Most visitors to the picturesque Phillip Island are day-trippers who come especially to see the penguins as they surf ashore at dusk and waddle up to their burrows with full tummies to feed their young. We made our visit a four-day trip to have a decent break, enjoy the peaceful surrounds and experience some of the gastronomical highlights of the island.

Tamerza, Tunisia

The old village of Tamerza was abandoned in 1969 after 22 days of heavy rain destroyed the traditional mud brick structures.

Tozeur, Tunisia

Tozeur is an oasis town full of interest. The medina buildings have intriguing brick patterns on their walls, there is a great museum, it’s popular with trekies because of its association with the Star Wars film, and there’s a quiet palm grove to wander through.