Cape Otway Lighthouse
The lighthouse at Cape Otway is the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia. It makes a great stop-over for travellers heading down to the Twelve Apostles.
Previous
Next
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 inaccesible 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 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.
We took the journey on the West Coast Wilderness Railway from Strahan to Queenstown, but you can do it the other way if you like. We started out with a deisel locomotive but swapped over to the specialist ABT steam loco before we got to the ABT track system.
And it’s a great ride. Through the thick rain forrest, over tressle 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.
Share this destination
Subscribe
Login
0 Comments
More from Australia
Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania
Down the Western Explorer highway, through Corinna, Zeehan and Strahan for a day on Macquarie Harbour.
Oatlands, Tasmania
Oatlands, a small town on the Midland Highway between Hobart and Launceston, contains great examples of Colonial Georgian buildings.
Other destinations you may like:
Tamerza, Tunisia
The old village of Tamerza was abandoned in 1969 after 22 days of heavy rain destroyed the traditional mud brick structures.
Mytilini, Lesbos,Greece
Mytilini, the capitol of Lesbos is situated on a harbour that is circled by shops, houses, restaurants, churches and a huge castle.
The Market at Blvde Richard Lenoire
Every Thursday and Sunday the Blvde Richard Lenoire in Paris is taken over by fresh food stall holders.