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Downs Explorer
Downs Explorer (originally known as Southern Downs Steam Railway) was founded in 1996, initially to restore the former Queensland Railways locomotive depot in Warwick.About SDSR
Southern Downs Steam Railway
"Level Crossing Safety: Warwick to Wallangarra" '''' April 2013 pages 40-43 In 2000, a C17 class steam locomotive was purchased and restored to operational condition with passenger operations commencing in January 2009. The museum regularly operates services on the
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Warwick, Queensland
Warwick ( ) is a town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in southeast Queensland, Australia, lying south-west of Brisbane. It is the administrative centre of the Southern Downs Region Local government in Australia, local government area. The surrounding Darling Downs have fostered a strong agricultural industry for which Warwick, together with the larger city of Toowoomba, serve as convenient service centres. The town had an urban population of 15,380 as at June 2018, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. having declined slightly at an average annual rate of -0.15% year-on-year over the preceding five years. Geography The Condamine River meanders from the east to the north-west of Warwick. One of its tributaries, Rosenthal Creek, enters Warwick from the south and enters the Condamine within Warwick. The Cunningham Highway and the New England Highway jointly enter Warwick from the north, cross the Condamine River, and then turn west within the town close to ...
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Queensland Rail
Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and related infrastructure. QR was also responsible for all Queensland freight services, and from 2002 operated interstate services under the Australian Railroad Group, Interail and QR National brands. These were all spun out into a separate entity in July 2010, and later privatised as Aurizon. History Beginnings Queensland Railways was the first operator in the world to adopt narrow gauge (in this case ) for a main line, and this remains the systemwide gauge within Queensland today. The colony of Queensland separated from New South Wales in 1859, and the new government was keen to facilitate development and immigration. Improved transport to the fertile Darling Downs region situated west of Toowoomba was seen as a priority. As adequate river ...
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Railway Digest
''Railway Digest'' is a monthly magazine, published in Sydney, covering contemporary railways of Australia. Overview The magazine's publisher is the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), NSW Division. The first issue was published in March 1963 under the name ''New South Wales Digest'' and regular publication commenced with the May 1963 edition. It was renamed in January 1983. In January 1985 it changed paper size from SRA5 to A4. Originally an enthusiast magazine mainly focusing on reporting day-to-day workings of the New South Wales Government Railways and it successors, it was produced by volunteers using a hand-operated duplicator at the home of one of its members. In May 1993, a paid editor was appointed and the magazine's focus gradually shifted to reporting news from across Australia. It has evolved into a professional full-colour production directed at the wider community and commercially distributed to newsagents throughout Australia."Adapt or disappear - the ...
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Queensland C17 Class Locomotive
The Queensland Railways C17 class locomotive was a class of 4-8-0 steam locomotives operated by the Queensland Railways. History The C17 class was introduced as an improved version of the C16 class. Per Queensland Railway's classification system they were designated the C17 class, C representing they had four driving axles, and 17 representing the cylinder diameter in inches. The design was so successful that 227 locomotives were built from 1920 when the first engine Nº 15 entering service through until 1953 when Nº 1000 was delivered. The Commonwealth Railways NM class were of the same design. They were used to haul Mail trains on lines could not accommodate heavier B18¼ class, also suburban passenger, mixed, goods and branch line trains. Until 1948 they were the heaviest engines that could work north of Mackay. Prior to the introduction of diesel electric locomotives, they were responsible for hauling the air-conditioned ''Inlander, Midlander'' and '' Westlander'' tra ...
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Southern Railway Line
The Southern railway line serves the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The long line branches from the Western line at Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, and proceeds south through Warwick and Stanthorpe to the New South Wales/Queensland state border at Wallangarra. History The first section of the Southern railway opened from the end of the Main Line railway at Toowoomba to Millhill to the north of Warwick, on 9 January 1871, the line terminating there to save the cost of a bridge over the Condamine River. In 1872, tin was discovered at Stanthorpe, but disagreement over the route to be taken through Warwick resulted in the approval to extend the line not being given until 1877. The difficult terrain south of Warwick required two tunnels, one through solid rock which took two years to excavate, and the line opened to Stanthorpe on 3 May 1881. The Dalveen Tunnel was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 July 2000. The Southern line was completed to Walla ...
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Warwick Railway Station, Queensland
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whitnash. It has ancient origins and an array of historic buildings, notably from the Medieval, Stuart and Georgian eras. It was a major fortified settlement from the early Middle Ages, the most notable relic of this period being Warwick Castle, a major tourist attraction. Much was destroyed in the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694 and then rebuilt with fine 18th century buildings, such as the Collegiate Church of St Mary and the Shire Hall. The population was estimated at 37,267 at the 2021 Census. History Neolithic Human activity on the site dates back to the Neolithic, when it appears there was a sizable settlement on the Warwick hilltop. Artifacts found include more than 30 shallow pits containing early Neolithic flints and pottery a ...
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Toowoomba Railway Station
Toowoomba railway station is a heritage-listed railway station on the Western line at Russell Street, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It serves the city of Toowoomba, which is the junction for the Western, Main and Southern lines. The station has one platform with a passing loop, opening in 1867. It was designed by FDG Stanley and built in 1873 by R. Godsall. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. Services Toowoomba is served by Queensland Rail Travel's twice weekly '' Westlander'' service travelling between Brisbane and Charleville. Following the cessation of the ''Dirranbandi Mail'' in February 1993 and the diversion of ''The Westlander'' to call at Willowburn in August 1994, Toowoomba was served by no regular passenger services. This was redressed when ''The Westlander'' reverted to calling at the station from 8 April 1997. Transport links Toowoomba station is served by Bus Queensland Toowoomba services. It is also a ...
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Wallangarra Railway Station
Wallangarra railway station is a heritage-listed railway station at Woodlawn Street, Wallangarra, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1877 along the state border of Queensland and New South Wales It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 March 2003. Wallangarra railway station was on the only railway route between Sydney and Brisbane and had to handle the break-of-gauge where Queensland Railways' Southern line met the New South Wales Government Railways' Main Northern line. Wallangarra was the terminating point for the ''Sydney Mail'', with passengers transferring to the ''Brisbane Limited'' for the remainder of the journey to Sydney. In 1930 New South Wales's North Coast line from Sydney to Brisbane was completed; as it used only standard gauge for the whole route, it was a more efficient route than travelling via Wallangarra, leading to the decline of Wallangarra station. However, Wallangarra continued to be served by passenger trai ...
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List Of Heritage Railways In Australia
This is a list of heritage railways in Australia, some of which can also be considered tourist railways. For convenience, heritage tramways have also been included. Most are members of Association of Tourist & Heritage Rail Australia (ATHRA). In addition to active operations, abandoned and putative operations are also included, but static museum sites and rolling stock operators without a 'dedicated' line do not fall within Wikipedia's definition of heritage railways. Miniature railways with gauges of less than 380mm (15 in) are excluded. Lines named in red are lacking a detailed Wikipedia entry. The world's second preserved railway, and the first outside the United Kingdom, was Australia's Puffing Billy Railway. This railway operates on of track, with much of its original rolling stock built as early as 1898. New South Wales gauge unless otherwise stated. See also Transport Heritage NSW * Byron Bay Train * Campbelltown Narrow Gauge Railway— gauge * Cooma Monaro ...
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Railway Museums In Queensland
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prepared flat surface, rail vehicles (rolling stock) are directionally guided by the tracks on which they run. Tracks usually consist of steel rails, installed on sleepers (ties) set in ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually fitted with metal wheels, moves. Other variations are also possible, such as "slab track", in which the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface. Rolling stock in a rail transport system generally encounters lower frictional resistance than rubber-tyred road vehicles, so passenger and freight cars (carriages and wagons) can be coupled into longer trains. The operation is carried out by a railway company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer facili ...
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1996 Establishments In Australia
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on board; Eight people die in a blizzard on Mount Everest; Dolly the Sheep becomes the first mammal to have been cloned from an adult somatic cell; The Port Arthur Massacre occurs on Tasmania, and leads to major changes in Australia's gun laws; Macarena, sung by Los del Río and remixed by The Bayside Boys, becomes a major dance craze and cultural phenomenon; Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 crash-ditches off of the Comoros Islands after the plane was hijacked; the 1996 Summer Olympics are held in Atlanta, marking the Centennial (100th Anniversary) of the modern Olympic Games., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 Centennial Olympic Park bombing rect 200 0 400 200 TWA FLight 800 rect 400 0 600 200 1996 Mount Everest disaster rect 0 200 30 ...
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