The Savannahlander
The Savannahlander is an Australian passenger train service (primarily serving tourists) that operates in Far North Queensland. It travels on the Tablelands railway line and the Etheridge railway line from the coastal city of Cairns to Forsayth. History The service was introduced on 3 April 1995 by Queensland Rail to replace the Forsayth Mixed (marketed as the 'Last Great Train Ride'). The line was closed from Mareeba to Mount Surprise at the same time. It was initially run with a 2000 class railmotor set that was refurbished at Townsville Workshops. This was only on the Mount Surprise to Forsayth section of the Etheridge line. However, after an upgrade of the line for sugar syrup trains from Cairns to Arriga, and a limited restoration of the rest of the line, the railmotor started travelling from Cairns to Forsayth in September 1998. In 2004 it was decided to run it under contract by a private operator, Cairns Kuranda Steam Pty Ltd. While primarily a passenger service ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Savannahlander
The Savannahlander is an Australian passenger train service (primarily serving tourists) that operates in Far North Queensland. It travels on the Tablelands railway line and the Etheridge railway line from the coastal city of Cairns to Forsayth. History The service was introduced on 3 April 1995 by Queensland Rail to replace the Forsayth Mixed (marketed as the 'Last Great Train Ride'). The line was closed from Mareeba to Mount Surprise at the same time. It was initially run with a 2000 class railmotor set that was refurbished at Townsville Workshops. This was only on the Mount Surprise to Forsayth section of the Etheridge line. However, after an upgrade of the line for sugar syrup trains from Cairns to Arriga, and a limited restoration of the rest of the line, the railmotor started travelling from Cairns to Forsayth in September 1998. In 2004 it was decided to run it under contract by a private operator, Cairns Kuranda Steam Pty Ltd. While primarily a passenger service bet ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cairns
Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-populous in Queensland, and 15th in Australia. The city was founded in 1876 and named after Sir William Wellington Cairns, following the discovery of gold in the Hodgkinson river. Throughout the late 19th century, Cairns prospered from the settlement of Chinese immigrants who helped develop the region's agriculture. Cairns also served as a port for blackbirding ships, bringing slaves and indentured labourers to the sugar plantations of Innisfail. During World War II, the city became a staging ground for the Allied Forces in the Battle of the Coral Sea. By the late 20th century the city had become a centre of international tourism, and in the early 21st century has developed into a major metropolitan city. Cairns is a popular tourist ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mungana, Queensland
Mungana is part of the rural locality of Chillagoe, north Queensland, Australia and a former mining township in its own right. It is within the local government area of Shire of Mareeba (between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region). History Mungana Post Office opened by 1907 (a receiving office had been open in 1897 and 1898), closed in 1945, reopened in 1951 and closed again in 1960. It was once the site of copper mines that featured in the Mungana Affair. Heritage listings Mungana has a number of heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many i ... sites, including the Mungana Archaeological Area. References External links University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Mungana Far North Queensland Towns in Queensland Shire of Mareeba ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chillagoe, Queensland
Chillagoe is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Chillagoe had a population of 251 people. It was once a thriving mining town for a range of minerals, but is now reduced to a small zinc mine and some marble quarries. Just out of town is the Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park containing limestone caves. There are between 600 and 1,000 caves in the Chillagoe-Mungana area. The caves, the spectacular karst landscape and the mining and smelting history are the main tourist attractions to the region. It has been stated by leading geologist Professor Ian Plimer that the Chillagoe region has the most diverse geology in the world. History Chillagoe was named by William Atherton in 1888. The name is taken from the refrain of a sea shanty: "Hikey, Tikey, Psyche, Crikey, Chillagoe, Walabadorie". James Mulligan had explored the area in 1873 and Atherton backed up his reports of rich copper outcrops in the area. Mining pione ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Barron Falls
Barron Falls ( Aboriginal: ''Din Din'') is a steep tiered cascade waterfall on the Barron River located where the river descends from the Atherton Tablelands to the Cairns coastal plain, in Queensland, Australia. In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Barron Falls was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "Natural attraction". Location and features Protected within the Barron Gorge National Park, the volume of water seen in the upper photo only occurs after substantial rainfall during the wet season. For much of the rest of the year, little more than a trickle is evident, due in part to the presence of a weir behind the head of the falls that supplies the Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station located downstream in the gorge. The Barron Falls may be viewed and reached by road via the Kennedy Highway that crosses the Barron River upstream of the falls, near . The narrow-gauge Kuranda Scenic Railway and the Skyrail aerial tram also ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kuranda Scenic Railway
The Kuranda Scenic Railway is a tourist railway service that operates along the heritage-listed Cairns-to-Kuranda railway line. Constructed in 1891, the line runs from Cairns, Queensland, over the Great Dividing Range to the town of Kuranda on the Atherton Tableland. Along the way, the route passes through the Macalister Range, as well as the suburbs of Stratford, Freshwater and Redlynch. Along the way, the train also stops at a lookout, which provides views of Barron Falls. Train services operate every day of the year, except on Christmas Day. A one-way trip takes approximately one hour and 55 minutes. The railway line is in length. It is still used for some freight services and other passenger services, including The Savannahlander. Attractions The tropical gardens Kuranda rail station are a well-known attraction in the area. Downhill the line cuts through the Barron Gorge National Park. The tourist train stops at a lookout, with a sweeping view of Barron Falls. A n ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cairns, Queensland
Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-populous in Queensland, and 15th in Australia. The city was founded in 1876 and named after Sir William Wellington Cairns, following the discovery of gold in the Hodgkinson river. Throughout the late 19th century, Cairns prospered from the settlement of Chinese immigrants who helped develop the region's agriculture. Cairns also served as a port for blackbirding ships, bringing slaves and indentured labourers to the sugar plantations of Innisfail. During World War II, the city became a staging ground for the Allied Forces in the Battle of the Coral Sea. By the late 20th century the city had become a centre of international tourism, and in the early 21st century has developed into a major metropolitan city. Cairns is a popular tourist ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arriga, Queensland
Arriga is a rural locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. It has Queensland's largest wind farm. Geography The Great Dividing Range passes through the south and east of the locality, with the following mountains within the locality: * Mount White () * Walsh Bluff () The Mareeba Dimbula Road enters the locality from the north-west ( Paddys Green) and exits to the west ( Mutchilba). History The Tableland Sugar Mill started operation on 28 June 1998. It was the first new sugar mill in Queensland for 75 years and the most technologically advanced making extensive use of automation and being environmentally-friendly. The Mount Emerald Wind Farm commenced generating wind energy from its 53 wind turbines in August 2019. In the , Arriga had a population of 702 people. In the , Arriga had a population of 1,079 people. Economy The Tableland Sugar Mill is located in Arriga (). The Mount Emerald Wind Farm () on the Great Dividing Range is in the south of the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Railmotor
Railmotor is a term used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for a railway lightweight railcar, usually consisting of a railway carriage with a steam traction unit, or a diesel or petrol engine, integrated into it. Steam railcars Overview In the earliest days of railways, designers wished to produce a vehicle for passenger carrying that was economical to build and operate on routes where passenger numbers were light. A single coach with its own prime mover was a solution adopted in some cases; this may be thought of as the predecessor to the railcar, a term more associated with the use of internal combustion engines. William Bridges Adams started building railmotors in small numbers as early as 1848. The Bristol and Exeter Railway used a steam carriage. In most cases the early designs were unsuccessful technically, but in the early years of the twentieth century, street-running passenger tramways started to use small steam engines to draw tramcars, replacing the customary hors ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mount Surprise, Queensland
Mount Surprise is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mount Surprise had a population of 169 people. Geography The town is located in the Gulf Savannah in Far North Queensland on the Gulf Developmental Road, north west of the state capital, Brisbane and west of the regional centre of Cairns. History The town was founded by Ezra Firth, from the English county of Yorkshire, who along with his family settled in the area in 1864. The property struggled at first; relations with the indigenous inhabitants of the country were hostile and the country was not suited for wool growing. The discovery of gold in the 1880s and the subsequent gold rush allowed Firth to sell his sheep to the miners, convert his holding to cattle and become wealthy selling goods to the miners. In 1908, the Etheridge railway line reached Mount Surprise. Mount Surprise Post Office opened by July 1908. Mount Surprise State School opened on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mareeba
Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the waters''. Geography The town is above sea level on the confluence of the Barron River, Granite Creek and Emerald Creek. The town's main street is the Mulligan Highway which branches off from the Kennedy Highway when coming in from Cairns (63.3 km; 40 miles) away passing localities such as Speewah, Kuranda and Barron Gorge. The Tablelands railway line enters the locality from the north ( Biboohra), passes through the town, and exits to the west ( Chewko). The locality is served by the following railway stations (from north to south): * Floreat railway station, now abandoned () * Mareeba railway station () * Turkinje railway station, now abandoned () The Lotus Glen Correctional Centre is located in Arriga, 14 km; 9 miles outsid ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |