The 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge[1] Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway conducts steam/heritage diesel train trips from Bundamba Racecourse on the Swanbank Branch Line to either Swanbank Power station, near Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, or '3 Mile 8 Chain' Box Flat balloon loop. There is a heritage station located at Swanbank formerly located at Forest Hill and survived Under Queensland Rail, and a platform at the Bundamba Racecourse.[2]
Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway (QPSR) operate heritage railway excursions through the scenic country of the Bundamba and Swanbank area. The train operates on the Second Sunday and third Saturday of every month departing from both Swanbank train station and the Bundamba Racecourse, the journey will see you pass through Box Flat. QPSR has a Depot at Box Flat, the halfway point on the line. Since February 2010, the steam trains have been running in conjunction with the Handmade Expo, at the Bundamba Racecourse, operating on the third Saturday of the month. The trips on the Saturdays are from Bundamba to Box Flat and return.
QPSR has three steam locomotives, the first being an ex-QR PB15 class locomotive, Number 448, built by Walkers of Maryborough in 1908, and now fully restored in working order. The second locomotive is known as Kilrie which was built in 1924 by Perry Engineering, Gawler, South Australia. The third locomotive is C17 No. 996, built in 1950, which previously sat on the Southport beachfront, and is now in a dismantled stage to allow examinations to be carried out pending the decision to return it to operational condition. QPSR has a preserved diesel, a 1600 class Diesel Electric locomotive, 1616, in working order to support their railway operations.
The society also operates a wide selection of railway carriage, ranging from 1885 timber bodied coaches and last surviving "Prison Car" through to a set of the famous 1950's Sunlander Carriages.
The journey offers the chance to both experience and re-live the "Golden Age" of railway travel in Queensland . The branch line is the Swanbank Branch line which is made up of the old Redbank-Bundamba Loop Line and The Swanbank Extension. There are diverse gradients and negotiating winding curves throughout the trip. Travellers on board will pass the QPSR Depot at Box Flat, roughly the halfway point on the line, continuing through the districts of Blackstone, Bundamba and Swanbank in fully restored heritage timber carriages, through bushland and open country, past closed coal mines, farms and paddocks, and the Swanbank Power Station.
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