This service terminates here. HFF.
Not the end of the line, but as far as the suburban service goes west of Brisbane and at the end of the overhead electrification, we peer west into the sultry heat at Rosewood in South East Queensland.
Just about a kilometre ahead, a coal train heading for the Port of Brisbane is stopped waiting for the electric multiple unit to depart ahead of it (you can just see it in the distance). The service from Ipswich is only hourly and the stations short, limited to three cars. In fact, the line doesn’t serve particularly heavy population areas once out of the Ipswich suburbs but it is tending to slowly open up cheap land.
Rosewood was the junction for the erstwhile Marburg Branch, long truncated in stages to serve various coal mines in the ranges above the town. In fact, prior to the opening of open cut mines west of Toowoomba, the coal trains from this branch (which diverges on the east of the station behind me) were the last to operate in Brisbane for “domestic use” to the Petrie Paper Mill (now gone) and the PA Hospital at Dutton Park. A part of this branch is now preserved by the Australian Railway Historical Society although they are currently not operating trains.
The line in front is double track to Helidon (except where it passes through the Little Liverpool Range east of Laidley) and then it climbs the Great Dividing Range to Toowoomba and then heads south and west into the southern inland of the state. The climb up and down the Great Divide is long and arduous, single track with many reverse and sharp curves and tunnels. Not a great place to be operating long coal trains. Most of the railway traffic west of here has been lost to road, including, unforgivably some bulk traffic. Grain is still moved longer distances to the Port but the drought has severely affected harvests and of course coal. Coal being under a cloud means it’s long term future is ...well, under a cloud and one mine has recently been denied expansion plans allegedly owing to several factors including the impact on valuable farmland and the environment.
Millions have recently been spent on enlarging the tunnels on both ranges to provide for transit of the larger shipping containers and independent rail operator Watco has set up in Warwick to take over grain transport and perhaps other new traffic. Some cattle trains still operate also but the drought has impacted them as well.
I did forget to say, two long distant passenger trains operate from Brisbane to Charleville (800-900 kms approx) in western Queensland twice per week past here but with loss of patronage to road buses, the train is paired down to bare minimum of about three coaches (carriages) and minimal catering, passes through the more inaccessible but interesting areas at night and heavily subsidised by the Government. It probably averages ten passengers per trip and often travels Toowoomba to Brisbane empty. It is marketed to tourists but that doesn’t seem to be working and is hanging on by a thread. A shame because Charleville has some interesting tourist attractions, including the Cosmos Centre (amazing) but waiting for the next train in three/four days time is probably a stretch unless you can hire a car and go driving round the Outback....which is probably not a bad thing to do. Some great places to visit out there.
This service terminates here. HFF.
Not the end of the line, but as far as the suburban service goes west of Brisbane and at the end of the overhead electrification, we peer west into the sultry heat at Rosewood in South East Queensland.
Just about a kilometre ahead, a coal train heading for the Port of Brisbane is stopped waiting for the electric multiple unit to depart ahead of it (you can just see it in the distance). The service from Ipswich is only hourly and the stations short, limited to three cars. In fact, the line doesn’t serve particularly heavy population areas once out of the Ipswich suburbs but it is tending to slowly open up cheap land.
Rosewood was the junction for the erstwhile Marburg Branch, long truncated in stages to serve various coal mines in the ranges above the town. In fact, prior to the opening of open cut mines west of Toowoomba, the coal trains from this branch (which diverges on the east of the station behind me) were the last to operate in Brisbane for “domestic use” to the Petrie Paper Mill (now gone) and the PA Hospital at Dutton Park. A part of this branch is now preserved by the Australian Railway Historical Society although they are currently not operating trains.
The line in front is double track to Helidon (except where it passes through the Little Liverpool Range east of Laidley) and then it climbs the Great Dividing Range to Toowoomba and then heads south and west into the southern inland of the state. The climb up and down the Great Divide is long and arduous, single track with many reverse and sharp curves and tunnels. Not a great place to be operating long coal trains. Most of the railway traffic west of here has been lost to road, including, unforgivably some bulk traffic. Grain is still moved longer distances to the Port but the drought has severely affected harvests and of course coal. Coal being under a cloud means it’s long term future is ...well, under a cloud and one mine has recently been denied expansion plans allegedly owing to several factors including the impact on valuable farmland and the environment.
Millions have recently been spent on enlarging the tunnels on both ranges to provide for transit of the larger shipping containers and independent rail operator Watco has set up in Warwick to take over grain transport and perhaps other new traffic. Some cattle trains still operate also but the drought has impacted them as well.
I did forget to say, two long distant passenger trains operate from Brisbane to Charleville (800-900 kms approx) in western Queensland twice per week past here but with loss of patronage to road buses, the train is paired down to bare minimum of about three coaches (carriages) and minimal catering, passes through the more inaccessible but interesting areas at night and heavily subsidised by the Government. It probably averages ten passengers per trip and often travels Toowoomba to Brisbane empty. It is marketed to tourists but that doesn’t seem to be working and is hanging on by a thread. A shame because Charleville has some interesting tourist attractions, including the Cosmos Centre (amazing) but waiting for the next train in three/four days time is probably a stretch unless you can hire a car and go driving round the Outback....which is probably not a bad thing to do. Some great places to visit out there.