Q150 Steam Train
Get onboard the Q150 Steam Train!
Kicking off in April 2009, the train will travel throughout Queensland, reaching more than 30 communities, from Cairns to Mt Isa to Quilpie to Toowoomba. Local communities will welcome the train to their town and celebrate Queensland’s 150th with events and activities.
On track for 2009:
BB181/4 1089 Steam Train
- Welcome ceremonies in each location
- Events and activities in each location celebrating our unique culture, heritage and the aspirations of local and regional communities
- Travelling messages of goodwill, carried by students from one location to the next
- Short local trips on board the Q150 Steam Train in most locations
- ‘150 tree boulevard’ - carbon offset initiative and Q150 legacy project in each location.
Q150 Steam Train touring path
Q150 Steam Train itinerary
Follow the journey with QR
Q150 Steam Train tickets on sale now - Phone 1800 QLD 150 (1800 753 150)
Get aboard the Q150 Steam Train! Book your ticket today.
Read frequently asked questions about the Steam Train journey
See ticket prices
Check conditions of travel
Ticket and accommodation bookings or enquiries can be made by phoning 1800 QLD 150 (1800 753 150) or by visiting a Travel Train booking office.
Local council short trips
Where possible, local councils have been given the opportunity to provide short local trips for their communities.
The distribution of tickets for these local trips are at the discretion of individual local councils and cannot be purchased through the 1800 number or QR Travel Train Centres. Please contact your local council for more information.
To see if your council is organising any local trips please check the local trip itinerary.
Fast facts about steam trains in Queensland
- The first steam locomotives were put into service in 1865 in Queensland. The first four locomotives were all given names that reflected the importance of the role they would play in opening the fist section of railway. They were named “Lady Bowen”, after the wife of the then Governor of Queensland, “Faugh-a-Ballagh”, as a tribute to the first Governor of Queensland Sir George Bowen, (or perhaps because of the large number of Irish who helped build the railway), “Premier”, and “Pioneer”.
- Queensland Railways (QR Limited) has in its heritage fleet, one of the first steam locomotives to enter service in Queensland, (which is now one of the oldest able to operate in the world). It also has also has in operation the last mainline steam locomotive built in Australia (BB181/4 1089 - built at Walkers Ltd, Maryborough, in 1958).
- The biggest steam locomotive used in Queensland was the Beyer-Garratt. It weighed 137 tonnes.
- Steam locomotives used to be delivered along Brisbane streets in the 1920s. Evans, Anderson and Phelan, a company at Kangaroo Point, South Brisbane, used to deliver steam locomotives to the Woolloongabba railway yards via Main Street, on prefabricated tracks. The locomotives were moved under their own steam.
- From 1865 until 1969, Queensland Railways had a total of 1311 steam locomotives put into service. Of these, 908 were built in Queensland.
Find out more information about the history of trains in Queensland
Last reviewed 15 June 2009
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