This morning at coffee, I spoke about riding this train while visiting Queensland. Should you ever find yourself in Cairns, this is a must–
Spectacular!!
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Opened without fanfare, the section of railway line now known as the Kuranda Scenic Railway, was completed 125 years ago. This supremely difficult feat of engineering had been accomplished at considerable cost to the Queensland Government treasury (more than £1 million) and in the lives of workers. The railway climbing the rugged terrain of the Barron Gorge required construction of 15 tunnels, 55 bridges and more than 150 cuttings. Hundreds of tons of rock and earth were excavated by men with shovels and wheelbarrows, aided by explosives. Some 32 men were killed in accidents during construction. That the line was completed at all is largely credited to the contractor John Robb, who together with the government engineers found a way to construct the railway despite the rugged and unstable terrain and the harsh tropical climate.
Men working on the construction of a tunnel on the Cairns railway, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg: 67224
Men working on the construction of a tunnel on the Cairns railway, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Negative number: 67224
Mule team on the Cairns Railway, ca. 1891, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg: 70179
Mule team on the Cairns Railway, ca. 1891
Nearly completed Stony Creek Falls Bridge Cairns District, 1890, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg: 69624
Nearly completed Stony Creek Falls Bridge Cairns District
Railway workers standing at the entrance to railway tunnel Cairns, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg: 69623
Railway workers standing at the entrance to railway tunnel Cairns
Construction of the Cairns – Kuranda railway line, ca. 1890, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg: 201035
Construction of the Cairns – Kuranda railway line, ca. 1890
Construction of the Cairns Railway Cairns, 1890, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg: 69626
Construction of the Stony Creek Bridge, 1890
Construction of the Middle Crossing railway bridge Kuranda, ca. 1890s, Cairns Libraries, Image number: cai00168
Construction of the Middle Crossing railway bridge Kuranda, ca. 1890s
Construction of tunnel 12 and adjacent bridge, Cairns Railway, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg: 22621
Construction of tunnel 12 and adjacent bridge, Cairns Railway
Construction train crossing Bridge No. 11 on the Cairns Railway, Queensland, ca. 1891, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg: 150511
Construction train crossing Bridge No. 11 on the Cairns Railway, Queensland, ca. 1891
Workers laying sleepers and lines during the construction of the Cairns Railway, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg: 22620
Workers laying sleepers and lines during the construction of the Cairns Railway
Workers on the Cairns Railway, ca. 1890, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg: 70272
Workers on the Cairns Railway, ca. 1890
Workers on the Cairns Railway stop to admire the view of the gorge and ranges, ca. 1890, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg: 205175
Workers on the Cairns Railway stop to admire the view of the gorge and ranges, ca. 1890
Train and wagons going across a manmade embankment Cairns district, ca. 1895, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Image number: APO-007-01-0018
Train and wagons going across a manmade embankment Cairns district, ca. 1895
Workers camp on the Cairns Railway during its construction, ca. 1887, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg: 27405
Workers camp on the Cairns Railway during its construction, ca. 1887
The story of the construction of the railway can be read in Tracks of triumph : a tribute to the pioneers who built the famous Kuranda Scenic Railway by Alan Hudson
Simon Miller – Library Technician, State Library of Queensland
We All Deserve Better 