Out of Steam

This old train languishes in Atherton today. New life had been lovingly given to her in the 90's when many devoted volunteers pulled her apart piece by piece. They cleaned and reassembled her as good as new. They cleaned up the tracks from Atherton to Herberton and for a while ran a train service there and back. There just was not the interest generated to keep the effort viable and most trips ran at a loss. Coal, and fire wood supplements, were expensive for the hungry engine, but what was the final killer was stiff government regulations on track upkeep. Without the right standard maintained, insurance cover would be non-existant. So everything had to stop. That was about seven years ago.

It is sad because the rail trip from Atherton to Herberton is worth keeping as a heritage rail at least. The train has one tunnel to pass through. It was in this tunnel back in 1945 that George kissed Peter's mum so none could see. How romantic is that! We meet George 63 years later in the previous blog. They are still great friends.