Gympie’s Charming Rattler

After many months of not blogging, I decided that a day trip to Gympie with Mick might be just what I needed to break me out of my laziness. I’m a bit rusty and the app has been updated with loads of new features that will take me some time to get used to.

I booked us tickets on the Mary Valley Rattler, which took us from Gympie Station to Amamoor and back.

The Mary Valley railway line was originally opened in April 1914. In 1999 the Mary Valley Heritage Railway re-opened for tourists. It didn’t last too long though, and in 2012 it was shut down due to safety concerns. The people from Gympie come from hard-working stock, and following significant work upgrading the facilities and the trains, it was re-opened (again) in 2018. And, it is still running.

We were pleasantly surprised at how many passengers there were for a mid-week tour. I had booked our ‘seniors’ tickets online and when we arrived and checked in using the QR code, we were asked by the attendant to show her our Seniors Cards. We were pretty chuffed she thought we looked so young!

Ten minutes before departure, the whistle blew and we boarded our carriage. After safety instructions and a brief commentary, the train left spot on time. The view from our open window was spectacular. The countryside was so green that it reminded us of a European setting.

This is dairy country, and these cows looked very content.

It took 75 minutes to arrive at Amamoor, where the steam engine was turned around. We had 45 minutes in the tiny village which comes alive, and is kept alive, due to the regular appearance of tourists on this train trip. We had been told that “The Works Burger” was a must. So, of course we ordered one each for an early lunch.

Mistake – one would have done.

This was a Challenge – but we did our very best.

The trip back to Gympie was quicker – taking only 60 minutes, because it was mostly down hill. It was also less sooty as our carriage was further away from the engine. On the way up I wore my face mask and sun glasses, because it was hard to avoid the soot. I am hoping that part of the cost of our tickets was to offset some of the carbon we added to the atmosphere.