Riding the Queenslander

Press, 22 September 1987, Page 35

Riding the Queenslander

By

JOHN LESLIE

••You will love the Queenslander, our Travel Train, no matter what trains you have experienced anywhere." The speaker was Roger Stanton, the passenger sales manager for Queensland Railways. He was brought up in Christchurch and is one of more than 200,000 New Zealanders employed in Australia.

At 8.15 a.m., Queensland’s immaculate blue and silver travel train was sliding away from the platform of Brisbane’s new Roma Street station, which is one of the finest I have seen anywhere in the world. Kicking off my shoes and relaxing in my roomette armchair, I watched the sub-tropical river city of Brisbane, basking in the early morning July sunshine, slip past my wide window. My destination, Cairns, was some 1600 kilometres away.

The Queenslander made its first run from Brisbane to Cairns in April, 1986. It is a prestigious train for which a premium fare is paid. The Queenslander takes four days to make a round trip to Cairns and

back to Brisbane. It supplements a less prestigious, but quality train, The Sunlander, which leaves Brisbane for Cairns four times a week.

This Incredible Queenslander, providing first class sleeping accommodation and some economy seating, rides on the narrow 1067 mm gauge, the same as in Western Australia and New Zealand.

My roomette had all the facilities I could have wished for, including a toilet and wash basin, iced water on tap, collapsible footstool, and even taped music which originated from the lounge car. The Queenslander also provides a wallet containing toiletries, tissues, a key ring, and a small sewing kit which was useful for the long journey. We were welcomed by train manager, Greg Burnham, who spoke over the public address. He said he would meet everyone personally during the journey, and he did. Many passengers are content to sit and dream as they watch a fascinating world go by, but for

those who want company, there is the lounge car and, of course, the restaurant car.

Queenslander meals are really superb. Three courses are available and a variety of tempting special Queensland dishes are offered. A bottle of chilled Australian wine can complement a meal and it is all enjoyed as a montage of Queensland’s landscape rushes past the windowside table.

Complimentary morning and afternoon teas are provided in the lounge car and there is a bar service as well. Bar hostesses wear fulllength evening dresses which are appropriate for the plush surroundings of rich carpets, timber panelling and tropical plants. The Queenslander leaves Brisbane every Sunday morning and arrives at Cairns around 6 p.m. on Monday after a journey of almost 22 hours.

During the journey north we flashed through numerous small stations

supporting names which sound quite strange to a New Zealander. These included Eumundi, Gumlu, Toobanna and Bobawaba.

Brief stops were made at the rich farming centre of Gympie; Bundaberg, the home of sugar and Bundaberg rum; and bustling Gladstone, a major exporting port. A pleasant evening break of half an hour was made at Rockhampton, or “Rocky,” as the inhabitants call it. On the platform I sniffed the fresh mild night air, right on the Tropic of Capricorn, and looked briefly up at the star-studded sky. “A blooming Kiwi,” was how a friendly Queensland Railway official greeted me on the platform. “You beat us at rugby and rugby league.” Wounds were still smarting apparently. My roomette was ingeniously transformed, into a comfortable bedroom for the night. I was quickly lulled to sleep by the train’s soft rhythm and we passed effortlessly through tropical Mackay, Australia’s sugar capital, and Proserpine, the tourist gateway to the famous Whitsunday Islands.

As we entered Bowen shortly before breakfast, I looked back along the Queenslander which was negotiating a long curve. The train was made up of 18 carriages and on the back were three Motorail waggons providing a piggyback service for passenger’s vehicles. Among the many railway employees I have met across Australia, the Queenslander’s friendly, outgoing waitresses were some of the best. Train

manager, Greg Bumham, told me that waitressing on the Queenslander is a much sought after position. One of the many delights to be discovered aboard Australia’s interstate trains is the luxurious shower units. Not all glamour trains in other countries have showers, but Australian rail travellers apparenty take them for granted. We stopped at Townsville during the late mom-

ing. Soft, and much needed tropical rain was falling as we waited for vehicles to be unloaded from one of the Motorail waggons. The rest of the day was spent travelling through hectares and hectares of sugar cane and past huge sugar refineries. We skirted magnificent rain forests and eventually, just before 6 p.m„ we arrived at Cairns. To me, Cairns is a poor

man’s Honolulu, but with a layout reminiscent of New Zealand’s Invercargill or Oamaru. It is a city of bungalows, langour and warmth, and the modem brick railway station resembles our one in Christchurch. After a farewell glance at the long train which had carried me north so effortlessly, I stepped into welcoming Cairns enjoying the warm tropical dusk.