Queensland Trains

Gordon Smith has a rather nice photographic blog called A pictorial journal of life in rural Australia.

Normally Gordon features photographs of life around Armidale. However, he has just been to Queensland and in so doing reminded me of Queensland trains and, more importantly, Queensland train trips.

I love trains. It's part nostalgia for the long train trips of my youth, it's part the romance attached to trains such as the Orient Express. Today in this more pedestrian world it's nice to know that there are still some great train trips.

Unlike NSW where Countrylink appears to focus on trains simply as a means of transport, Queensland treats train travel as an experience. The state is helped by having some long distance iconic train trips, but attitude is still important because it colours approach.

The Queensland Rail Traveltrain Holidays site is, quite simply, a fun site. There you can find full details of major train trips, the facilities on the trains, descriptions of the route, links to tourism sites, all couched in terms designed to entice. I was looking for information to write this story. Instead, I spent a happy hour planning my own possible trips!