West Coast Wilderness Railway

ALL ABOARD

 

The West Coast Wilderness railway is an engineering marvel.

It was built to carry heavy equipment out to the mines in Queenstown & bring copper back to Strahn, covering 35 kilometers & crossing no fewer than 40 bridges

 

Now the railway is restored, the formidable terrain that originally presented such difficulties ensure an exhilarating journey through dense rainforest, past cavernous gorges, rushing rivers
 & toy-town stations

 

 

 

 

Fettlers cottages

 

 

Inside the beautiful restored carriage

 

Thick rainforest everywhere 

 

 

 

 

One of the 40 bridges crossed today

 

 

 

 

Some of the intervening hills are very steep, but with ingenious toothed third rail that engages with a cog system under the locomotive, known as the 'Abt' after the Swiss inventor

Here comes the steam engine

The clackety-clack, billowing clouds & shrieking whistle from the steam engine make for an unforgettable day trip

From Strahn we were pulled along by a diesel engine, but at the lunch break the train coming in from Queenstown had the steam engine & they were shunted around so we continued onto Queenstown with the steam train

There's something about a steam train, that everybody loves!!!

 

 

 

 

Female "Casey Jones"  !!!

Lunch, ham & salad roll, cheese & bickies, chocolate & bottle water

 

 

 

 

 

After 67 years of operation the railway was dismantled in 1963, nature rapidly reclaiming the line as its own

King river

 

 

 

Old mine site

 

Queen river polluted from mines in Queenstown years ago & is still trying to recover

 

 

 

Coming in Queenstown, very dreary mining town

 

 

 

Clock inside Queenstown station