The Queensland Rail network.

[thaitransit]

Home to Australia's largest and most diverse railway system in the country. Its the only place where you can travel from tropical rainforest to arid desert or to cool climate highlands all within the same state run railway network. To make it even more unusual is that its all 1067mm narrow guage and effectively isolated from the rest of Australia.

It is possible to travel over 2000 miles by Queensland Rail in a single direction without ever leaving the state. Charleville to Forsyth via Brisbane and Cairns or Charleville to Mount Isa via Brisbane and Townsville. Both of these trips would take over 3 days to complete and only the mount isa route can be done without stopping for the night.

Much of Queensland railway network is subject to extreme heat for months on end especially on the western lines where average summer temperatures are over 40 degrees and 50 degrees plus has occured this results in hundreds of miles of 40kph heat speed restrictions that can delay trains by hours.

Also extremely heavy rain often related to the monsoon season and tropical cyclones this can drop over 1000mm of rain in a single day placing the railway system under great strain and lengthy delay that can stop trains for weeks in bad years.

When exploring the Queensland railway network between October and April flexibility and patience is important as you never know what might happen.

Queensland is also home to huge freight trains that carry more than half of Australia's coal exports to asia. Plus various other mining products and even cattle. The ports of gladstone and Mackay export billions of tonnes of coal every year by rail and ship to Asia much of it travels by sea through the great barrier reef. It has been said these 2 ports along with Newcastle in NSW contribute to over 10% of global carbon emissions although none of it is produced in Australia .

How many people have experienced the Queensland railway network themselves? If so what areas did you visit?

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

Sorry to say that not only have I never been to QLD, I'm unlikely to do so either. That very climate you suggest makes for such huge variety is a real turn-off for me. I once had a 2-day stopover in Singapore: the place feels like a permanent outdoor sauna. Much of QLD is somewhat similar for much of the year. If you live there you are of course acclimatised but for relatively short visits it feels like too much trouble. A purely personal POV naturally.

In the meantime when funds allow a trip to Oz I have family in Melbourne and Victoria has much of railway interest too, all that's missing is the conveyor belt of coal (or iron-ore) trains found elsewhere in that huge and fascinating country.

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

In the meantime when funds allow a trip to Oz I have family in Melbourne and Victoria has much of railway interest too, all that's missing is the conveyor belt of coal (or iron-ore) trains found elsewhere in that huge and fascinating country.

We have grain instead.

 

[LesS]

Thaitransit; you are much too harsh about Queensland.
Shaw: Singapore is definitely a permanent sauna. Queensland is nothing like this.

I studiously avoid going to Melbourne during winter. It is far too cold for me. Considerable numbers of Victorians in particular move to far Nth Queensland for the winter.
The monsoon season is during summer; from December to the end of March. Tourism to the far north falls off then only to revive immediately after Easter each year. Southern Queensland is a permanent, year round destination. While I have difficulty with the humid summers, the remainder of the year is highly desirable.
Cairns is a popular tourist destination with a myriad things to do.

The Queensland passenger rail network for long distance is only a shadow of its former past. The 2 longest distance trains are The Queensander between Brisbane & Cairns. The 1500 miles takes 24 hours.
The Spirit of the Outback plies between Brisbane and Longreach, on the border of the Outback. This is a loco hauled train. The remainder are remnants of their past glories. There is a more intensive service between Brisbane and Bundaburg/Rockhampton by higher speed emu stock as well has an extensive suburban service in Brisbane. The Savannahlander is a tourist type service covering several days travel from Cairns.

Last month I travelled up to far NQ as far as the Burdekin River district. It is a visit I have failed to achieve until now. It is cane harvest season from late June to early December. There are 4 mills between the Burdekin and Townsville all served by railway networks. More tonnage is carried on the cane lines each year than on the mainline network excluding coal. The cane lines are of a high standard. 2ft6in gauge, concrete sleepers and welded rail. The bins are mostly 4 wheelers with auto couplers. Some districts use slave units and radio controlled brake vans. It is rarely dull during the harvest.

During my visit the weather was perfect.
As the tourist commercials say "Queensland, beautiful one day, perfect the next."

 

[thaitransit]

The weather in Queensland is really nice between April and October in the South East. In the north from May to September. Similar for western Queensland. Outside this time even in south east Queensland the heat and humidity is oppressive and the further north one goes out of Brisbane the more full on tropical it gets.

I know from personal experience that even in September that 40 degree heat isn't unknown even in south east Queensland. In 2017 especially when visit Toowoomba and Spring Bluff for the carnival of flowers the heat was oppressive especially since it was mid September. Similar situation in mount isa and longreach in late march/early April when it was low to mid 40s every day for a week. As for Christmas time in Brisbane its just as hot and humid as Singapore. The last 3 Christmas and new years have been like that for weeks on end.

As for the best weather May in warwick/Toowoomba, Cairns in July/August Brisbane anytime from May to September especially if its a dry year as its mid 20s temps every day for months.

 

[LesS]

During 2017 the weather was unusually hot over all of eastern Australia. In Sydney we had over 30 consecutive days with temperature over 35 degrees. In the north west of the state; below the Queensland border, they had 50 consecutive days of temperatures over 35 degrees. Outside of the wet tropics the heat is comfortable because there is low or no humidity. 40 degrees in Longreach is quite bearable.