It would have been a nice set of driver's roads, had I not been stuck behind a Hyundai SUV, who seemed to slam on the brakes every time they approached something that might vaguely be considered a corner.

There's something odd, in an interesting way about Neerim South and the area around it, it's all got a very designed feel in a weird sort of way. It made me think of a British town, not a fancy old one, just a newer one, I couldn't quite put my finger on what made it feel like that. Perhaps it was the well kept 1970s-style houses, tree lined streets, and a lot of European trees around leading up to Neerim South and other towns nearby.

To get to that point I had to go along the South Gippsland Highway, which feels like it gets worse each time I'm driving on it, and therefore there's not really much to say about that part of the journey, it is what it is.

Although whenever I'm on the South Gippsland Highway I'm always tempted by the donut van at the Koo Wee Rup observation tower. Have yet to actually stop, as it often feels like it's at the start of my journey and my adventure is the journey to the destination as much as the destination, and I shouldn't be stopping anywhere on the way there as that's a sort of delay to the goal of the day.

But I also think that if I'm going to have a doughnut it needs to be great as a treat sort of thing, and a lot of them are just okay. Growing up there was a doughnut van at Frankston trash and treasure market, and I'd always remember how yellow the dough was, how oddly shaped they were and how molten the jam was within, and crispy on the outside. A lot of doughnut vans their doughnuts are so perfectly shaped, industrially produced uniformity.

Anyway, the rail trestle bridge.

Driving into the trestle bridge car park the road weaves around a few trees, there's parking for probably 10-12 cars, although the day I went there were only 4 cars parked quite spread out.

There are three paths to the top of the bridge, standing looking at the bridge there's the left path, that crosses a creek and then goes up a set of stone stairs that are set into the hill, this is undercover of the trees and ferns around

Then there's the right path which is much more open, and also goes up stone stairs.

And a third which weaves its way around the landscape up to the top.

Left path

Right path

I took the left path because there were some people taking the other right path.

I think I chose right, both paths have steep stairs, but going down the more open set of stairs is better than the darker path of ferns and trees.

The bridge itself is impressive in its size and construction. There is a disconcerting 'Bridge Capacity Maximum 10 Persons' sign, and walking along it, you certainly feel the age of the bridge. Or at least below my feet, wearing skate shoes the wooden panels certainly felt old and well worn and a little loose in sections. I could certainly appreciate you wouldn't want more than 10 people on the bridge's surface larking about.

There are two picnic tables at the bottom opposite the car park, one accessed via some steps and also a path that would let you access the two.

Instax Wide B&W

Instax Square

I sort of formatted my trip around doing this railway trip, because it's only run on a Thursday or Friday so I booked it first and formatted everything else around.

I actually came across the West Coast Wilderness Railway sort of by accident as I was reading up about Strahan. So while I did craft my trip a little bit so I could do the railway trip, I hadn't originally planned to Tasmania with the intention of seeing this railway.

After the previous day's 25º-30ºC day, today was pouring with rain. Which, given that it was a journey through the mountains and into the rainforest actually made it a lot more magical and mysterious.

I went on the "Queenstown Explorer" which goes from Strahan, along the length of the railway to Queenstown and then turns around and does the trip back. I also paid for the more expensive "Wilderness Carriage", which is $239 a ticket, because I figured it would be an experience, so why not do it in style.

I was, unsurprisingly one of the youngest people in the carriage.

I met three people on the train with whom I was seated; Sally, Stewart and Zoe. They were all about 30 years my senior, probably more (I'm not amazing with judging ages). Older than me.
Sally and Stewart were from Victoria and Zoe was from Launceston.
I gathered that Stewart was something of a train fan, and that this was his second time riding the Wilderness Railway.

There's few places in Australia with properly high mountains and valleys and fewer still that have a train line through them. Puffing Billy manages some gentle slopes, but it doesn't exactly climb any great inclines.

The trip to Dubbil Barril is majestic, it's a magical journey into the wilderness. With the rain pouring down around us there were clouds floating by over the river and a slight fog around the hills either side from the rain and the cooling of the landscape.

The steam train was a surprise. It was an oil powered steam train, which needed to be constantly topped up with water. Every station we stopped at up the mountain was so the steam train could be filled with more water.
It was, at the beginning of its life a coal powered steam train, but now runs on oil. It's recycled oil at that, from service stations, mechanics and other locations around Tasmania, which is then filtered and used to run the steam train. I was surprised that it was from those sources and not recycled cooking oils.
There is a commentary given by the people running the train, it's not a recorded one, and it's not constant, it's more like little stories as the train approaches the stations or passes by certain locations. It had the right air of performance, calm and a level of interestingness that the knowledge imparted remains with me.

One of the great things about the Wilderness Carriage was, that unlike the other carriages, which you couldn't open the end door, on the Wilderness Carriage you could, and therefore stand out on the end, between the carriage and the train as it went up the mountain and down into Queenstown.
On the way back to Strahan you could stand at the end of the carriage with nothing behind you, just watching the track.
This felt like a supremely great experience, being able to stand not even a metre from the train as it chuffed up the hill, especially with the rain pouring down around the train and onto the roof of the carriage threatening to soak anyone who stood outside. On the way back to Strahan it afforded a much more unique and unencumbered by the view of the train the rainforest really opens up, or closes in on the train as it chugs back up the mountain.

And the train really chugs back up, the rack and pinion system; the abt railway that allows the train to make it up the steep incline really leads to a lurching, chugging motion that made even having a cup of tea on the train an almost impossibility.
It also really slows down, to almost a brisk walking pace, you can really feel the incline and the power required to pull the carriages and the train itself up the mountain.

Another of the highlights, when the train arrived in Queenstown, was seeing it on a turntable.
I've ridden Puffing Billy many times and the Mornington/Moorooduc Preservation Railway, both of which run steam trains on their lines and neither of which have a turntable. Mornington had a turntable at one point in its life, but alas no longer.
I have also been to steam railways in the United Kingdom and seen turntables for trains in use there.
But I have never seen a turntable in Australia in use with a train and it was a thrill to see such a large piece of engineering turned around and moved by two people on the Queenstown turntable.

Musing on Queenstown, with the Wilderness Carriage package lunch is included, which you order at the start of the journey and then it's ready when you arrive in Queenstown, it's a choice of chicken with cous cous, salmon, or a vegetarian stir fry salad. I had the chicken which was fine, it was a poached chicken breast with a cream sauce and cous cous. It wasn't amazing, but it was filling enough. Had that lunch not been available though, I'm not sure how much time you would have to go into Queenstown, buy lunch and have a wander around the town. There was a tour on offer of Queenstown, but I think you'd literally have to grab a sandwich and eat and walk as you toured.
I'm not a fan of walking tours in general, I'd prefer to set my own pace and wander around. Which I did; I finished my lunch quickly and then left to wander up and down Queenstown's main street. The weather did not help the grim atmosphere of Queenstown. Queenstown has a couple of cafés, a couple of banks and a couple of shops to lease.

Returning to the train station, because it was raining and there wasn't a huge amount of excitement in Queenstown itself I was greeted by the steam train, being inside the Queenstown railway station; churning out a mixture of oil smoke and steam. It made the interior of the station take on a phantasmagoric sort of state. But also gave me an idea of what it would have felt like being inside a Victorian-era train station with steam trains billowing our coal smoke.

Riding the train back to Strahan our carriage was now the last on the end of the train, which allowed an uninterrupted view back along the track. It also seemed to intensify the motion of the abt system as the train hauled itself up the mountain. The motion was so jerky that not even a cup of tea could stay within its tea cup as we swayed and jerked up the tracks.
Without the train in front, now looking back along the track it was quite a sight, just to see the rainforest open around the end of the train.

Standing out there on the end, it was a fantastic view, without looking back you could just imagine that there was just this carriage stuck on the end of the train as it jerked and hauled itself and the weight of everything it was carrying up.
Supposedly when it was hauling minerals and the like, kids could walk / run faster than the train could move up the mountain, and watching the landscape move slowly past the train I believed them, it was moving at a slow enough rate that I think I could have kept up with it at a slightly faster than walking briskly pace.

The train had to stop at all the stations we stopped at on the through on the way back, again for water to make the steam that was hauling us around. The stops were somewhat shorter on the way back than the way through with less opportunities to go and explore, although some still attempted to explore the longer walking tracks while we were stopped.

Riding at the back of the train, and the passage back to Strahan felt less rushed and more relaxed, everyone was less eager to take photos, more willing to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Standing on the end of the carriage, there was more time to just stand out there and watch the scenery fold away from the train at the back of it.

Getting into the station at Strahan the trip and its cost was definitely worth it, it's an experience, especially in Australia you won't get anywhere else. It's a unique passage through a piece of Tasmania's history filled with little gems like eggs cooked to time with a train's whistle and milk delivered in billy cans from a rail-side dairy farm.

Noojee Trestle Rail Bridge

Tasmania road trip 2017 - 3 - West Coast Wilderness Railway