Over the Easter weekend we decided to take a day trip from Cairns up to Herberton to visit the Herberton railway which operates the steam train.
The Herberton Train station was owned by Frank Stubley. In 1882 Frank looked into several routes for the railway to operate including Port Douglas, Geraldton Harbour and Cairns. The decision was made that the Cairns Herberton Railway would be established and in 1885 the plans were completed for the route up to Barron Gorge. The first tender was called to construct the railway wharf in Cairns.
In 1886 the Government gazette calls for construction of the first 8 miles from Cairn to Redlynch. This section of the railway is fraught with many difficulties including Swaps, jungle, fever and the failure of two contractors. The government finally stepped in to complete the section and the first section of the railway opened in 1887.
The construction of the railway contributed with the establishment of a sawmill along with a sand and gravel pit. Cuttings, embankments and drilling for the tunnels brought in immigrant labour from experiences Irish and Italian workers.
In 1891 the first train made its way to Kuranda however Herberton was still another 50 miles away. The next section of the railway reaches Atherton in July 1903
Work on the last section through to Herberton didn’t commence until 1908. A tent school was established in 1909 for the education of the rail workers children. By March 1910 the tunnel at the top of the range was completed, on October 20th the railway to Herberton was finally completed and opened with around 2000 people in attendance to celebrate with a grand ball.
When you visit the Herberton railway it’s a wonderful insight into a bygone era of steam but also provides a great understanding of what goes into the restoration of the trains and carriages. With a tour of the workshop that’s included with the train fare we got see and understand what is happening behind the scenes. All of this is work is completed through the men’s shed with the work of volunteers they complete the Restoration and the running of the railway operation
Here is the link to our video link : Atherton-Herberton Historic Railway & Museum
