Winelander Excursion...Part 3 I guess :-)

Our accommodation in Stanthorpe  that Saturday night was in the Top of the Town Tourist Park. The usual accommodation is a number of motels in the town centre and another motel the High St Motor Inn which is across the road from the Tourist Park. Unfortunately late last year a storm blew the roof off most of the latter motel, with only the restaurant remaining intact. The winds had been so strong that part of the motel's roof was found in the golf course a fair distance away. So even though we stayed elsewhere, we were served breakfast at the High Street Motor Inn; and a fine breakfast it was too!

After breakfast we met an old family friend who had returned to live in Stanthorpe after she retired. Dorothy's parents and my dad were old friends and also partners in the farm at Ballandean. Her parents were my godparents and my parents were her godparents! We were able to spend some time catching up on news etc before our train left.

Here is an older photo of Dorothy and I with her mother and one of her sisters; the photo was taken in 1966 at the farm...she is still taller than me as you can see...

The locomotive has changed 'ends' since the night before, ready for the return trip to Brisbane.

 I took a few photos of the town from the station...

 The white building at the right of the photo below was the Co-op store where the townspeople would buy all their farm supplies etc...now just a derelict building...

 We have left Stanthorpe behind in the next photo and the countryside is quite lush...

During  the journey on Saturday I had noted the reaction of the livestock in paddocks near the railway line. They were so unused to trains, especially west of Toowoomba, and the thundering diesel loco obviously frightened them somewhat and they would turn and run away from this 'monster'. There are lots of beef cattle between Stanthorpe and Warwick and I tried to get a photo of them running away but missed every opportunity to get such a photo. .

 I took a few photos of the town called Clifton...

Later on the journey we passed some silos...

 On Saturday I had noticed all these beehives between the road and the railway line...

 Sheep grazing ...

After the train passed through Toowoomba, I kept my camera ready for when we reached Grantham. In the 2011 floods, the town of Grantham was devastated, the township suffering not only loss of buildings but also lives were lost. New homes have been built on higher ground and in the next photo you can see these homes on the ridge in the distance...you would never think that there had been such devastation...

Grantham

Grantham

Eventually we passed through Ipswich and then on to Roma St in Brisbane where DsD3 was waiting for us...it had been a wonderful weekend away.

Small world isn't it?

I've noticed from the stats that I still have visitors dropping in for the Grow Your Own Blog Party. If you are looking for that post it is here and it's great to have you visit. With so many participants in GYOBP this year, I'm still visiting blogs on the list too!
I have written some posts recently about our trip on the Winelander Excursion train and there is still one more post to write about that weekend. I thought though that today  I would write about someone from my past working life whom I met up with again on the train after 42 years...I can't believe it is that long ago...but it is I'm afraid! lol
Part of our trip included wine tasting in the Lounge Car...and magnificent platters of cheese, crackers and fruit to accompany the wine!

There were a number of the train's catering staff who were involved in this aspect of the excursion...this wine waiter sure looked familiar...

I took a few photos of him...

He used to look like this...

Yes he is a former student of mine...he was in the Grade 5 class I taught in 1972...yeah a long time ago isn't it??? lol
I had known that he had joined Queensland Railways after he left school but found out on Saturday that he had worked his way up to be a train driver but these days he works at Mayne Control which means that he is 'quite very important'. I was very impressed with what he had achieved. Ian obviously loves trains as much as I do as he had given up his weekend to be a volunteer staff person on the Winelander.
And this is what I looked like when I was his teacher in 1972...the cropped pic is long and skinny because I wanted my shoes to be in the photo...you see I LOVED those shoes (well one shoe is visible, but I did have a pair!) and seeing them again brings back so many lovely memories.

My goodness, did I really wear such short skirts once???

Readers who read my last night's blog straight after I posted would have seen that I had a number of issues with 'smart shopper ads' pop ups and interference with links that I had added. Ads were also bobbing around over the Blogger toolbar; it was disconcerting to say the least. Scans by 2 different virus protection programmes found nothing amiss. I'm overjoyed to report that all that 'rubbish' has just disappeared; hopefully never to return! 

An ARHS excursion; Memories of train travels long ago...and what it's like today...

Last weekend DH and I enjoyed our Christmas gifts to each other...a trip on the 'Winelander' train which is one of the excursions run by the Australian Railway Historical Society, Queensland Division. Sadly this is the last Winelander to run due to problems with rolling stock and small tunnels. The trip goes from Brisbane, to Ipswich, then on to Toowoomba, then Warwick and finally arriving in Stanthorpe which is known for it's 50+ wineries in the region. The journey passes through lots of small communities; some with stations others just with a name board.
I wanted to do this trip for sentimental reasons. My mother and I made this same journey in the 1950s when we would at various times, go to visit my godparents on their farm outside Stanthorpe. I still have some memories of those trips such as the train stopping beside another train with sheep in the wagons (very exciting for a city kid!) and arriving at Stanthorpe station and being met by my godfather.

There may not be any livestock trains on this line any more but we did see some of the old wagons that used to carry animals, in a paddock. There were about 3 or 4 wagons with grass growing up through them. The photo was taken from the moving train and then cropped but it may be necessary to double click on the photo to enlarge it.

As we journeyed on Saturday I was saddened by the realisation that the era of the railway on this line is virtually over...passenger services no longer go out past Toowoomba...many stations have been pulled down. My godparents used to use the railways to send their fruit to the markets in both Brisbane and Sydney as did the other farmers but that stopped a long time ago. Buildings around the bigger stations that held freight etc sit empty, neglected and dejected looking.

But enough of the 'sad, reflective stuff', it was a wonderful trip in comfortable ex Sunlander carriages.

Saturday, 6.20 am and already we are at Roma St Station...

 A couple of views from Platform 10...

Our train has arrived from Mayne yard...

 Old Sunlander carriages...

The people in the white shirts in front of DH are some of the wonderful staff who looked after us over the 2 days; they were all volunteers!

As we head towards Ipswich, we pass stately old homes in Graceville...

 A view of the Brisbane River...

Then before long we are crossing another river, this time the Bremer River...

We've passed through Ipswich now and are heading towards Toowoomba...

I'm a big kid really...love it when the train goes around a curve and you can see the loco :-)

To get to Toowoomba, the railway line climbs up the range quite steeply from Murphy's Creek to Spring Bluff. If you have a bit of time, you may like to read the post I wrote about Spring Bluff here; it's one of the prettiest stations I've seen and it suffered greatly in the floods of 2011.

 When the train arrived in Toowoomba, because of the big 'step down' between the train and the platform, we had to use these steps...

Some of the old restored railway equipment at Toowoomba station...

Part of the front of the station...it is all beautifully restored even though its heyday is long gone.

On the train that Saturday morning, as well as looking out the window and taking in the views of the beautiful countryside, we were also able to go to the Lounge Car and try some wines...3 whites on Saturday. (the reds were on Sunday on the way home)

Next time I will write about the rest of our trip...