Banana Trains In Queensland

[RichmondCommu]

G'day everyone (no pun intended),

Way back in 2000 I traveled up through Queensland by car along the coast and remember seeing a narrow gauge railway running alongside the banana plantations. Although I travel to Aus on a regular basis I've never been back to Queensland and I'd be interested to know whether the narrow gauge railways are still in use. I ought to state here that I never saw anything run on the tracks so this is really all based on assumption.

Any information would be gratefully received!

Kind regards,

Richmond Commuter!

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

I remember seeing those narrow gauge lines too, I was told there were known as cane trains and used for moving harvested sugar canes. Perhaps they are used for both, depending on the location.

 

[RichmondCommu]

I remember seeing those narrow gauge lines too, I was told there were known as cane trains and used for moving harvested sugar canes. Perhaps they are used for both, depending on the location.

In all honesty you might be on to something here and perhaps it was the sugar cane that we were driving alongside. As I said it was a long time a go! Just out of interest what year did you travel in Queensland if you don't mind me asking

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I think they are still in operation. 610mm gauge.
The transport/crushing season is May-November.
I saw the Mossman Mill system working during a visit to Cairns, but it was back in 1993.
http://www.mackaysugar.com.au/business/cane-supply/Pages/Cane-Haulage.aspx

There used to be a Banana Express in KwaZulu-Natal (at Port Shepstone), but it has closed for good I believe.
Some of its stock ended up on the Welsh Highland Railway.

 

[Groningen]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wandoan_railway_line

 

[Stonesourscotty]

How can someone go to Australia often and not spend time in Queensland that genuinely baffles me. better than this dive New South Wales i'm stuck in

 

[Groningen]

Looks to me easy; most planes from Europe do not land in Queensland. And what if you do not want to go there.

 

[theageofthetra]

Plenty of sugar cane lines uo near Port Douglas & Cairns. One in PD has a weekend steam heritage operation.

 

[RichmondCommu]

How can someone go to Australia often and not spend time in Queensland that genuinely baffles me. better than this dive New South Wales i'm stuck in

The organisation I work for has an office in Sydney and I fly over from London around two to three times a year. Other than that my wife and I have friends living in Perth, Sydney and Newcastle and that's where we tend stay, along with a couple of nights in the Red Centre.

Once my wife and I are retired we will be seeing a lot more of Queensland!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Plenty of sugar cane lines uo near Port Douglas & Cairns. One in PD has a weekend steam heritage operation.

Yes that's where we saw the railway lines. I'm thrilled to bits that the lines are still in use and I'm going to try and see some trains running during the harvest next year but that will have to fit in with work commitments in Sydney.

Just out of interest does the steam heritage operation run all year round or is it just during the harvest?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I think they are still in operation. 610mm gauge.
The transport/crushing season is May-November.
I saw the Mossman Mill system working during a visit to Cairns, but it was back in 1993.
http://www.mackaysugar.com.au/business/cane-supply/Pages/Cane-Haulage.aspx

Many thanks for the link. Fantastic stuff

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

In all honesty you might be on to something here and perhaps it was the sugar cane that we were driving alongside. As I said it was a long time a go! Just out of interest what year did you travel in Queensland if you don't mind me asking

I was in Queensland, in the Cairns, Port Douglas, Silky Oaks area then also down to Brisbane and a couple of the off shore islands, in 1987 & again in 1990 or 1991, both times in the Mar, Apr, May period. I also went on the Cairns to Karunda Railway into the Atherton Tablelands which was good.

I am pleased to see that these cane / banana trains still seem to be in use and would be interested in the steam service too.

I'd like to go again and do the whole of the Indian Pacific from Perth to Sydney, then intercity type trains, Sydney to Melbourne and onto Adalaide then the Ghan upto Darwin, but I need to have a big win on the lottery first.

 

[LesS]

Firstly; There are no Banana Trains/Lines in Queensland or elsewhere. The major banana growing regions are around Innisfail & Tully in far North Queensland and on the New South Wales North Coast. The main transport mode to get them to southern markets is by road. As an aside; several years ago a major cyclone swept through Innisfail/Tully destroying the banana crop. The resulting shortage which lasted some 9/10 months saw supermarket prices more than quadruple.

The narrow gauge lines in Queensland are for the carriage of cut cane to the Mills. The lines are owned and operated by the Mills. A "network" will serve several Mills which are in close proximity to each other. The track standards on these lines is high with concrete sleepers and ballast appropriate to the conditions. The trains only run during the harvest which is from late June to early December. During this time they are a 24 hour operation. There are strict time limits from the time of harvest when the cane must be received at the Mill otherwise deterioration of the crop will result. The cane bins vary in size depending on the Mill being served and range from 5 tonne capacity up to 11 tonnes. The bigger bins have 4 wheel bogies while the smaller ones are 4 wheelers. It is not unusual to see a B-B locomotive hauling a load of 100 bins which can gross up to 1000 tonnes. Some of the lines run up to 30 or 40 miles from the Mills. Many lines have some steep grades. In the past mid train "slave" units have been used.

With the exception of coal, the cane lines carry a higher annual tonnage than Queensland Railways. I have always found the cane lines fascinating and try to make a visit to a particular area every cane season. Recently I spent some time in the Mackay region where there are 4 Mills and 2 operating systems.

For anyone planning a visit I will be happy to provide specific advice.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Firstly; There are no Banana Trains/Lines in Queensland or elsewhere. The major banana growing regions are around Innisfail & Tully in far North Queensland and on the New South Wales North Coast. The main transport mode to get them to southern markets is by road. As an aside; several years ago a major cyclone swept through Innisfail/Tully destroying the banana crop. The resulting shortage which lasted some 9/10 months saw supermarket prices more than quadruple.

The narrow gauge lines in Queensland are for the carriage of cut cane to the Mills. The lines are owned and operated by the Mills. A "network" will serve several Mills which are in close proximity to each other. The track standards on these lines is high with concrete sleepers and ballast appropriate to the conditions. The trains only run during the harvest which is from late June to early December. During this time they are a 24 hour operation. There are strict time limits from the time of harvest when the cane must be received at the Mill otherwise deterioration of the crop will result. The cane bins vary in size depending on the Mill being served and range from 5 tonne capacity up to 11 tonnes. The bigger bins have 4 wheel bogies while the smaller ones are 4 wheelers. It is not unusual to see a B-B locomotive hauling a load of 100 bins which can gross up to 1000 tonnes. Some of the lines run up to 30 or 40 miles from the Mills. Many lines have some steep grades. In the past mid train "slave" units have been used.

With the exception of coal, the cane lines carry a higher annual tonnage than Queensland Railways. I have always found the cane lines fascinating and try to make a visit to a particular area every cane season. Recently I spent some time in the Mackay region where there are 4 Mills and 2 operating systems.

For anyone planning a visit I will be happy to provide specific advice.

Thank you for providing this very interesting information, good to see it's still so well used (I think some of the islands in the West Indies and Pacific (Fiji) had or maybe some still have similar operations, I think St. Lucia has one that has been turned into a tourist service.)

 

[Taunton]

My grandfather (MInstLocoE) was the CME on the installation of the railways at the largest Queensland sugar mill, Farleigh Mill at Mackay. He went out from the UK on a 3 year contract in 1908. I still have his ship ticket, A4-sized, up on the wall here, as well as the letters he wrote home during that time. As small children we heard many a story about commissioning the plant and railway there, much of which was imported from the UK.

 

[LesS]

Farleigh Mill still operates and is part of the Mackay Sugar group of Mills. The Mill lines are connected to those south of the Pioneer River by at least one bridge.

Cane Trains continue to operate in Fiji; both on Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. They use the same equipment and methods as those in Queensland.

I visited the West Indies last year and can say that no cane train operate there. I believe that all island nations ceased growing sugar cane many years ago. The tracks for the old line circumnavigating St Kitts still exists and part of it is used by the St Kitts Scenic Railway. Trains only operate on days when a cruise ship is in port and at times to suit the cruise operator.