After many years of planning by DownsSteam, the engine “Pride of Toowoomba” made its first official trip to and from Wyreema on Saturday morning.

After waiting for many years, steam train fans were not going to miss out on the chance to ride the rails aboard carriages hauled by the refurbished “Pride of Toowoomba” as it wound its way from Toowoomba to Wyreema and return on Saturday.

The locomotive was the last to be built by the Toowoomba Foundry and was put into service in 1914.

On Saturday it performed beautifully.

The first trip, which left the DownsSteam Tourist Railway and Museum site at Drayton at 10am, carried a host of VIPs, most of whom had contributed to the eventual success of the venture.

Ros Scotney, who heads the DownsSteam committee, said everything went without a hitch.

When the train reached Wyreema, the crew needed time to bring the locomotive from the rear to the front of the train for the return journey and while that was happening, each of the VIP passengers was given a box of “goodies” and celebrated the inaugural trip with champagne.

The second trip of the day, at 2pm, was full of delighted fare-paying passengers.

The success of the first day of official operations for the steam train has enthused the hard-working committee.

“We’ll get stuck into this now,” Ms Scotney said.

She told On Our Selection News that what really surprised her was the number of “train spotters” who followed the progress of the train.

At every rail/road intersection there were people gathered, cameras at the ready.

Ms Scotney said many of them raced from one intersection to the next as the train moved through the countryside.

The journey from the DownsSteam station and museum at Drayton to Wyreema and return took around an hour and forty minutes, including the time taken to reposition the locomotive using the rail loop at Wyreema.

The volunteers are now readying themselves for regular trips to various parts of the Darling Downs including Wyreema, Clifton, Pittsworth and Brookstead.

The first scheduled tourist trip will be the “Wyreema Wanderer” when the steam train takes passengers on the same run as that of last weekend, on Sunday June 9.

The following weekend, on Saturday June 15, the inaugural trip of the Commissioner’s Rail Motor will take passengers on a three-and-a-half hour return journey from Drayton to Pittsworth.

Just five days later, on Thursday June 20, the rail motor will be back in action on a trip called the “Brookstead Bullet”.

This will be a full day trip from the Drayton rail museum to Brookstead and return.

At the end of June, on Sunday the 30th, the Commissioner’s Rail Motor will become the “Clifton Clipper”.

Passengers will be able to enjoy a four hour excursion to Clifton, with lunch at the well-known O’Shanley’s Irish Bar and Restaurant.

Ms Scotney said the schedule for future trips will be based on the availability of the many volunteers who fill the various roles needed to enable the trips to take place.

Details can be found on the DownsSteam website.

This article appeared in On Our Selection News, 23 May 2024.