mary valley heritage railway

This is a must do excursion. The views of the Mary Valley are gorgous and the morning tea break and sample of local produce is lovely. This was all going to be under water with the dam project, so makes it even more special that its still going. Prices aren't to bad either. Lovely old time steam train experience.

We really wanted to take our grandchildren on the Rattler on Wednesday 10 December, 2014, and I see that it is not running any more. I can't believe it! We are so disappointed. We have done the trip before, without the children, and it was so much fun! I can't see much else on offer. Oh well, we will just have to sit around and eat worms.

After driving from Noosa with a very excited 2 year old we were very disappointed that the train is not running at all, not even on the 2nd or 4th Sundays as advertised online and even at the station.

Experienced it in 2009. Had my mom here for visit from overseas, wished I could take her. Did the Marey Valley drive by car, was good but not as great.

Thanks for the comment.We will revisit the information centres to ensure staff are up to date with our situation.Current service is our 1927 Heritage Rail Motor doing half hour trips on the second and fourth Sundays of the month, running hourly from 1000 AM, with cafe, model train and workshop tours available . We also do RM trips on the third Saturday of the month in conjunction with our Twilight Markets. Return to the Mary Valley with steam trains is expected in February - March 2015, and we are all looking forward to that !!Again, thankyou for your interestJim.

It is a pity that the Gympie Rattler has stopped running because it would bring back memporie of the steam in the air

We had a memorable journey on the 'Red Rocket' hosted by Pat, who knew all about the history of the railway and the various vintage engines around the old station. He took us for a tour of the workshop where the massive steam engines are being restored by tireless volunteers. You get the feeling that these guys are passionate about preserving this historic treasure. It's so sad to think that without much needed support from the government and public, we may lose this precious snapshot of local history.

We had a great time riding the "Red Rocket" with Pat who was our guide. What a character! He knew absolutely everything to do with the history of the rail system in Gympie. He obviously loves doing his job there as do all the men who put their time & energy into restoring the engines & carriages. Pat & the others are all volunteers & should be applauded for their work. Please go & spend some time and have a snack at the cafe there which was also great food. Glad we went.

The Red Rattler takes you back in time a well worth experience for the family with the steam loco and interesting functions along the journey all on board the beautiful Victorian railway carriages, an experience not to be missed.

Loved it! Took friends from Victoria. Had lunch at a nice pub. Loved the scenery along the way. The staff were friendly and funny. Would go again!

we went to the attraction on 01/04/2013 we were aware through the website that the railway was out of use due to repairs so was unable to take the trip through the countryside but still went as wanted to look at the area and see if the cafe was open they had opened up a couple of carriages that we could look inside from 3 different eras and a model area which was nice which they did not charge for just a donation box and found the resturant open were we had a freshly cooked burger which had peppers and paperica in wich was very nice and not overpriced they advised that they are just wating for a grant to arrive to start work to reopen hopefully not to long hopefully next time we go over to aussie this will be open as looks like its a good day

We took our kids on the rail journey and throughly enjoyed it. It is a long day if the weather is hot etc so be prepared.

Tracey - thanks for taking the time to review your trip on the Rattler. Very glad you enjoyed it we find different travellers enjoy different aspects of the trip , but you certainly picked out some popular parts Thanks - Jim

If you are a bit of a train buff or simply just like to get out and see the countryside, give it a try.

Thanks Helen for your comments. We find the variety of station events (and the variety of personalities of our volunteers) add to the experience. Glad you enjoyed the trip.