In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Cobb & Co Festival, Queensland Rail in collaboration with the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) will be taking festival goers back in time onboard a heritage steam train to Roma, stopping at Miles and Yuelba.
Queensland Rail’s Nev Conway said Queensland Rail had a longstanding history with Cobb & Co and was proud to be able to deliver this unique train journey to the South West. “For the first time in 10 years, we’re thrilled to be running one of our BB18 ¼ steam trains past Toowoomba to get to this year’s festival,” Mr Conway said.
“As well as making a grand entrance for the festival finale, there are two options to travel pulled by this historic engine.
For the first, we’re offering locals the chance to travel between Yuleba and Roma on Sunday 25th August, for the Cob & Co festival’s Family Finale Day. “The second option for our Cobb & Co enthusiasts is we’re offering a 3-day package option which departs from Toowoomba on Saturday, 24th August and includes an overnight stay in Miles before stopping at Yuelba and Roma for the festivities.”
Mr Conway said the first Cobb & Co horse drawn coach in Queensland ran from Brisbane to Ipswich on 1 January 1866, and once it arrived at Ipswich, passengers and mail were then transported by rail through to Grandchester which was the end of the rail line at that time. “The Cobb & Co coach journey then continued from Grandchester to Toowoomba and by 1900 the company operated 39 routes in Queensland covering 7,750 kilometres, harnessed 9,000 horses and travelled over 31,000 kilometres every week.
“The expansion of the rail network opened new areas for Cobb & Co services further west, with Service No. 177 becoming the most famous coach route, running from Yuleba through Surat and on to St George. “We’re encouraging the community to giddy up and experience a piece of Queensland’s rich history with train tickets on sale for as little as $58 for adults and $40 for children, depending on where you hop on and off.”
To book tickets visit www.arhs-qld.org.au or for more information about Queensland Rail’s history with Cobb & Co listen to Queensland Rail’s podcast episode 23: Fancy a ‘tale’ about a co-ordinated road/rail ticket, but 160 years ago? (When Cobb & Co coaches used to meet the Queensland Railways).
Submitted By
John Pollard,
Vice-president/Secretary,
Australian Railway Historical Society.
