THE biggest miniature attraction on the Bayside just got bigger.
Brisbane Bayside Steam Railway Society celebrated 25 years on its Wynnum West site turning its usual Wednesday working day into the official opening of the Stage 2 track extension.
Stage 2 works double the length of the track, which rises 12m and features a spiral loop, a bridge, culvert and a second station.
Society president Robert Lamb said the day was a huge celebration for the volunteers who spent every Wednesday for years working on the track upgrades.
“Stage 2 was in the original plan when we moved to Wynnum West,” Mr Lamb said.
“Council asked us to come up with a track drawing.
“We knew we couldn’t do that bit straight away, so we halved it.”
Four months later they were open for operation and planning the track expansion.
With a $5000 grant from the State Government Gambling Community Benefit Fund and Bendigo Bank, the volunteers powered ahead with the work.
“The fellas worked on it every Wednesday, half a day,” Mr Lamb said.
“We moved all the soil in by train. As we built the soil up to the track level, we’d put a train line down and go another six metres.
“We rise a fair distance in height. We rise 100 to one.”
The club formed in December 1989 as Brisbane Live Steamers and was based at Carina.
The site was flood prone, which limited options for expansion, leading to relocation to the current location off Wynnum Rd, near Network Dr, Wynnum West, in December 2000.
The club is run by volunteers and has about 40 members.
They operate their trains for the enjoyment of the public, although the members admit that sometimes it is hard to tell who is having more fun – the passengers or the driver.
“Our members come from the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast, Toowoomba, all over, to our site, because it’s a good track,” Mr Lamb said.
“It’s a mountain track; it’s not a flat track in an open park.
“We move a few people in a day. We operate twice a month.
“We take 1000 people in a day for a ride, five to six trains running all the time, all day.”
The money raised from ticket sales goes back into the maintenance and expansion of the club’s facilities.
Brisbane Bayside Steam Railway Society runs train rides on the first and third Sunday of the month from 10am to 4pm.
