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Experience historic rail travel in Tasmania

RAILWAY buffs are beating a path to western Tasmania to experience one of the world's most picturesque and unusual railway journeys - the 35km line between Queenstown and Strahan.

The historic Abt Railway dates from 1897 but was abandoned in 1963 and left to rot in the forest. A Federal grant of $20 million in 1998 led to its restoration and reopening as the West Coast Wilderness Railway in December 2002.

The train gives visitors an opportunity to travel in comfort through rugged wilderness and spectacular rainforest, so dense that at times tree branches brush the carriages. As the line leaves the coast, it winds along the banks of the King River for about 15km before it starts the steep climb to Queenstown.

The railway was built to link the Mt Lyell copper mine at Queenstown with the port of Strahan in days when the only access was by sea.

It was not until 1932 that a road was built through the mountains from Hobart to Queenstown. The road was sealed in the 1960s and the Abt Railway could not compete with efficient road transport.

Its restoration, like its original construction, was a major engineering project. The route is too steep for regular trains, with inclines up to one in 16, and the locomotives use an ingenious rack and pinion system invented by a Swiss engineer, Roman Abt.

Two of the original five Abt steam locomotives pull the carriages and are believed to be the oldest fully-restored working locomotives in the world.

Trains run daily from Strahan and Queenstown - twice daily from October to April. They travel at a gentle pace - it takes about three hours to cover the 35km.

The trip costs $90 tourist class, $50 for children and $240 for a family of four, including lunch or afternoon tea. Premier class costs $169, which covers food, beer, award-winning Tasmanian wines and travel in traditional carriages with a balcony ideal for keen photographers, as well as a guidebook and return by bus.