Kuranda Railway
Cairns Half Day Tours Kuranda
is a popular tourist attraction. The Kuranda Railway was created as a direct result of mineral finds to the west. The Hodgkinson Gold fields required a reliable way of transporting goods and ore to the coast. For a while, there was a pack horse track through the Barron Gorge but this proved too difficult and an easier way was found to the coast along the Bump Track to what would become Port Douglas. Construction began on the Kuranda Railway 1882 and being a government project, all details are well documented. This difficult project included 15 tunnels and 37 bridges and was completed in 1891 after the loss of many lives. Another privately build line connected Kuranda to further mineral deposits in 1901 which then became a network of lines connecting to all the mineral fields to the west. These tracks are now closed except for the historic train journey labelled the Savanahlander.
Kuranda Railway today
Today the Kuranda Train is a popular tourist attraction with two trains running the track each day. They stop to view the
Barron Falls, pass a number of other small waterfalls and is complete with commentary and LCD televisions to explain the history of the train track. As the journey is undertaken, it’s amazing to think this railway was built over a hundred and twenty years ago and carried extensive loads of ore and timber.
To learn more, have a look at the Perentie Tours home page