Steam your way through the beautiful Mary Valley in the Sunshine Coast hinterland

The heritage railway experience has been relaunched after an almost seven-year hiatus that saw extensive upgrades to existing track and improvements to the fleet of historic steam and diesel locomotives and carriages.

Morning and afternoon services will now run on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays for a return journey from the historic Gympie or Amamoor stations via Dagun.

Reputed to be the largest timber railway building owned by Queensland Rail during the 20^th century, Gympie station is headquarters of the Mary Valley Rattler.

Along with a gift shop and historical display, the station is home to Platform No 1 Cafe, offering dine-in or takeaway options including wine and cheese platters to enjoy aboard the lovingly restored heritage train as it winds its way through 46km of breathtaking scenery.

Dotted with quaint villages and known for its high-quality produce, the Mary Valley is a patchwork of grazing properties, dairies, small produce farms, rainforests and endless rolling hills.

Best known for the annual music muster held nearby, Amamoor is a delightful village bordered by a verdant forest reserve home to more than 120 bird species, waterfalls and waterholes. 

At Amamoor station the locomotive engines are turned on a restored turntable for the return trip to Gympie.

Cheese tasting from the Kenilworth Dairies is available for passengers on the platform at Dagun station.

If you’re there on Saturday afternoons you can buy locally grown spray-free fruit and vegetables from the Dagun Growers Market collective.

A ride on the Mary Valley Rattler is a fun half-day adventure just an hour’s drive north of the Sunshine Coast Airport and less than two hours from Brisbane.

Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays: Gympie-Gympie (9.30am-12.30pm and 2-5pm; Amamoor-Amamoor (11am-3pm).

Tickets $55 adult, $45 conc, $30 child (4-12), family (2 adults, 2 children) $145. Free admission to stations.

Details - www.maryvalleyrattler.com.au