Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway (QPSR) is a completely volunteer-run heritage railway, dedicated to preserving and showcasing Queensland’s rich rail history. QPSR is located within the Ipswich region, operating from Swanbank to the Bundamba Racecourse rail line. Established in the 1970s, QPSR was formed by a small local group of passionate railway enthusiasts, determined to restore steam and carriages from being scrapped. Over the years, the organisation has extended its reach to 20th-century diesel locomotives and dining carriages, providing visitors with a diverse catalogue for historical immersion. Today, QPSR offers a variety of heritage train experiences, including train journeys with our timber carriages, dining journeys and other themed services and events (Heritage Circuit, Twilight Santa Train). The railway continues to play an important role in keeping Queensland’s rail stories alive; connecting various generations to the sights, sounds and stories of the state’s pioneering past.
Click the + icons to find out more about our journey to make us who we are today!
The peoples of the Jagera, Yuggera and Ugarapul peoples are the traditional owners of the Ipswich area.
The area around Blackstone (once called Agawam), holds deep cultural significance and remains sacred to the traditional owners of the Ipswich region. The area contains traditional food resources, story places, pre-contact and historical camp sites, and ceremonial sites, all of which are considered sacred.
Quarry sites used by Aboriginal people are among the sacred sites found within the area. The land includes bora rings and sites where sacred women’s business was which are integral to cultural practices and knowledge.
One of the first pioneers to own the land in our area was James Ivory. Born in Scotland in 1820, he immigrated to Australia at the age of 23 and took up a squatters licence in Ipswich. Over the next 30 years he bought up land throughout Blackstone and Bundamba, eventually owning over 1800 acres, including the land that our railway and station are built on.
The existence of the railway we travel on today is largely because of one man, Lewis Thomas (The Coal King). Born in North Wales in 1832, he travelled to Australia at the age of 27, after hearing about the gold fields in Victoria. After two years in the field, he bought land in Bundamba and found the Aberdare Coal Seam. His mines were very successful and he built the first part of the railway lines in this area to transport the coal.
A vast number of the mines along the line were named after mines or regions back in the United Kingdom, predominately Wales and Scotland, these being Bonnie Dundee, Aberdare, Cardiff, Noblevale (a pronoun used before many Welsh towns) and Ebbw Vale. There still remains a large population of Welsh and Scottish descendents in the Ipswich region.
QPSR is a thriving community of volunteers with a common love of historical trains. The glamour of the golden age of rail attracts people of all ages and from all walks of life. We have many dreams and goals that we wish to accomplish for QPSR. Some of these include:
Accessibility Project
Our goal is to make our service accessible to everyone and anyone who wishes to experience our journeys. We have plans to convert one of our heritage carriages into a wheelchair accessible experience. We are continuing to apply for grants to find the funding for this project.
PB15 448
Our beautiful large steam engine, PB15 448, is in need of overhauling and as such has not been running lately. We have made a start on this project with new tubes having been sourced from Lithuania (thanks to support of Cleanaway and Alstom) and it will be back puffing happily along our tracks in the near future.
C17 761 “Booringa”
QPSR has the long turn goal of returning The C17 761 “Booringa” back to steam. We are grateful to the people of Mitchell for providing the opportunity to bring her back to life.
Volunteers
We would love to welcome any volunteers to come and help keep these wonderful engines and carriages running for the public to enjoy. It would be wonderful if we could have enough hands to overhaul our engines by ourselves instead of sending them offsite.
At the Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway, we treat all passengers with respect and courtesy and we kindly ask that our team is treated the same. By clicking the button below and booking a ticket, you agree to behave politely toward our volunteers, following our behaviour guidelines so that we can foster a safe and friendly environment for everyone to enjoy the heritage experience.
