Mary Valley Rattling
Our first significant activity of 2021 was to ride the Mary Valley Rattler. We upgraded to Club Car. What a delight.
Our engine was built 1951 at Maryborough. She is 84 tonne and a C17 class. She is engine number 974 and regal she is. She uses 7,000 litres of water for the return trip which takes about an hour to run from Gympie to Amamoor then back after the locomotive has been turned on the table at Amamoor. That is something to watch.
The drivers change at Amamoor. In Club, we have the lovely Mary-Louise looking after us. It is a simply delightful day with a beverage, small antipasto pack, bottle of water, certificate for the ride provided. We can purchase drinks as well and they are moderately priced. In the guard carriage, there is the ability for puppies to travel with their humans provided their humans have advised that they are traveling with their puppy.
The country is spectacularly green at the moment and the dams are looking much better than they did about four to six weeks ago. The cattle are contented, fat and plentiful with calves running alongside their mothers.
Gympie station was built in 1913 and changed when the modernised rail went through. It is a beautiful station, maintained in character with a lovely café. The café at Amamoor is also quaint with both having train related names.
Seeing the country from a steam train is a beautiful way to spend a couple of hours giving a different appreciation of the roads we travel through this area. I wonder how much sweat and how many tears went into building these railways and maintaining the engines and carriages. It never fails to cause me to take a moment when I see the old cattle yards, which were handmade. The attention and detail that went into these constructions is something else particularly when viewed from our privileged position in the 21st century. The bridge crossings are a work of art in their own way.
There is something special and romantic about the steam engine and the smell it emits, the sound it makes and the clacking of the rails. Sometimes, you can be lucky enough to stand outside close enough but far enough from the engine to wear a face full of soot and smell. It’s something else but today wasn’t one of those days as we were restricted inside for the most part. Coming home, we did spend a few minutes, as we were now at the back of the train, watching the tracks disappear behind us as we motored back from whence we had come. The water in the river is so perfectly flat and reflective you almost get mixed up as to which way is down. The dairy cows trails are so obvious in the grass because they are so damply brown contrasted against the intense green of the country side.
We had debated riding to Gympie, however, inclement weather deterred us along with the fact that getting around in denim jeans in 30 degree temperature with crazy humidity is not particularly pleasant. The ride through this area is beautiful and so is the drive. If this little rambling inspires you to ride the Rattle or drive the countryside then my job here is done. Here’s to more travels and adventure in 2021.
