The man who heads up the ABT Railway which joins the
Tasmanian seaside port town of Strahan with the copper mining town of Queenstown
always takes his work home. It’s not that he can’t handle the 9 – 5 workload,
but as the clock strikes five and providing all is well, general manager Eamonn
Seddon is off to play trains.
His whole life seems to revolve around trains, by day it is the real ones and as
the sun sets over Macquarie Harbour, this guru of rail works up steam with his
mini rail system.
The public only gets to experience this side of Eamonn when the station wagon is
packed to the roof in readiness for a rail get together. These are fairly
regular occurrences in the island state, where there appears to be more train
buffs per square kilometre than anywhere else in Australia.
During his working week Eamonn tries to get at least a couple of sessions
working with the real thing, overseeing on quality control exercises to
escorting groups of enthusiasts aboard the ABT rack and pinion train.
Arguably this rail experience ranks with the best of them, with guests
transported by heritage rail into the rugged wilderness country which separates
the coast from the mining communities.
Built originally to transport copper concentrate from Queenstown to the port
town of Strahan, the railway was also supported by families along the way.
School children from some of the most remote parts of the nation travelled the
tracks to and from school and then, some years after construction of roads it
closed and was ignored for years.
With the increase of tourism into the West Coast and associated major
development by the Federal Hotels Group, the system created by Dr Roman Abt was
given a rebirth.
In 2000, after three years of restoration by entrepreneur Roger Smith and an
investment of $30 million, part of the tracks were again put to use. Two years
later Federal Hotels and Resorts became the new owners, renaming it as the west
Coast Wilderness Railway.
It is a far cry from what was the system a century ago. Today, aboard the APT
historic carriages we travel in comfort. Passengers travelling in the prestige
Premier carriage enjoy complimentary drinks along the way, pastries and a picnic
box lunch, with local cheeses in the afternoon.
At Lower Landing there’s time to do a honey tasting, with the more adventurous
palates returning for a second serving of the famous Tasmanian Leatherwood
honey.
The journey is split into two sections, with steam leading the way into and out
of Strahan and diesel handling the rack and pinion at the Queenstown end.
The train operates two services from either terminus during peak holiday seasons
and at other times a 10.00am departure from Strahan and 10.15am ex Queenstown.
• John Crook was a guest of Avis Tasmania and TasVillas, Freecall 1800 030 111.
VISUALS by John Crook
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• Reservations are essential.
• Cost is
Premier Class $175 per person
Tourist Class $111 per person
• Travel Rail one way and return by coach.
TM
The man who heads up the ABT Railway which joins the
Tasmanian seaside port town of Strahan with the copper mining town of Queenstown
always takes his work home. It’s not that he can’t handle the 9 – 5 workload,
but as the clock strikes five and providing all is well, general manager Eamonn
Seddon is off to play trains.
His whole life seems to revolve around trains, by day it is the real ones and as
the sun sets over Macquarie Harbour, this guru of rail works up steam with his
mini rail system.
The public only gets to experience this side of Eamonn when the station wagon is
packed to the roof in readiness for a rail get together. These are fairly
regular occurrences in the island state, where there appears to be more train
buffs per square kilometre than anywhere else in Australia.
During his working week Eamonn tries to get at least a couple of sessions
working with the real thing, overseeing on quality control exercises to
escorting groups of enthusiasts aboard the ABT rack and pinion train.
Built originally to transport copper concentrate from Queenstown to the port
town of Strahan, the railway was also supported by families along the way. 
In 2000, after three years of restoration by entrepreneur Roger Smith and an
investment of $30 million, part of the tracks were again put to use. Two years
later Federal Hotels and Resorts became the new owners, renaming it as the west
Coast Wilderness Railway. 
At Lower Landing there’s time to do a honey tasting, with the more adventurous
palates returning for a second serving of the famous Tasmanian Leatherwood
honey.