Wamuran Rail Lines

[Paddles]

Has anyone ridden up to Wamuran from Caboolture along the old railway lines? It used to be the old rat run for a few mates on dirt bikes when we were younger but I've never been along it and was going to check it out as a family ride with some mates and a couple of adventurous kids. I'm not expecting any of it to be fenced as it should still be a QR easement but was wondering if there was any walking track/trail along it for us to ride on or will it be straight up the guts on the sleepers?

[RonK]

As far as I know the rails (or most of them) were ripped up years ago, abd it's now a rail trail.

You will find information on railtrails.org.au

[Paddles]

Excellent, thanks for the info Ron. I know the old lines to the west of Wamuran and around the back of the Bracalba Quarry were turned into a rail trail years ago as I used to do a lot of trail riding in that area but I wasn't sure about the easement from Caboolture to Wamuran. We'll have a crack on Monday and see if we can get through, I'll send the kids first to scare away the snakes.

[Lukeyboy]

Pretty sure the rails are actually still there as its still a valid railway corridor.

[RonK]

Pretty sure the rails are actually still there as its still a valid railway corridor.

Yeah, there a pictures on the web, some showing rails, some just the railbed. According to railtrails.org.au it is "partially completed".

[Ryanhyltoncummins]

definitely not in use anymore, i've walked from the train station to grace college along it.
there is a bike path that follows Toohey St and into Del Rosso which takes it past the schools I haven't been any further

[Lukeyboy]

It's defiantly not in use anymore but the corridor is still classified as a valid but preserved corridor or something as in its still owned by Queensland Rail rather than the State/Local Governments/Private. Isn't there also a signal light still there near one of the sidings that still works?

[ldrcycles]

In most instances (i'm pretty sure it's ALL but i'll go with most) closing a rail line requires an act of parliament or words to that effect, so most of them are still "valid" but just abandoned. From riding along the D'Aguilar I know there are several sections where the rails are still in place.

[Orion]

I live very close to this line and use it regularly. It's not an official Rail Trail as such but the line was apparently officially closed in 2008. It's pretty rough but rideable. There is a dirt track beside the line from King St through to Wamuran. I'll try to describe it below.
Most of the line is still in place although small sections have been ripped up due to road works - mainly around King St and County Drive.
You can follow the line along Toohey St to the end of Del Rosso Rd in Caboolture. There is a vague track from the end of Del Rosso Rd but there is a fence blocking access to a power line easement (High Voltage lines). I'm not sure on the condition between there and King street or even if it is possible to get through. One alternative is to cross the train line and cut through the nearby housing estate onto King St then along to the line just before you meet the D'aguilar Highway. The shoulder is reasonably wide but the speed limit is 80kph, so I wouldn't recommend it for kids depending on how old they are. Option 2 from the end of Del Rosso Rd would be to go under the D'aguilar highway (there is a tunnel underneath it) onto Cayenne Rd, follow around to Greening Rd, turn left then left again onto Williams Rd. Go over the highway then right onto King St. This will bring you out about 200m up from the train line. This way is much quieter - virtually no traffic except for a small amount on Williams Rd. Turn left onto Quarry Rd then follow to the end and then onto the rough dirt track beside the train line.
When you get to a dirt driveway you will see a sign (Private property - no tresspassing). Ignore this because you're still on railway property. Cross over the railway line to your left and follow the track along (with the train line now on your right).
Follow the track through to County Drive - they have recently removed the old white picket fence here so no need to go near the highway anymore.
Cross County Drive and continue along keeping the train line on your right. You will see a couple of old train signs as you ride along this section.
The line continues on behind the Wamuran Sawmill. There is a lot of woodchip on the track which can be a little difficult to ride through.
As you approach Wamuran you have two options:
1. You will see a short section of the track covered with coarse gravel about 300m before the D'aguilar highway overpass, cross the train line here and continue under the overpass. You will see an old mechanical thingy they used to move the trains onto a different track (sorry don't know what it's called). Go under the overpass (usually lots of rubbish here unfortunately) and you will come out at the National Serviceman's Park.
2. Continue straight ahead, the track will go down into a shallow gully and climb again and you will come out behind the old school house.
There is an IGA and a bakery in town if you're hungry/thirsty by this stage.
At the park you will see the old line continue into the carpark of the Wamuran Co-Op. That's about where it ends. You can continue along Station Rd and later Gamgee Rd and follow the course of the railway corridor which is now on your left through the trees.
When you get to the end of Gamgee Rd where it meets the D'aguilar highway there is a house. Between the house and the highway there is a track where the railway line use to go but I can't remember whether it's been fenced off or not. If not you should be able to ride along here into the forest and join up with the rail trail that runs through to D'aguilar.

I'd be happy to join you and show you along the trail. It's a good ride but I would like to see it turned into a formal Rail Trail. It would be a good Touristy thing and good for commuting between Wamuran and Caboolture.

Cheers
Brad

[Paddles]

You're a legend Brad, that's exactly the sort of info I was chasing. We ended up giving it a miss this morning and did a big bike path lap of Bribie on the mountain bikes instead as we got a bit suss on whether we would easily make it through. Our plan was to head over in the car (I'm at Beachmere) and do a bit of a reconnaissance to check that we'd have easy access before we took a group of friends and kids. Now I'm armed with your intel, it'll definitely make it easier, i'll still go for a drive and check it all out though. I agree with respect to this being made a proper rail trail as it makes a fantastic safe ride for families who are after a bit more of an adventure than a bike track offers, and it's a tourism opportunity going begging for Wamuran, it'd be so easy for people to catch the train to Caboolture and then ride straight up to Wam on a dirt track, have an ice cream or a drink and then head back to Caboolture for lunch and a train ride home. Thanx, John.

[Orion]

No worries. Enjoy the ride

[Paddles]

Hey Brad, we went for a ride along the lines this morning and it's well worth the effort, there are 2 fences that need jumping and a couple of cows to dodge but you stay within the railway easement the whole way and you can make it straight through no worries from the end of Del Rosso Road. For most of the way there is reasonable quality single track off to the side that undulates as it goes through gullies and over the hills to the side of the railway cuttings. All in all a good fun ride at about 20km return from Caboolture central and it would be very kid friendly. The remains of that stupid white picket fence bit me though, there was a broken piece of fence paling with nails in it lurking in the long grass and I managed to run straight over it and score a flat.

[Orion]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
I've only done that bit from the end of Del Rosso Rd through to powerline easement once a couple of years ago. At the time I didn't feel like lifting the bike over the fence but it's good to know it's possible to get through. Most of the trail is reasonable although rough.
Sorry to hear about the flat. I'm not sure who dismantled it (Qld Rail or the Council) but either way they wouldn't really care what they left behind. You could try claiming negligence on their part and hit them up for a new tube

[Paddles]

Nah, I'm not that sorta kid, I've patched the tube already and it's in the bag ready for next time. Someone's wrapped some old feed bags around the first barbed wire fence at the Del Rosso end so you can just lift your bike over it and then go straight through. The next fence is at Devantia Road and is made out of railway track so it's easy to jump over. There's a couple of cows in between these 2 fences keeping the grass down. Good fun, local ride.

[singlespeedscott]

I've done that route myself in the mtb. A nice easy ride. My mate regularly rides from Wam to the Caboolture train station via the old line with his kids to catch the train to school.

I too wish they would connect it all up officially. What would be really cool would be to run it all the way to Moore and connect it with the Brisbane Valley rail line and have it run all the way to Kingaroy and beyond.

[foo on patrol]

You do know that you can jump on it from Blackbutt Range when you climb the first section, turn into the right at the top where it says helipad and just over the back of it, it drops down to the old line.

Foo

[Orion]

I took a ride from Wamuran out along Gamgee Rd last week. This road parallels the old railway line for a few kilometres until it meets the D'aguilar Highway.
Earlier I said that I wasn't sure if it was possible to access the old railway from the end of Gamgee Rd. It appears possible but looks like it may now be on private property. There was a open gate near the road but then another, closed gate, about 100m along. From what I could tell that gate had a chain and padlock.

The official rail trail from the end of Mylett St to Raaen Rd has had some work done to it recently. There were sections that were eroding due to small water courses crossing the track and then tumbling down into the gullies below. These sections have been redone with some gravel/rock and it's bloody awful. On the upside there are no longer any large pools of water to traverse.

[Paddles]

Hey Brad, you don't think that second gate with the chain might be the state forest boundary?

[Orion]

I guess it could be. Though I had a look on Google Maps and it shows the SF boundary a bit further west than the gate.

[Orion]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but if anyone is interested the train tracks between Caboolture and Wamuran were removed earlier this year. Ballast was laid down and the surface graded. It's now a reasonable dirt track. Heavy rain earlier this year has eroded some parts but overall it's easily rideable on an MTB or hybrid.
Just thought I"d let you know in case you'd like at easy off road ride.

[roosta]

Another thread resurrection...

After being open for a few months now, the gate has been shut and padlocked again on the trail at the end of Del Rosso Rd.
This wasnt done by council or QR, but by a tow truck driver that used the trail to fetch a car that had come off the d'aguilar highway about 200m down the track.

The gate was open when he got there, but he took it upon himself to close and padlock it when he left, even getting a padlock out of his own truck.
I know this because i rode through as he was arriving, and came back through as he was locking it up and leaving.

One alternative (mentioned by Orion in a previous post) is to turn right at the end of the straight stretch of Del Rosso Rd, go through the small tunnel under the highway and through to Cayenne Rd. From there, go left onto Greening Rd, left again on to Williams Rd and back to King Street where you can turn right and join back up with Quarry Rd - and back onto the trail.

As you can see on the railtrails.org website, the closed/gated section is listed as 'Possible Rail Trail'
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