Railway kids continue

Just got home from visiting Nanny in Noosa. We had an action packed weekend – starting with a trip on the famous Gympie Rattler – a restored steam engine that winds its way around some beautiful countryside full of cows and alpacas..( the Australian countryside is nothing but diverse!)

We were very luck to be put into a private cabin – which seated six people. Both Adrian and I remember having to catch trains that had carriages like this – though he caught them more frequently than I did.

Its a bit of a worry when you remember things being in working order and now they are museum pieces. The thick stubby cardboard tickets brought back many memories for both of us as well.

Morgan and Lilly had a hoot on the train – we were able to go out on the balcony and watch the tgrees slowly go past us and watch the track whiz under us. The smell of the coal being burnt and the sound of the chuffing up the hill.. such a great days trip out for all of us.

Middway we stopped for a sausage sizzle and a leg stretch, while the engine filled with water and had to be turned around. Amazing engineering. I think they said the engine weighed 800 tonnes – would that be right? It had to be loaded on a big turn table and manually spun round.

Morgan and Lilly were very tired at the end and were very good cuddling each other waiting to go home.

We had a bit of a kip at Nannys before we went out to dinner –which of course we had to wear our finery to. The kids are looking so grown up now…