1953 was one of the truly revolutionary years for the Queensland Railways, with the introduction of air conditioned trains on our long distance services in Queensland. The Sunlander commenced service on the 4th June 1953. This new air conditioned train was hauled by a diesel locomotive and by eliminating steam locomotive servicing stops, the transit time from Brisbane to Cairns was reduced from 45 to 41¼ hours.
In this episode we’ll chat about how these air conditioned trains and their steel bodies coaches, with showers, hot and cold running water and special dining cars revolutionised travel for many people regionally, allowing passengers to keep their cool during Queensland’s summers. We'll discuss where the 'Lander' name for our travel trains originated from and also the marketing campaigns the Railways used to promote these luxury tourist services.
We’ll also chat with special guest, Jen Cahill, and hear about how her career has progressed into becoming a regional train driver. We chat about her time at Queensland Rail, and hear what it's like driving the Kuranda Scenic Railway and the Spirit of Queensland between Townsville and Cairns.
We've also pulled together a collection of images that Greg and Annette discuss, you can find these here.
If you have any questions about our rail history, please email Greg – he’d love to hear from you! - history@qr.com.au
And, if you're enjoying what you’re hearing, please leave us a review. We’d love to hear from you, what you love about the podcast, and what you’d like us to feature on a future episode!
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