Queensland Rail is celebrating its 160th anniversary this year with a special Christmas-themed Santa Steam Express.
Members of the public will enjoy three trips onboard Bety, one of the operator’s popular BB18 ¼ heritage steam engines, on November 30.
The festive return trips, starting and ending at Roma Street station in Brisbane, will run between 40 minutes and an hour and pass through suburbs including Milton, Toowong, Sherwood and Fairfield via the Tennyson loop.
Tickets are already sold out, with 900 people expected to take part in the fun.
However the community is still welcome to come along to Roma Street station Platform 3 on the day, to join the festivities and see the steam train arrive.
While the Santa Express is an annual event, with Santa onboard the regular South East Queensland train fleet, the Santa Steam Express is the first event of its kind involving a heritage train.
All proceeds from the train trips will be donated to Mater Little Miracles, part of the Mater Foundation.
Mater Little Miracles works to improve outcomes for Queensland’s most premature and seriously ill babies, cared for at Mater Mothers’ Hospital Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU) in South Brisbane.
The funds will specifically go towards purchasing a specialised ventilator machine to support the breathing of the unit’s smallest babies.
Up to 2000 very ill and premature babies receive round-the-clock specialist care from the team in Mater Mothers’ NCCU each year.
Queensland Rail is also donating tickets to the Santa Steam Express to those families who have been helped by the Mater, so they can enjoy a festive day out.
Queensland Rail Head of South East Queensland Neil Backer said the celebrations are all part of Queensland’s Rail significant milestone of connecting communities for 160 years.
“There is noel time like now to join us for combined birthday and Christmas celebrations and jump onboard the ‘Santa Steam Express’ for the trip of a lifetime,” Backer said.
“We are so proud to partner with Mater Foundation and the Mater Little Miracles program to raise vital funds for neonatal care and celebrate the spirit of giving.”
This Christmas-themed event will wrap up a year of 160th anniversary celebrations for Queensland Rail, including steam train trips for its official birthday back in July and at this year’s Ekka.
“Queensland Rail is extremely proud of its rich and enduring history and we look forward to creating these new memories for future generations,” Becker added.
Mater Foundation Chief Executive Andrew Thomas thanked Queensland Rail for choosing Mater Little Miracles as its Santa Steam Express charity partner.
“This year’s Santa Steam Express will unite two iconic brands, Queensland Rail and Mater, to deliver festive joy for some very brave families,” he said.
“The event will directly help those who need it most – the most vulnerable babies cared for at Mater’s Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU).
“We couldn’t think of a better Christmas gift to support our NCCU babies and families, so please get on board this year’s Santa Steam Express!”
Watch out for Santa onboard regular South East Queensland trains throughout December, with the Santa Express timetable due to be released in the coming weeks.
