International Railroad Discussion > Queensland Rail's "The Inlander" Now Features A Mini-Lounge Car!

On JUNE 17-18, 2015 my family and I rode Queensland Rail's "The Westlander" from Charleville to Brisbane.  The train featured an additional car not normally carried in its consist.  Crew car # 1909 has been modified with a mini-lounge at one end of the car for the use of passengers.  The other half of the car will continue to accommodate crew members.  As one enters the car from the adjacent coach, on your left in the vestibule area is a self-service center where passengers can help themselves to hot and cold drinks, such as coffee and tea.   On the opposite side of the vestibule area is a refrigerator where boxed meals will be stored for later distribution to passengers during the trip.  The lounge itself features eight comfortable seats and some small circular tables.  An employee on board the train stated that the car was on a "break in" run and would be used on the "The Inlander," a twice-weekly train that operates on the Townsville - Mount Isa route.  The employees have suggested that the lounge area feature carpeting, something that it did not have on our "break-in" run.

All in all, the car should be a welcomed improvement to "The Inlander."

Photos:  (1.)   Exterior photo of the car at Charleville; (2.) The lounge; (3.) My wife and daughter being some of the first patrons; (4.) Self-serve beverage area on left side of vestibule (5.) Storage refrigerator on opposite side (trash bag will hopefully not be a permanent feature); Exterior view of "The Westlander" while spotted at the Toowoomba station.    

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Does the Westlander still carry a sleeper? It did when I rode it in 1995 All double bedrooms. Also at that time, it carried a take away lounge car with bar. An unforgettable trip. I was invited to ride in the cab all the way from Charleville to the first scheduled stop. Doubt that would happen today.

The sleepers have been dropped from both The Westlander and The Inlander.  Coaches only for the public, but the staff have beds in their crew quarters. These two trains have had the service cutbacks while a lot of investment has been made on The Spirit Of The Outback and the Tilt Train.

With the recent round of cutbacks, the appearance of this mini-lounge for The Inlander may signal a reversal of the trend.  We can only hope. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/15 16:40 by CA_Sou_MA_Agent.

I would love to ride this train but really wish it had a sleeper.

The paint scheme on the passenger cars kind of remind me of the Algoma Central on their passenger cars.

Rick

Rode it in 2012-3.  Had 2-3 sleeper cars and 2-3 coaches (can't remember the exact number).  Only 4-5 people in the sleepers, 4-5 people in coach for the entire journey (plus train staff).  I'm not old enough to have ridden the US trains in the 1960's that were lightly patronized before abandonment, but the lack of riders on this trip gave me a weird feeling that this train didn't have long to live.

Train laid over in Charleville mid-day before heading back in the late afternoon for the overnight trip to Brisbane.  The sleeper rooms had locks on them and the train crew gave us a key, so we could keep our stuff in the room while we checked out town. There wasn't much going on in that town (and I'm pretty good at finding things to do in small towns).

Previous conservative government pulled the sleepers and quickly got rid of them - I don't think they'll ever come back and worry that the whole service is up for abandonment, even with a new state government that is supposed to be more train friendly.


-j