With school holidays in full swing, Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett is encouraging families to support the volunteers who operate the historic trains at Bundaberg’s Botanic Gardens.
Mr Bennett said for almost 30 years the Australian Sugar Cane Railway had been bringing smiles to children’s faces at Bundaberg’s Botanic Gardens, but now it was the volunteers who needed cheering up.
“These dedicated volunteers spend hours operating, maintaining and restoring these historic steam and diesel locomotives for the enjoyment of families and to ensure this rich history is preserved,” Mr Bennett said.
“To ensure these dedicated volunteers can continue to provide their unique attraction, I encourage families to support them by bringing the whole family along for a train ride, and tell all your friends about the wonderful experience.
“A visit to the Botanic Gardens isn’t complete without a ride on a train, and with the track extension now in place, your family can enjoy a 2km journey through the scenic gardens.”
Australian Sugar Cane Railway spokesman Andy Rayer said the non-profit organisation had taken a beating from the devastating 2013 flood event and were still recovering.
“We couldn’t run after the floods for over six months. Because of the floods we lost all that income and we have chewed into all of our savings,” Mr Rayer said.
“We’ve recovered physically and everything is pretty well maintained, but it’s just the financial side of things.
“Our only income comes from bums on seats.”
Mr Rayer said the organisation was in the process of replacing wooden sleepers with concrete sleepers, which was an expensive but necessary task to secure the railway’s future.
“The lifespan of a concrete sleeper is around 20-50 years, which is much greater than the timber sleepers,” he said.
“By replacing the sleepers, it’s making the future of the railway more stable, but it’s eating into our savings.
“We have replaced 300 sleepers, but there are around 3000 sleepers. We still have a long way to go.”
Mr Rayer said the railway was run purely on a voluntary basis.
“We are 100% volunteers – there’s not one paid position at all,” he said.
“The vast majority of members are retirees. We have even got drivers that come up from Brisbane.”
The first 20 people to contact Mr Bennett’s office will receive two free train ride tickets each.
Contact 4111 5100.
To find out more about the Australian Sugar Cane Railway and view their timetable, visit their facebook page www.facebook.com/AustralianSugarCaneRailway or http://qldrailheritage.com/ascr.
Australian Sugar Cane Railway details:
During school holidays the trains run on Tuesdays, Wednesday’s, Friday’s and Sundays from 10am – 3:30pm.
Cost:
$4 per adult
$1 per child (under 5’s are free)
$10 per family (two adults and two or more school aged children).
Disability and Wheelchair-friendly
[ENDS] 15 December 2016