Hello! We are Mary Valley Rattler
About
The Mary Valley Rattler is one of Queensland’s most iconic heritage experiences, capturing the Gympie region’s rich history while offering visitors a contemporary tourism attraction and the beauty of the spectacular Mary Valley landscape. Driven by a group of passionate volunteers who both love the region and love steam engines, a trip on the Mary Valley Rattler is like taking a journey back in time. The ‘Rattler’, as everyone knows it locally, has been a driving force for the development of the region since gold was discovered in Gympie in 1867. Even before then, European settlers in the Mary Valley were talking of the region’s incredibly fertile soil and advocating for a railway to connect them and their agricultural produce with the outside world. If their early calls were ignored, the gold rush certainly hastened the decision, as transporting materials and equipment into the region was costly and time consuming, as was shipping out the precious metal. Both Brisbane and Maryborough fought long and hard to be the major port for Gympie to export the gold and produce from the valley. After nearly a decade of political battling Maryborough won, and in 1881, the first railway to link Gympie to the port was launched and known as the ‘Mary River line.
Customer reviews
4.7
1334 reviews
Mary Valley Rattler
- 10 Tozer Street, Gympie QLD 4570, Australia
- 0754822750
- nerida@maryvalleyrattler.com.au
Leanne Kelly
a month agoWell we loved it, what a great day the service was fantastic, the staff were very friendly and engaging. The train ride was excellent, very peaceful and relaxing. We did not order from the cafe, would have been good to know there was food available on the train to purchase, I didn't see this anywhere on the website, maybe I missed it? We had a booking for 4 but my parents car broke down and couldn't make it, I received a credit on the day which I was very happy about, thank you. I would highly recommend; it was such a lovely experience.
Hannah L
2 weeks agoFantastic experience! Food and the coffee at the station were delicious (the pie was worth $). Kids loved walking up and down platform beforehand and seeing it all, we found the museum quite interesting to read. Then we were aboard and the ride was lovely with the car volunteer adding lots of information about surrounding area as we went. Be quick to get food at the town stop, we grabbed sandwiches & lollies from the general store instead of cafe. The seats were comfortable, views lovely, historical information wasn't boring, and made for a great day out in Gympie. Would reccomend to anyone going through Gympie.
Flo Wndl
2 months agoGreat experience! We appreciated the trip on the beautifully and detailed restored steam train a lot! Those wooden cars with them old red comfy seat benches made all the difference. Hopping in the driver cabin of the locomotive, getting everything explained by the proud experienced driver was amazing! Kudos to the team of volunteers and those thousands of hours they put in to have everything in good service today! Highly recommend!!
Nick Christie
2 months agoWe had a great day, my 4yo son loved it and we ticked off another old time train ride. Nice day out, definitely worth the trip. Also, Volunteer Susie in carriage 521 was fantastic, went out of her way to make our day and give my son a wonderful experience! Thanks Susie!
David Hanson
in the last weekThe Mary Valley Rattler is a fantastic steam train journey from Gympie to Amamoor, I’ve been on this steam train a few times including before Covid. It’s a wonderful trip filled with wonderful sounds and smell's that you can only get on a journey like this. The Village Green at Amamoor has a wonderful little cafe for drinks and snacks that is well laid out with plenty of seating and even live music on the day we were there.