south; the roads continued to im-
press.
By chance we soon realised we
were following a railway line. Not
that unusual, except that thick bush-
land meant the gauge was extremely
narrow, almost toy-like. Following
on we came to a crossing then a
station, this was Ida Bay. I’m not
ashamed to admit I’m a self-con-
fessed train nerd, not a spotter, just a
nerd … I’m fascinated by old trains.
Like a beagle on a sent, I was fixated.
My partner mentioned something,
I stumbled past, not listening, here
was a station and platforms and rail
TRAVERSE 83
lines looping in different directions.
Ida Bay Railway was created in
1919 to facilitate the transportation
of limestone from a nearby quarry.
Lasting less than 60 years, operations
were closed in 1975. It seemed such a
shame thankfully just two years later
the Tasmania Government leased the
operations to private enterprise to be
used for tourism. I was a pig in poo
… a rain ride, through the bush, on a
610mm gauge … my bubble was burst
… I skulked by my partner as she con-
tinued talking, “Are you listening to
me? The train isn’t running today.”
The Ida Bay Tramway (it’s official