|}
The Westlander is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n named passenger train operated by the Traveltrain

TravelTrain

Traveltrain provides long range passenger rail services in Queensland, run by Queensland Rail. Its flagships are the electric and diesel Tilt Trains, servicing Brisbane – Rockhampton and Brisbane – Cairns respectively...

 division of QR Limited

Queensland Rail

Queensland Rail, also known as QR, is a government-owned railway operator in the state of Queensland. Under the control of the Queensland Government, Queensland Rail operates the inner-city and long-distance passenger services, as well as some freight operations and gives railway access to other...

, between Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

's capital, Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

, and the outback town of Charleville

Charleville, Queensland

Charleville is a town in south western Queensland, Australia, 758 kilometres by road west of Brisbane . It is the largest town and administrative centre of the Murweh Shire, which covers an area of 43,905 square kilometres...

.

History

In the 1888 timetable the from Brisbane to Roma

Roma, Queensland

Roma is a town in the western Darling Downs area of Queensland, Australia, by rail WNW of Brisbane. It is situated at the junction of the Warrego and Carnarvon highways...

 was officially called the Western Mail, with some runs extended through to Morven

Morven, Queensland

Morven is a town in western Queensland, Australia. The town is located on the Warrego Highway, east of Charleville and west of Brisbane. At the 2006 census, Morven had a population of 276....

. With the opening of the line from Morven to Charleville on 1 March 1888 the train was again extended. The Westlander was upgraded in the early 1950s with new steel air-conditioned carriages. The route taken was 971 km between Brisbane to Cunnamulla

Cunnamulla, Queensland

Cunnamulla is a small town that lies on the Warrego River in south west Queensland, Australia, south of Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane....

, with a side service to Quilpie

Quilpie, Queensland

-External links:* *...

. The trains were divided at Charleville, which is 777 km from Brisbane. The service was introduced on August 24, 1954. The service to Quilpie was nicknamed the Flying Flea and consisted of two passenger carriages, a locomotive, guards van and power van. Passengers boarded at Cunnamulla at 9.00 am and arrived into Brisbane at lunchtime the next day, with the branch to Cunnamulla being limited to 30 miles per hour (48.3 km/h), but with the lack of quality roads the train was still preferred. By 1957 freight wagons were also attached to the train, including louvred steel QRX and QLX-T wagons, and MPR refrigerated wagons. Up to 16 vehicles could make up the train. Passenger services to Quilpie and Cunnamulla beyond Charleville were withdrawn in 1994.

External links

• Queensland Rail