5th August Cunnanulla

 Kms today  204      Kms to date 10004

It was cold this morning at 7:30 when I went out for brekkie so when I got loaded up ready to leave  I plugged in my heated gloves and wore a face mask.

The road to Cunnamulla was through savannah and Mitchell grass plains. A narrow gauge railway line ran parallel to the road.  It looked like it was in use until I came to a bridge that had only the piers, no deck.  I found out later what happened.

I got to Cunnamulla early and my room wasn't ready so I left my luggage in the bottle shop and headed off to get some fuel and to check if my eyes hadn't deceived me and there really was a CB450 in the garage I had passed.  The BP garage didn't have any Premium so that was no good.   I was right - it was a CB450 - a 1972 5 speed model which the owner Joe had restored with new piston rings, cam chain etc.  He started it for me but it had no fuel and only ran briefly.  He had a few other bikes like a Honda Elsinore.  He advised me to get fuel at the BP Depot over near the old Railway Stn.  This was operated by two women, who filled up the customers old style and they had Premium.

 

A Honda CB 450 K7 in pretty good nick

 

Painted water tower

 I stopped at the tourist office and they rang Bowra to check on the condition of the 6km dirt road into the station.  I had booked a day trip to this special bird conservation area.  The road was well gravelled which can mean anything. For tonight I booked a show at the old station that celebrates when Cunnamulla was the "end of the line".  I had a Camel Burger in a local café and immediately regretted it!

I spoke  to Barbara and promised her a card for her birthday next Monday.  So I went to the PO bought one and posted it.

  

Cunnamulla Post Office

I wandered along the banks of the Warrego River, which is 100m wide and much bigger than I imagined.  This took me to the Railway Stn where the video show was going to be shown, but I was a too early so I looked for a pub.  The first one was deserted and the second one closed.  But the owners relented and invited me into the beer garden where they were relaxing with a beer.

Railway Station

The Town Band was waiting outside the Station

The railway show was called "All Aboard!" It was audio visual extravaganza with holographic characters narrating the story with photos and videos behind on a huge long screen.  A local volunteer explained how it all came about.  The local sheep industry really took off when the line opened.  There was a lot about the shenanigans that went on between the passengers as it was a long slow ride to Brisbane.  High school kids would get up to all sorts of hi-jinx to overcome the strict separation of the sexes.  The story of the missing bridge was told too.  A large truck in 2014 carrying ammonium nitrate caught fire and crashed on the road beside the bridge.  Like the the same stuff in Beirut, it exploded, destroying the road and railway bridge, several fire engines and the truck. The explosion was so large it registered 2 in the Richter Scale. So that was the end of the Cunnamulla line!

The last train leaving Cunnamulla to Charleville

Remains of the railway bridge that was destroyed by an explosion