Classic Rattler Run - Departs Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday Gympie to Amamoor (Return)
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Classic Rattler Run – Departs Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday Gympie to Amamoor (Return)
The Mary Valley Rattler is one of Queensland’s most iconic heritage steam train experiences, capturing the Gympie region’s rich history while offering visitors a contemporary tourism attraction and the beauty of the spectacular Mary Valley landscape.
This 3 hour, 40km journey, in a beautifully restored C17 steam train, is an iconic experience like no other. Departing from the Historic Gympie Station, you travel through rich agricultural farmland right into the heart of the picturesque Mary Valley.
On arrival in the quaint town of Amamoor, here you can disembark your carriage and make your way to a viewing area to watch the train engine as it turns on the turntable. Enjoy a short stay to explore the Amamoor Village Green before reboarding your assigned carriage for your return journey to the Gympie Station.
On board commentary provides a wealth of historical detail about the trains and the region as you enjoy the views and the nostalgia of travel from times past.
Please note this service offers bench seating only. Depending on the direction of the train guests will be travelling backwards for one direction of the trip.
Please phone the station direct on 0754 822 750 to book a wheelchair ticket. For no availability dates please check our “Events Tab” for your chosen date options as scheduled services do not run on Event dates.
Please note- A $10.00 donation option is available, this donation supports the restoration of our many carriages. We appreciate your generosity in donating to the sustainability of The Mary Valley Rattlers Heritage Fleet.
PLEASE NOTE: Sunday Service returns to the Gympie Station at 12.30pm (30 minutes later than Wednesday and Saturday service). This includes an additional station stop at Dagun where you can wine and cheese tasting (that can be purchased on the day at an additional cost).
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Thank you for your booking with The Mary Valley Rattler!
Please check-in at Tour Desk 45 mins prior to your departure. If you would like to enjoy breakfast in the Rusty Rails
Café prior to departure please phone 0753489606 to book or arrive at 8am to
ensure you have enough time before departure.
If you are travelling with
other passengers on another booking, please advise us so we can ensure you are
seated together. If you require assistance in boarding or have any medical
issues that we need to be aware of please contact us directly.
We look forward to
welcoming you aboard The Mary Valley Rattler!
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What a pawsome day! The Pets on Board experience was an absolute blast. Huge thanks to Kate for making it all happen! The staff were amazing, the food was delicious, and Shelby had the best time ever. So relaxing, full of smiles, and topped off with a lovely little treat for Shelby at the end of the train — we can’t wait to hop on board again! Already recommending to other friends. Thanks Roneen
For some reason we did not stop at Dagan on the return trip and so missed the wine and cheese tasting that's mentioned on their website. A little disappointing.
Overall the experience was well worthwhile and enjoyable, the commentary provided while on the trip was informative and interesting and all volunteers were extremely friendly and helpful to the extent that as my wife is not a large eater, it was arranged for her provided lunch to be presented in a takeaway container for her to enjoy later - which she did.
Thank you again for a great trip.
Would highly recommend .
Part of our VIP experience included a meal at the station cafe, unfortunately this was not good which rather spoilt the end of the trip for us all. The staff in the cafe were excellent however the food really let them down.
Would recommend the train but avoid the VIP experience.
The local cheese platter, water on board in a memorable stubby holder, awaited us on arrival. The journey exceeded our expectations and the food served for lunch on return was delicious. Highly recommend 👌
All processes, from the initial booking & today taking the trip, were very straightforward and professionally handled. No problems at all. We just relaxed and enjoyed the experience.
In our carriage we were seated together on comfortable couches with a table to put out our snacks.
Our pre purchased snacks were ready for us when we arrived this morning.
The 45 minute stop in Amamoor was interesting and passed very quickly & productively. It gave us a chance to see what was on show at the little town, buy food, drinks and souvenirs, take photos, plus watch the locomotive being turned around on the turntable for the return trip.
Our carriage assistant, Meredith, was pleasant & informative. As well there was a great commentary given on the PA system at appropriate times by Cate.
All of the team of volunteers were very helpful and friendly. Well done drivers on a smooth ride.
Thank you team for great memories of a wonderful day.
The food was awesome for lunch
Incredible experience for us that bought back many childhood memories of travelling in the 50's
We loved it — even more than we expected!
We took my mum from England along with my two kids (11 and 13), and it was so nice to see them genuinely engaged in everything our guide, Ryan, shared. He was young, enthusiastic, and clearly passionate about steam trains and railways — it was wonderful to see that kind of excitement!
The scenery was stunning, and the stops along the way were great. The cheese and wine tasting was a lovely touch too.
We had such a fantastic day — highly recommend a trip on the Rattler! ❤️
Ralph in the 1st class was excellent as was the English announcer and the coach guard.
The booking was extremely.
Atmosphere was great with a really good sense of fun plus a sensible degree of safety precautions.
The train and the coaches were quite beautiful and the speed recreated an older sense of dignity while so much less hectic than modern transport. Above all it was restful and allowed one to actually see the countryside.
I cannot think of anything that I could criticise. The food and seating in our 1st class carriage was perfect and the station and museum were most interesting.
We have already recommended the Rattler to friends in the last 24 hours and will continue to do so.
Once you reached Amaroo you were able to disembark and walk around the market and shops then witnessed how the train engine was uncoupled and turned around to be begin the journey back to Gympie.
When we arrived back at Gympie we were seated in the cafe and served a two course meal which was part of the experience. The food was beautifully presented and tasted amazing.
The “crew” on the train are all volunteers and were very helpful, informative and happy! Would highly recommend this experience.
It was like going back in time. The little village where she stops to turn around on the turning circle was so welcoming and friendly.
Tip. Take some cash as there are a few market stalls selling homemade items made by the locals.
A throughly enjoyable trip. Would definitely recommend
Great catering during the trip, nice communities at the stations and a good dinner to top off what will be a long lasting memory to cherish.
Thanks to all those volunteers that make these kind of moments possible.
Very comfortable seating & lovely cheese platter for each of us at our table.
A pleasant stop at Amamoor where we watched the loco being turned on the turntable. Everything ran smoothly.
On our return we had a beautiful 2 course meal (beef cheeks, so tender, panna cotta & Nutella choc mousse cake). Also a rum & red wine.
Excellent value. Excellent experience. Would highly recommend.
Thank you to our volunteer Brad who looked after our carriage.
Well worth doing. Staff fantastic
Had a great time
The train travelled from Gympie to Dagun. We crossed the Mary River, passed beautiful farms and could not have asked for a more delightful day weather wise. I got to go up and chat to the driver and guard which was an unexpected treat. When we reached Dagun we enjoyed a cheese and wine tasting which was very tasty.
The service on board was amazing and the staff were incredible.
All the staff we met were knowlegable and pleasant.
The trip was fun with scenic views along the journey with items of interest pointed out by the train announcer.
To sum up the experience is well worth the cost and we would definately go again.
The staff were all very friendly and helpful. The train trip itself is though beautiful scenery and we can't recommend it highly enough.
We decided to do the VIP experience, and the train ride experience was well worth it not sure about the lunch at the end (see comments at the end).
We had a lovely cheese platter on board, and a free stubbie holder with a bottle of water was on our table when we boarded. Our volunteer Bruce was very funny and told us about the history on various parts of the journey. He also told us when there was going to be an opportunity for a good photo. But be warned, you CANNOT lean out the windows as they are old and very heavy and can drop down suddenly (which has happened according to Bruce). So if you're with children, keep your eyes on them. We thought we were having lunch on the train but you get lunch when back at the station at the end of the ride. The train stops at Amaroo where there is a quick chance to grab a drink or a little bite to eat, but you have to be quick as it's a 40 mins stop only. If you want to watch how the train turns on the turntable (I'd recommend it), you might have to forgoe your drink or snack.
With the VIP package, your free lunch and drink is preselected when you buy your tickets. But be warned, your drink is already opened by the time you get back for lunch, which we were angry about as we didn't know how long the drinks been opened for.
We had ordered the chicken wrapped in bacon on a bed of potato, and were very disappointed. The potato was tasteless, I dont know what part of the chicken they used but it wasn't the breast, and there were some kind of dried/fried strips of what looked like a piece of yellow grass.
All in all, the day was enjoyable.
Not only is the actual train super charming and the scenery beautiful, but the volunteers really made the journey so enjoyable - particularly Lee, who was immensely friendly and helpful. Also, the bumpy ride is so much fun, and we got a kick out of hearing the steam whistle every time! I genuinely reccommend this as a fun, relaxing family day out!
We got stuck in school holiday traffic and made it to the station 10 minutes before departure when we were supposed to be 45 minutes before. This proved no problem as we had rang ahead to explain the situation and the friendly staff put my mind at ease.
This was my first time on a real steam train since I was a kid and it was really enjoyable. Lots of good commentary on the trip to Amamoor and back by Lee.
The weather was 30c when we left on the 1:30pm departure and the windows were down the whole way for the full experience. It was warm on the train but not uncomfortably so as the windows worked a treat. We even had steam come in the carriages at times which was a bit of fun.
I would highly recommend the experience and will do it again one day myself.
My friend & I really enjoy our rest day doing this activity!
It was an amazing experience.
His experience including riding with the drivers and he said it was one of the best days of his life.
We chose the $69 ticket and had scones in the refreshment room at the station before we left and then bought more snacks at Amamoor.
It was a fantastic day with beautiful scenery and expert commentary. Beautifully organised and I would recommend.






















































































