Mount Morgan Railway Museum
Mount Morgan Railway Museum
4.5
About
Mount Morgan Station was built in 1898 to serve the then booming gold mining township of Mount Morgan. Today it is a tourist information centre and museum displaying items of memorabilia, railway equipment, rolling stock and an exciting 3D audio visual presentation on the 'rack' rail system. Trolley ride days operate on Tuesdays and special occasions. A 'Silver Bullet' railmotor is also housed at the museum. Open 7 days, 9am to 4pm (closed public holidays). Mount Morgan Railway Museum is owned by Rockhampton Regional Council and operated by Mount Morgan Promotion and Development Inc. Rockhampton Region - gateway to Central Queensland. Eftpos not available.
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4.5
52 reviews
Excellent
25
Very good
22
Average
2
Poor
2
Terrible
1
garyharvey1
Mackay, Australia32 contributions
May 2023 • Solo
Very interesting place . Quite a lot of exhibits which would appeal to people who don't rate themselves as rail enthusiasts. Personalised interaction with the staff is possible if there aren't many people visiting.
Written 23 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JohnL
Vancouver, Canada35 contributions
Jul. 2023 • Family
Interesting enough, if you’re a train buff. Staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. Not a lot else to do in town
Written 7 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DieselDee
Rockhampton, Australia16 contributions
Jan. 2023 • Family
Very interesting and the history will blow you away...well done to the volunteers who look after this beautiful heritage listing...very clean and well maintained the volunteers are very helpful..
Written 9 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RalphBNE
Brisbane, Australia28 contributions
Sep. 2022
The story of the Mt Morgan rack railway speaks of the importance of the gold mine and the difficulty of building a railway there. This is well-presented at this museum.
Written 14 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
C...
Victoria, Australia64,654 contributions
Jun. 2022
This is a really lovely looking railway station... but what I realised in my time in Queensland that it may have been a standard design because I saw one similar in Rockhampton. That doesn't deter from it being attractive. Before you go into the museum you will note there are some beautiful established fig trees out the front. A number of Fig trees were planted in January 1901 to celebrate the Federation of the Australian States into the Commonwealth of Australia.
Also before you go into the station you will notice a memorial to railway employees- the wall of plaques is labelled as the "Wall of Honour" -Railway Centenary 1898-1998. This is worth taking a few moments to look at.
The museum has very passionate and friendly volunteers, not only will they assist in answering any rail questions but the location currently also doubles up as the information centre for the town... and they are very happy to share the information.
For any railway buffs or gunzels as they are more commonly known, this area will be fascinating... What makes it interesting is due to the steep inclines in the Razorback Ranges, the line included a section of rack railway between Moonmera and the Mount Morgan township. They will talk you through it and then you watch a film about it in a nearby carriage.
They have a number of electric staffs and staff&tickets for anyone interested in Safeworking. I believe this is a great place to start your day in Mount Morgan... the volunteers have oodles of suggestions for you to visit in the area and will supply you with a town map.
Also before you go into the station you will notice a memorial to railway employees- the wall of plaques is labelled as the "Wall of Honour" -Railway Centenary 1898-1998. This is worth taking a few moments to look at.
The museum has very passionate and friendly volunteers, not only will they assist in answering any rail questions but the location currently also doubles up as the information centre for the town... and they are very happy to share the information.
For any railway buffs or gunzels as they are more commonly known, this area will be fascinating... What makes it interesting is due to the steep inclines in the Razorback Ranges, the line included a section of rack railway between Moonmera and the Mount Morgan township. They will talk you through it and then you watch a film about it in a nearby carriage.
They have a number of electric staffs and staff&tickets for anyone interested in Safeworking. I believe this is a great place to start your day in Mount Morgan... the volunteers have oodles of suggestions for you to visit in the area and will supply you with a town map.
Written 9 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brissy2
Hervey Bay, Australia7,550 contributions
Jun. 2021
Our first stop at Mount Morgan was the Railway Museum. Located in the 1898 railway station building is the Tourist Info centre. They had old trains – some refurbished - on display along with different carriages. Staff were friendly and knowledgeable.
Written 1 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
OrderintheHouse
Brisbane2,810 contributions
Jun. 2021
In June 2021, I accepted an invitation to an important lunch event at the Frenchville Sports Club at Rockhampton and decided to turn the visit into a short 5 day holiday seeing some of the top tourist attractions in the area. On one of my free days, I visited the historic town of Mount Morgan, 40 kilometres south, south west of Rockhampton. I chose to get there using the efficient Young’s Bus Service for a very reasonable fare.
One of the highlights of my day in the town was my visit to the Mount Morgan Railway Station Museum which also happens to incorporate the Mount Morgan Tourist Information Centre.
The first impression on arrival is the magnificent ornate Railway Station building, similar in design to the Archer Park Station at Rockhampton. Both Stations were designed by prominent Queensland Railways Architect, Henrik Hansen, who is attributed with the designing of other historic Railway Stations at Emerald, Longreach, Shorncliffe and South Brisbane. The Mt Morgan Station is such a classic, beautifully designed building that definitely needs to remain intact for present and future generations to admire and enjoy. It is therefore pleasing that the local regional council and their band of volunteers take pride in maintaining the building and contents in such good condition.
The Mount Morgan Station was constructed in 1898 to service the goldrush and gold mining town and it survived as a functional railway station until 1987 after which it was restored as a Railway heritage museum.
There is lots of interesting railway memorabilia on display at the museum and none better than the shining example of a “Silver Bullet” Class 2000 rail motor built in 1956. There are interesting exhibits demonstrating the rail and mining history of Mount Morgan throughout the museum.
The real highlight of any visit to this Museum however, has to be the 3D film showing the workings of Mount Morgan’s famous rack railway system. This film was shown in a specially restored railway carriage designed for this purpose. Due to the steep inclines in the nearby Razorback Ranges, the Mount Morgan line included a section of rack railway between Moonmera and the Mount Morgan township. A rack railway can be described as a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail. I found this aspect of my museum visit of great interest for its uniqueness.
Another aspect of this Railway Museum to admire is the large curved roof covering the tracks and platform. I understand that this is an innovation adopted by Henrik Hansen when designing his Stations.
If you get the chance whilst touring the Rockhampton area it is worth visiting both the Archer Park and Mount Morgan Railway Station Museums to compare one with the other. Each has their own unique features. Also whilst in Mount Morgan, a good tourist double would be to visit both the Railway Museum and the Historical Museum (reviewed separately). In both places there is so much rich history to savour.
One of the highlights of my day in the town was my visit to the Mount Morgan Railway Station Museum which also happens to incorporate the Mount Morgan Tourist Information Centre.
The first impression on arrival is the magnificent ornate Railway Station building, similar in design to the Archer Park Station at Rockhampton. Both Stations were designed by prominent Queensland Railways Architect, Henrik Hansen, who is attributed with the designing of other historic Railway Stations at Emerald, Longreach, Shorncliffe and South Brisbane. The Mt Morgan Station is such a classic, beautifully designed building that definitely needs to remain intact for present and future generations to admire and enjoy. It is therefore pleasing that the local regional council and their band of volunteers take pride in maintaining the building and contents in such good condition.
The Mount Morgan Station was constructed in 1898 to service the goldrush and gold mining town and it survived as a functional railway station until 1987 after which it was restored as a Railway heritage museum.
There is lots of interesting railway memorabilia on display at the museum and none better than the shining example of a “Silver Bullet” Class 2000 rail motor built in 1956. There are interesting exhibits demonstrating the rail and mining history of Mount Morgan throughout the museum.
The real highlight of any visit to this Museum however, has to be the 3D film showing the workings of Mount Morgan’s famous rack railway system. This film was shown in a specially restored railway carriage designed for this purpose. Due to the steep inclines in the nearby Razorback Ranges, the Mount Morgan line included a section of rack railway between Moonmera and the Mount Morgan township. A rack railway can be described as a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail. I found this aspect of my museum visit of great interest for its uniqueness.
Another aspect of this Railway Museum to admire is the large curved roof covering the tracks and platform. I understand that this is an innovation adopted by Henrik Hansen when designing his Stations.
If you get the chance whilst touring the Rockhampton area it is worth visiting both the Archer Park and Mount Morgan Railway Station Museums to compare one with the other. Each has their own unique features. Also whilst in Mount Morgan, a good tourist double would be to visit both the Railway Museum and the Historical Museum (reviewed separately). In both places there is so much rich history to savour.
Written 6 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Schlepper1939
Brisbane Region, Australia883 contributions
Sep. 2021 • Couples
My wife and I dropped in here while visiting Mt Morgan and found the visit to be educational. The staff member who we spoke to was a font of knowledge and gave us a great rundown on the history of the town, the mine and the railway. Top marks. Would recommend the visit to anyone.
Written 8 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
487michelle
Southern Queensland, Australia72 contributions
Aug. 2021
Staff very helpful and friendly. Great place to learn to history of the railway and the settlement of the town Mt Morgan.
Lots to see around the town and definitely worth a visit.
Lots to see around the town and definitely worth a visit.
Written 26 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sue L
Invercargill, New Zealand134 contributions
Jun. 2021 • Couples
Good value for money.
The Mount Morgan Railway Museum tells the story of putting a railway line into a very different and steep area .
It was needed because of the need to get ore from the Gold mine out.
A film is able to be viewed that tells of the background to the mine and the railway to it.
The volunteers who run this attraction are very knowledgeable and only to happy to share what they know with visitors.
The Mount Morgan Railway Museum tells the story of putting a railway line into a very different and steep area .
It was needed because of the need to get ore from the Gold mine out.
A film is able to be viewed that tells of the background to the mine and the railway to it.
The volunteers who run this attraction are very knowledgeable and only to happy to share what they know with visitors.
Written 15 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Claim your listingMount Morgan Railway Museum: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
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