Derwent Valley Railway (Tasmania) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Derwent Valley Railway |
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A railway bridge on the Derwent Valley Railway
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| Overview | |
| Status | In use |
| Owner | Government of Tasmania |
| Termini | Bridgewater Kallista |
| Service | |
| Type | Heavy rail |
| Operator(s) | TasRail |
| History | |
| Opened | September 1, 1887 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) |
The Derwent Valley Railway is an inoperational heritage railway in Tasmania, Australia. Its base is in New Norfolk. It is 3' 6" narrow gauge.
History
The Derwent Valley Railway Preservation Society (DVR) was founded in 1990 to preserve Tasmania’s railway heritage by running a tourist railway. It bought the assets of the Tasmanian Locomotive Company, which had operated trains on the Derwent Valley Line.
The DVR set up its base in New Norfolk in 1993, after starting operations near the Cadbury factory in Claremont. The Derwent Valley Line, first opened in 1887, closed beyond New Norfolk in 1995. The government still owned the line, and the DVR reopened sections to Hayes (1999), Westerway (2000), and National Park (2003).
In 2005, Pacific National (which operated Tasmania’s rail network) closed the line west of New Norfolk. By 2006, the tracks returned to government control.
Though trains haven’t run since 2005, the DVR has stayed active, refurbishing locomotives and carriages with the help of volunteers.
In December 2021, the Tasmanian Government leased the DVR 500 meters of track in New Norfolk. If approved by rail safety regulators, heritage trains could restart by late 2025 or early 2026.
