Dreamworld Express

The Dreamworld Express opened with Dreamworld on 15 December 1981, as the Cannonball Express. At the time, the railway only featured a single stop in Main Street.[3] A steam locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1917 was purchased and 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) of track was said to have been laid to develop the ride.[3] This figure must relate to the quantity of rail used as reference to maps show that the line is only about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) in length. The Baldwin locomotive was originally used during the First World War in France before being relocated to Queensland for use on the cane fields.[4] At the time of its opening, the Cannonball Express was said to be the Longest privately owned railway in Australia.[5] However, this was clearly incorrect. It is not even the longest privately owned passenger railway. A second steam locomotive, built by Perry Engineering in 1951, which had also seen service at a Queensland sugar mill, was purchased and put into service on the railway. Until the late 1990s, the railway operated with both steam locomotives in peak periods. The railway then shifted to operations on a rotational basis, with one train being serviced while the other would operate normally. The two locomotives could each tow carriages to cater for up to 160 passengers at a time. A set of covered cars were mostly used on the railway, with a set of uncovered carriages, now disposed of, being rarely used unless both trains were operating. A carriage with disabled access was always added to the end of at least one of the operating trains.[5]

After Easter 2013, Dreamworld began operating the train only on weekends and school holidays.[6] The park subsequently replaced the two steam locomotives with a diesel replacement.[7] The diesel masquerades as a steam locomotive and was built by ride manufacturers C&S in Italy. The ride now operates as the Dreamworld Express.[8]

On 26 January 2016, Dreamworld reintroduced the Baldwin locomotive as a one-off event.[9] Subsequently, it was announced that the steam locomotive would operate on the first Saturday of every month and on other occasions.[10]

During late 2020 and 2021, the Dreamworld Express was temporarily closed for a re-routing of the tracks in order to make way for Dreamworld’s new Steel Taipan roller coaster. Tracks near The Giant Drop and Rocky Hollow Station were removed due to the close proximity to Steel Taipans construction site, along with the train sheds. The ride was initially marked as temporarily closed due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. [11] On 17 July 2021, Dreamworld announced $1,000,000 refurbishment on the Dreamworld Express. The refurbishment includes new custom train carriages built by a world-class train manufacturer. The ride is scheduled to reopen during the summer school holidays.[12]

Four stations are located throughout the park. The first is Central Park Station located at the end of Main Street at the bottom of the hill. The railway cuts across a main pathway through the use of a set of boom gates before navigating between the Tower of Terror II, ABC Kids World and Tiger Island before arriving at the second station. The second station is located between the Corroboree and ABC Kids World, next to the Billabong Buffet Restaurant. Directly after the station, the train passes another set of boom gates before passing the Dreamworld Woolshed and part of the Dreamworld Corroboree. A station is located in Dreamworld Corroboree with entry and exit via Prestos Training Cafe and Bunya Trading Gift Shop. The railway then passes the rest of the Dreamworld Corroboree alongside the Murrisipi River before arriving at the fourth and final station at Rocky Hollow Station located at the Gold Rush Country. The station is located near the Rocky Hollow Log Ride and its on-ride photo shop. The final section of railway travels around the former location of the Blue Lagoon water park as well as Dreamworld Studios where Big Brother Australia was filmed. It then returns to Central Park Station in Main Street after passing the railway maintenance sheds.[13]

This railway is slightly based on the Disneyland Railroad, with the Baldwin locomotive resembling the #4 Ernest S. Marsh locomotive (appropriate enough, it also uses #4), the cars designed with the Excursion III design, and there being four station stops.

• Dreamworld Express stations
• 
  Central Park Station (Main Street)
• 
  Billabong Station (ABC Kids World)
• 
  Corroboree Station (Corroboree)
• 
  Rocky Hollow Station (Gold Rush Country)

• Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
• Sea World Monorail System