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43-554: The West Coast Wilderness Railway is a reconstruction of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company Mount Lyell railway in Western Tasmania between Queenstown and Regatta Point, Strahan . The railway is significant because of its Abt rack system to conquer the mountainous terrain through rainforest, with original locomotives still operating on the railway today. Now operating as a tourist experience with

86-465: A referendum held on 14 December 1968 , Tasmanian voters were asked the following question: “Are you in favour of the granting of a casino licence to Wrest Point Hotel conditional on the proposed development of that hotel?”. In spite of having a referendum planned, the Government managed to obtain sufficient votes on the floor of the parliament. They therefore decided to ignore the referendum, and hold

129-606: A 2017, book entitled "Losing Streak", the Tasmanian author James Boyce argues that the monopoly-licence granted to the Federal Hotels to operate poker machines in Tasmania has been at the expense of the best interests of the Tasmania public. The licence has meant that Federal Hotels have earned around $ 30 million for the past 30 years. A parliamentary enquiry called for a significant reduction of machines, and changing

172-623: A few items untouched. The railway was totally rebuilt over the railway formation and recommenced operation in 2002 as the Abt Wilderness Railway, and was known as the West Coast Wilderness Railway and operated by Federal Hotels until 2013. The company has been significant in Australian business history works as Geoffrey Blainey , the Australian historian, began his career with the writing of

215-662: A flood in 1974, with the new bridge just south of the original. As of June 2024, the railway was operating two services - the Lynchford Express from Queenstown and the Teepookana and the King service from Regatta Point. The full length of the track is currently undergoing maintenance, with the inner stations being renovated. On 4 February 2013 the Federal Group announced that it would be terminating its lease of

258-517: A focus on sharing the history of Tasmania 's West Coast , the original railway began operations in 1897 as the only link between Queenstown and the port of Strahan. The Mount Lyell Mining Co (reformed on 29 March 1893 as the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company ) began operations in November 1892. The railway officially opened in 1897, and again on 1 November 1899 when the line was extended from Teepookana to Regatta Point and Strahan. The railway

301-489: Is described as "a licence to print money". In the past the company has been known as both "Federal Hotels" or "Federal Hotels and Resorts". The Federal Group is owned and operated by the Farrell family, consisting of Greg Farrell (managing director), John Farrell (director of business development), Julia Farrell (director of interior design), Deborah Lee (née Farrell; board member) and Jane Farrell (board member). Federal

344-720: Is operated by the Abt Railway Ministerial Corporation, a State Government corporation. Most of the historical stopping places and named locations of the original railway line have been kept. The following list is made for the journey from Queenstown, and can be read in reverse for the trip from Regatta Point. The former owners and operators of the railway were the Federal Hotels group which also owns and operates other tourist operations in Strahan . The West Coast Wilderness Railway has three of

387-606: Is the oldest continually operating hotel group in Australia . Its origins can be traced to Melbourne in the 1880s. In June 1885, a company named The Federal Coffee Palace Company Limited built an elegant temperance establishment (‘Coffee Palace’) to coincide with the 1888 Centennial Exhibition. Seven stories high, it was the tallest building in Melbourne. It had 450 bedrooms and the largest dining room in Australia. During

430-660: The Puffing Billy Railway in Victoria with the other locomotives put on static display or in museums. With the removal of the railtrack the formation from Regatta Point came to be used by road vehicles for access to Lette's Bay and Lowana to the east. Most bridges remained intact but fell into disrepair, and the route was unsuitable for vehicle access beyond the Iron Bridge that crosses the King River at

473-635: The West Coast Range revisiting many of the smaller mines that had been worked on in the early 1900s. As a consequence the Mount Lyell company had utilised considerable resources on maintaining leases over areas of promising geology – as well as checking older mining locations on the west coast. At various stages it also shared costs and resources with other companies which would assist by investing in exploration by becoming partners in some leases. The operations were conducted in various parts of

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516-705: The Wrest Point Riviera Hotel in Sandy Bay, Hobart . During the late 1960s Federal initiated discussions with the Tasmanian Government about granting the Wrest Point Riviera Hotel Australia's first casino licence. The casino was initially conceived to address the seasonal nature of Tasmania’s tourism industry, designed to be an attraction that would entice visitors to the state all year round. In

559-607: The Abt Wilderness Railway, and was officially re-opened by Prime Minister John Howard and the State Premier Jim Bacon in 2003. The new terminus in Queenstown is on the site of the original station yard. The station at Regatta Point terminus has been renovated. The railway follows its original alignment except for the Quarter Mile Bridge near Teepookana. The old bridge was washed away in

602-868: The Depression of the late 1880s and early 1890s, the Coffee Palace lost significant amounts of money. This prompted its directors to obtain a liquor licence in order to attract more profitable clientele. The original coffee palace was renamed the Hotel Federal and it went on to become the cornerstone of what is now Federal Group. Over the next few decades Federal operated several hotels, including The Menzies, Savoy Plaza, The Windsor, Hotel Australia, Lennons Hotel in Brisbane and Hampton Court in Sydney. In 1956, Federal bought its first Tasmanian business –

645-540: The Mount Lyell Lease, and in the mid-1970s, prior to reduction in the workforce, "Cape Horn" was located just west of the "Comstock" operation which was on the north side of Mount Lyell, while most of the North Mount Lyell workings were finished, "12 West" was still in operation due to its rich copper ores. "West Lyell open cut" which had been dominant in the 1950s was finished, and various parts of

688-536: The Mount Lyell mining operations area in Queenstown, and at Regatta Point the line linked around the foreshore of Strahan to link with the Government Line to Zeehan . In 1936, the company owned six locomotives, three railcars, eight coaches and 131 goods wagons. The railway ceased operation on 10 August 1963 due to increasing maintenance costs and the improvement of road access to the West Coast from

731-545: The Queen River. The environmental impacts included: Smelting ended in the 1960s and CMT built a dam to contain tailings. Research by the Supervising Scientist published in 1997 overwhelmingly identified the lease site as the major source of acid drainage-related pollutants affecting the rivers and harbour, with metals contamination from tailing and slag deposits being very minor in comparison. Within

774-457: The WCWR was operating four itineraries from both Strahan and Queenstown either running the full length of the railway or sections of it. All tours include a number of stops to detrain and experience the forest floor, views etc. Two classes are offered - standard and heritage. COVID lockdowns saw service suspended. Operations are now restarting. Federal Hotels produced unattributed materials about

817-711: The West Coast, that some very committed local West Coast people campaigned for the restoration of the Abt Railway as a heritage tourist attraction featuring the unique rail system and the community's mining history. The restoration of the Abt Railway was made possible through the allocation of $ 20 million from the Federal Government's Prime Minister's Federal Fund, with further funding from the State Government and some private investment. The restored railway commenced operations on 27 December 2002 as

860-437: The beginning of the twentieth century, Mount Lyell was the major company for the communities of Queenstown, Strahan and Gormanston . It remained dominant until its closure in 1994. The Mount Lyell mining operations produced more than a million tonnes of copper, 750 tonnes of silver and 45 tonnes of gold since mining commenced in the early 1890s – which is equivalent to over 4 billion dollars worth of metal in 1995 terms. In

903-643: The company celebrated its centenary. At that stage it was known as the Copper Division of Renison Goldfields Consolidated Limited. The Mount Lyell Mining Field, and the various activities of the company in Queenstown and the west coast of Tasmania were celebrated throughout the community. Among the many individuals associated with the company during its long history were John Earle , Edward Braddon , Colin Syme , John Henry and Robert Sticht . The Mount Lyell Remediation and Research and Demonstration Program

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946-505: The company history The Peaks of Lyell , which has now progressed to its sixth edition. Also, due to circumstances at the winding up of Mount Lyell significant amounts of company records were deposited with Tasmanian state archives . Pollution of the Queen and King Rivers , and Macquarie Harbour was caused by the release of mine waste and effluent into the rivers. It is estimated that 100 million tonnes of tailings were disposed of into

989-528: The deal with Federal Group. It is estimated that clubs only take in 10-30% of all pokies losses, with the majority going to Federal Group, for which they pay a minimal amount to the government in taxes. In August 2017, Federal Group agreed to give up their monopoly on the poker machines, if in return they would receive a reduction in their taxes (which are already the lowest gambling taxes in Australia). The Liberal government also stated that they agree to

1032-692: The early stage of operations, Mount Lyell was surrounded by smaller competing leases and companies. Eventually they were all absorbed into Mount Lyell operations, or were closed down. In 1903 the North Mount Lyell Copper Company was taken over, and in 1912 the most severe calamity to visit the Mount Lyell company was the 1912 North Mount Lyell Disaster , also known at the time as the North Lyell fire. During its history, Mount Lyell had exploration leases surrounding its main mining area, and had at one time or other explored most of

1075-526: The five former Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company locomotives (1, 3 and 5) preserved in operational condition. Loco 2 came back to service in 2023 after completion of general repair. It also has two diesel locomotives . The passenger carriages were newly built when the line reopened in 2002, providing passenger comfort for year-round operation. The railway received an Engineering Heritage International Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program . Prior to COVID,

1118-463: The largest fireworks display ever seen in the country, and was televised through the Channel 7 network. American entertainer Jerry Lewis was the main guest artist. The initial response to the casino exceeded expectations. More than 2,000 people visited the casino on the first Sunday it opened. The hotel was booked out for the first 3 months. However, the reality of the casino soon set in. While it

1161-460: The late 2010s. The following locations were within the operating mine lease and indicate a separate orebody and operating life: Mount Lyell was also the operator of the 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge Queenstown to Regatta Point railway from 1899 to 1963, which used the Abt rack system of cog railway for steep sections. In 1963 most of the railway was removed, leaving only

1204-484: The lease site, the North Lyell Tunnel had water derived in part from underground workings and has approximately 78% of the lease site copper loading. Discharge from other tunnels and waste rock dumps accounts for 21%. The remaining 1% is from smaller sources. Downstream, chemical modelling and toxicological testing indicates that 95% to 99% of the acid drainage from the site must be neutralised or stemmed for

1247-474: The lease were disappearing into the opening above the "Prince Lyell" workings. Following the first large layoffs in the mid-1970s, the town of Queenstown lost its dominance on the west coast by the mid-1990s, and being mainly a company town many services closed by the 2000s, and the separate west Tasmanian local government authorities were amalgamated into the West Coast Council . On 29 March 1993

1290-590: The location of the early port of Teepookana. The steepest gradient on the rack section was 1 in 12 (8.33%). The line includes the steepest gradient climbed by a regular train in the Southern Hemisphere, between Dubbil Barril and Rinadeena. Despite various proposals post 1963, it was not until the 1990s after the demise of the main Mount Lyell Company mining operations, and the downgrading of Hydro Tasmania 's activities of dam building on

1333-491: The machines were Tasmanian residents. In 1979, Federal Group secured a second casino licence in Northern Tasmania. The Country Club Casino and Resort was opened in 1982 and the adjacent Country Club villas were acquired by the company some years later. Architects modelled the style and interior design of Country Club on the stately homes of America’s south. Former Chairman Greg Farrell senior had always admired

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1376-466: The north with the opening of the Murchison Highway . The last train run was hauled by the same locomotive that ran the first service (no.1 in 1896 was the first engine to steam into Queenstown). The rail and other movable items were lifted taken off-site, leaving most of the bridges intact. Following the closure of the railway, the rolling stock was dispersed with no. 5 and carriages going to

1419-535: The plan as dangerous and that it would lead to job losses, and said they would stop donating to the Labor Party. The Liberal Party mostly fell in line with Federal Group, even using Federal Group's own promotional material to attack Labor. Over half of the Liberal Party's declared donations, over $ 400,000, for the election were given to them by gambling interests. There has been wide spread support for

1462-529: The presence of the pokies but they will not necessarily grant those licences exclusively to Federal Group. In December 2017 the Labor Party opposition under its new leader, Rebecca White , announced that if elected they would phase out all poker machines from pubs and clubs by 2023. The reasons cited were the health implications, and that Tasmanians could not afford to lose the more than $ 110 million it loses every year. In response Federal Group attacked

1505-563: The railway and its history for travellers on the line. The most accessible recent writer regarding this railway is Lou Rae , as he has written a number of books about West Coast railways. In its latest edition: Some other works on the Mount Lyell Railway are :— 42°09′11″S 145°29′46″E  /  42.153°S 145.496°E  / -42.153; 145.496 Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company Following consolidation of leases and company assets at

1548-553: The railway in April 2013, the company citing a downturn in business and a need for investment in infrastructure had caused the railway to no longer be viable. The Tasmanian government responded by estimating that maintaining the railway would cost $ 15 to $ 20 million, and that the government alone could not fund it. Following track rehabilitation work, the railway re-opened between Queenstown and Dubbil Barril on 6 January 2014. It resumed operation along its full length on 14 December 2014. It

1591-583: The resultant water quality to meet downstream environmental quality objectives. Contaminated sediments in the King River and Macquarie Harbour contribute relatively little of the total pollutant load entering the harbour. Federal Group Federal Group is a privately owned family company which operates tourism, hospitality, retail, and a national sensitive freight company but is primarily known for their casino and gaming assets in Tasmania which

1634-770: The simple lines of the US Embassy building in Canberra and believed that the Georgian style would work well in the rural landscape of Launceston. The casino is now surrounded by suburbs and local neighbourhoods. With the monopoly over the poker machines in the state and all the data of where the most profitable locations were, Federal Group then purchased the 9/11 chain of bottle shops in 2006 to attach to these locations. In February 2024, Coles Liquor reached an agreement to acquire all 20 of Federal Group's 9/11 stores. The stores were subsequently rebranded as Liquorland . In

1677-651: The vote prior to the referendum, and the bill was passed as law. This process was also mired in allegations of corruption and bribery, especially with regards to Kevin Lyons , who held the balance of power. By a slim 6% majority, the establishment of a casino in Hobart was accepted and the Wrest Point Casino Licence and Development Act of 1968 was passed. On 10 February 1973 Australia’s first legal casino opened with great spectacle. The event featured

1720-489: Was acquired by Sterlite Industries, an Indian-based company, in 1999. As a consequence it is part of the Vedanta group of companies. Its concentrate material is shipped to India for processing. Government guidelines saw tailings dams created and special measures taken to prevent any further pollution of the rivers and harbour. Mining was suspended at Mount Lyell due to accidents in the 2010s and remains in mothball situation in

1763-431: Was conducted between 1994 and 1996 following the closing of the company, to reverse the ecological change upon the Queen and King Rivers , and Macquarie Harbour ; caused by the release of mine waste and effluent into the rivers. It is estimated that 100 million tonnes of tailings were disposed of into the Queen River. The Mount Lyell lease and mine was reopened by Copper Mines of Tasmania in 1995. This company in turn

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1806-410: Was initially supposed to be an entertainment and convention centre with a small casino, the casino soon took over the building with many poker machines filling the complex. The restrictions around the casino and the presence of poker machines in the community were gradually lifted, until they were widespread. The expected boon to tourism also disappeared as the vast majority of the significant losses at

1849-412: Was the only way to get copper from the mine at Queenstown to markets. Until 1932, when a Hobart road link was completed, it was the only access through to Queenstown. The railway utilised the Abt rack and pinion system for steep sections. Because of the gradients, tonnages were always limited on the railway. The gauge is 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ). The original line continued into

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