The Cairns - Kuranda Railway took five gruelling years to build. It all started back in 1882 when the miners in Herberton started to voice their concerns at not having enough supplies and starvation was setting in. Can’t image why they would be worried? The first sod wasn’t turned for the railway until 1886, with the final bolt hammered in on the Stony Creek Bridge, June 1891. To this day it is still one of the most amazing engineering feats because the railway carves its way through dense jungle, cliff faces, and swamps. The specs after 2.3 million tonnes of dirt were removed; 75km of railway track, 15 tunnels for you to play the ‘hold your breath’ game, and many bridges for trolls to hide under. It was really a team effort to get the job done with a lot of dynamite, and work by hand, all for 90 cents per worker, per day.
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