These were: Sunlander (Brisbane to Cairns), Inlander (Townsville to Mt Isa), Midlander (Rockhampton to Longreach and Winton), Westlander (Brisbane to Charleville).
There are many remarkable stories about these 'lander' trains which were at the height of modern technology when launched with matching colour schemes of diesel locomotive and carriages of blue, white with apricot strip (Sunshine State).
Speed was never the highlight of these 'lander' trains as they transversed slow narrow rail track with a maximum speed of 50 miles an hour (80 kilometres). Do the maths, it's a long way from Brisbane to Cairns.
The book "Great Rail Non-Journeys in Australia" by Colin Taylor who at the time of writing it in 1986 was associate professor in the Department of Regional and Town Planning at the University of Queensland, cited this humourous story.
He quoted that a man of the cloth spoke to the stationmaster at Earlesfield Junction that Queensland Railways were mentioned in the Bible. "In Genesis it says: 'And the Lord God made everything that creepeth and crawleth on the face of the earth'. The RailPage fan commented that Queensland Railways could take comfort from the fact that "God saw that it was good."
http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11347677-next.htm
In my book, 'From the Driver's Seat' (published in 1989) which details 14 train trips, describes driving a train as if on the locomotive's driver's seat. One article was written by retired driver Allan Davies who details the Sunlander trip from Brisbane's Roma Street Railway Station to Maryborough.
There are two VHS and DVD videos in my library which covers these 'lander' trains. '40 years of Queensland Diesels' and 'Diesels of Queensland Railways.' Both illustrate these 'lander' trains as they travel along, and some of the footage is from the locomotive cabin.
There are very different Queensland trains now available such as the Tilt Trains (Cairns to Brisbane) and various similar high speed trains on the coastal run from Brisbane to major regional centres such as Gympie, Maryborough, Bundaberg, Gladstone and Rockhampton.
The 'lander' trains nonetheless still run, largely as tourist experiences. These still hold the nostalgia and the magic of a past era.
