Souvenir Book “The Buderim-Palmwoods Tramway”

This sensational publication has now gone out of print and there are no copies left for sale. Featuring over 200 illustrated pages of information on the Tramway, the book proved very popular.

Proceeds went to the support of the group’s ongoing projects.

 Both authors are long time Buderim residents with Neil instigating the original research which led to the formation of BPHTI. Neil has concentrated his energies on establishing a public walking track on a section of the actual tramway path.

Supported by a dedicated group of BHPTI volunteers, Garth has applied his engineering skills to the cosmetic restoration of the Krauss locomotive that was used on the tramway. The book gives a short history of the settlement of Buderim from its beginnings in the 1860s, and explains how the local people were successful in getting a tramway built to link them to the main Brisbane line at Palmwoods.

The tram ran from 1914 to 1935, before competition from road transport forced its closure. The book has a section covering the recent development of the Heritage Walking Track over a part of the original tram’s right-of-way left in Council’s hands. This section also covers the formation of the BPHTI in 2003 to promote and oversee the track development and the restoration of one of the original locomotives.

The final section covers in some detail the process of restoring the original Krauss locomotive from its condition in 2004 as a rusting hulk to its present fully restored state ready for its display in Central Buderim. Many photographs of both the Heritage Walking Track and of the process of restoration of the locomotive are included.