Downs Explorer

The Downs Explorer offers heritage rail journeys through the Southern Downs and Granite Belt, operating from Warwick's former historic Locomotive Depot in Hamilton Street. Based at what's now called the Warwick Railway Precinct, this tourist railway runs vintage carriages hauled by C17 steam and DH45 diesel locomotives along some of Queensland's most scenic agricultural country. The service provides a working rail museum experience, with the depot itself open for visits on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Regular tours travel from Warwick to destinations including Stanthorpe, Wallangarra, Clifton, Wheatvale, Hendon and Toowoomba, with special long-weekend excursions extending to Miles, Goondiwindi and across the border to Tenterfield in New South Wales. Popular Warwick-to-Stanthorpe and Ballandean trips include options for a regional winery tour or Girraween National Park bus excursion, both paired with a two-course lunch. The restored carriages and authentic locomotives deliver what the operators describe as a unique heritage railway experience, rolling through the productive farming country and elevated terrain that characterises this corner of the Darling Downs.