With a toot of the horn on its iconic steam engine, the Mary Valley Rattler will start celebrating the Australia Day long weekend early this year, with the Aussie Express Twilight Train departing the historic Gympie Station at 5:30pm on Friday 25th January.

It’s the first time the iconic heritage railway experience will mark the occasion since returning to regular services in October last year, and a rare opportunity to enjoy a very special trip on the Mary Valley Rattler at night.

Mary Valley Rattler Chairman Ian McNicol said the Aussie Express will be just the second time the popular tourism attraction has run a night-time passenger service, after running a similar return journey to Amamoor in mid-December.

By popular demand, iconic tourist attraction the Mary Valley Rattler announced today it will start Retro Fridays, a fun filled journey every Friday morning aboard the gleaming 1960’s Silver Bullet railmotor with complimentary breakfast or lunch.

As part of a trial, every Friday 10am, the beautifully restored Silver Bullet diesel railmotor will travel a portion of the Mary Valley heritage rail corridor on a return trip to nearby Monkland, a suburb on the north-east bank of the Mary River home to the Gympie Gold Mining and Historical Museum.

With a meal included in the ticket price, passengers will also enjoy either a delicious breakfast or lunch from Platform No. 1 Café prior to or after travelling.

At 30 minutes for a roundtrip, Mary Valley Rattler Chairman Ian McNicol said Retro Fridays are an ideal way to sample just some of the magic of heritage rail travel the Mary Valley Rattler is known for.