The Byron Bay Railroad Company train service is now open! The solar train was officially launched on 16 December 2017 and locals love it…
There’s capacity for 100 seated passengers, additional standing passengers, wheelchair access and luggage room for bikes, prams and surfboards. The train runs a return shuttle service for the three kilometre journey between North Beach Station in Sunrise Beach and the Byron Beach platform adjacent to the Shirley Street level crossing.
Byron Bay Railroad Company has restored a derelict heritage train for the job, and also repaired three kilometres of railway line and a bridge, reinvigorating a section of derelict rail corridor. Solar panels on the train and train storage shed generate the amount of energy required to operate the train daily, charging the on-board battery bank. The solar charged batteriesare designed to operate all the systems including traction power, lighting, control circuits and air compressors. The custom designed curved solar panels on the roof of the train combined with the solar array on the storage shed roof generate sufficient energy to power the train and the regenerative braking system recovers around 25% of the spent energy each time the brakes are applied.
In the case of prolonged lack of sunshine the on-board batteries can be charged from the grid supply using 100% green energy from local community based energy retailer Enova Energy.
This diagram outlines the solar conversion components and how the system works.
The two carriage rail set was originally constructed as the first of ten 600 class sets at the Chullora Railway Workshops, Sydney in 1949. Following the war and with the massive influx of European immigrants, transporting people around the state was critical, so the Workshops innovatively used aluminium aircraft technology from their war efforts to produce high performance yet lightweight trains.
The train runs along 3km of track which is part of the 132km Casino to Murwillumbah line. This line once connected the town of Casino, which is on the Sydney to Brisbane line, with Lismore, Byron Bay, Mullumbimby, Murwillumbah and dozens of towns and villages in between.
Now, with the advent of the solar train, part of that line lives again.
0 – 5 years free
6 – 13 years $2
14+ years $3
For a one way journey
Contact:
02 8123 2130
