Miniature Steam Trains

Our toddler son is crazy about trains. When we were in Brisbane, we found this place where the Lions Club had their minature steam trains operating and bringing people along for rides. It was heaven for our son.

The train rides are available every last Sunday of the month in one of the parks. The railway tracks go around the park. There were a total of 5-6 mini steam trains in operation and each of them could carry passengers up to 8 persons. The steam trains had to stop to load coal and water upon completion of one round around the park. Despite their miniature size, they could move as fast as 10km/hr with passengers!

The queue was long when we arrived and had to wait for almost 20 mins before we could get on. The Lions Club sold donuts, hotdog sandwiches and refreshments. They also had tents selling handicrafts as well.

We had much fun riding on those trains. Our son managed to get onto 3 rides. He was happy just to see his Thomas and Friends chuffing along. They had "Salty", "Emily", "Thomas", "Donald & Douglas", " Annie & Clarabel" and "Henry" in operations that day.

Queensland Spanner Crabs

I had lots of nice food when I was in Brisbane. We ate some good authentic Hong Kong Dim Sum from Landmark, Sunnybank; good steaks at Normans Hotel but the best is still the delicious spanner crabs.

Spanner crabs are named after their spanner like claws. They are mostly found in the sandy beaches along Queensland, NSW and South Australia. Unlike mud crabs, spanner crabs could walk foreward and backward (not sideways) plus they are already reddish orange even before they are cooked.

Below are some photos that show how big they are and their unique shell designs. I am sure future sci-fi movie producers would use their figures for some alien characters.