Iconic heritage railway Ida Bay nursed back to life and up for sale

ICONIC Ida Bay Railway is on the market for the first time in 12 years as the owner looks to the next stage in her life.

IDA Bay Railway owner Meg Thornton is on the move.

The indefatigable 78-year-old former nurse who brought the historical rail experience back to life is, regrettably, selling up.

“It’s time. Everything changes and this place needs someone with new energy,’’ Meg said.

Ida Bay is one of the last bush tramways in Australia and the only one in Tasmania. It was opened in 1919 to transport limestone from Lune River to a jetty at Ida Bay, in Tasmania’s far south.

Meg Thornton has owned the iconic Ida Bay Railway for 12 years and is now set to sell. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

The State Government bought the line in 1977 when the limestone quarry closed.

The distinctive red, open-air carriages wind through tea tree scrub and eucalypts on a narrow track that was originally made of wood.

Tourism operators who leased the railway struggled to make a profit and the line closed — until Meg came along in 2004. Meg’s husband had died in NSW that year and she was in Tasmania with her son to visit a relative.

“I just saw historic railway on the map. We went and it was closed and had a for-sale sign on it.

“We didn’t come looking for it.”

Meg signed the lease and started nursing at the Dover Multi Purpose Centre.

The 78-year-old has nursed all her life and says it’s “a wonderful profession”.

Ida Bay Railway owner Meg Thornton is selling the business she has owned for 12 years. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

While she nursed she also worked hard to get the Ida Bay Railway up and running with her son Alan.

Alan has since passed away and Meg and her grandson Nathan continue to pour all their energy and resources into the railway, which now has a cafe and a shop, and attracts visitors from around Australia.

“We’ve achieved a huge amount,” Meg said.

“I might be a bit slower but I love Tasmania — I’ll never leave.

Meg says she had wonderful support from the Tasmanian people — “half our visitors come from Tasmania”.

But it’s been hard to find others who have shared her vision for improving the railway. And that is what has led to her decision to sell her dream and spend more time with her 12 grandchildren and 16 grandchildren. Meg says she hopes that the Huon Valley will be taken seriously “as a great destination.”