About the Derwent Valley Railway

The Derwent Valley Railway Preservation Society Inc (DVR) was formed in 1990 to preserve Tasmanian railway heritage through the operation of a tourist railway. It purchased the assets of the Tasmanian Locomotive Company, which had been operating excursion trains on the Derwent Valley Line.

The Society established its operating base at New Norfolk in 1993, after initially operating from the yard adjacent to the Cadbury factory at Claremont.

The Derwent Valley Line, initially opened in 1887, was closed beyond New Norfolk in 1995. The Line remained under Government ownership, and in 1999 the DVR reopened the track to Hayes, in 2000 to Westerway and in 2003, to National Park.

In October 2005, Pacific National, who had taken over commercial running of the Tasmanian Rail network, closed the Derwent Valley Line west of New Norfolk. In May 2006, a new agreement between Pacific National and the Tasmanian Government saw the return of all tracks and rail infrastructure to Government control.

Although we haven’t been able to run trains since 2005, the DVR has been anything but idle. The locomotives, carriages and other rolling stock in our collection have been undergoing significant refurbishment. Our many and varied activities are performed entirely by a dedicated team of volunteers.

In December 2021, the Tasmanian Government granted the Society a lease to operate on a little 500m of the rail corridor between Third Ave and Back River Rd, New Norfolk.

At this stage, it is anticipated that heritage passenger trains will run again in the first half of 2025, provided the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator is satisfied that we have in place all the systems necessary to ensure safe and sustainable railway operations.