About the Derwent Valley Railway

The Derwent Valley Railway Preservation Society (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, who 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 the Cadburys factory at Claremont.

The Derwent Valley line was closed beyond New Norfolk in 1995, at which time the DVR operated to other destinations.

Although the line remained under Government ownership, in 1999 the DVR reopened the line to Hayes, in 2000 to Westerway and then to National Park in 2003.

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.

Despite last being able to run trains in 2005, DVR has been anything but idle. The locomotives, carriages and other rolling stock in our collection have been undergoing refurbishment.

In December 2021, the state government provided DVR with a lease to operate on 500m of line in-between Third Ave and Back River Rd. Plans are to re-commence operation to the public in Q3 2022.