Minnivale Rail and Heritage Centre

A collection of rail carriages in a disused wheatbin

Have you ever wondered what was inside the large silver wheat bins which litter the Wheatbelt landscape? Wonder no more! Step inside a decommissioned wheatbin which houses a collection of rail carriages. The Minnivale Wheat Bin opened in 1964 as a bulk handling wheat facility. A railway line goes into the centre of the wheat bin. This is a new addition to the bin and was installed to get the locomotive and carriages into the museum. Rail carriages were once filled with grain, from a siding rail, which went alongside the wheatbin. Amongst the rolling stock on display, you can see a ‘bogie van,’ a type of rail wagon made in Western Australia for bulk handling grain and an original diesel locomotive used on the Wheatbelt railway lines. There is even a Kalamazoo, a hand motion pump cart, in the collection, which sits on train tracks.

Address:

Hewitt Street
Minnivale WA 6462
Australia

Opening Hours
Contact the Dowerin District Museum on the numbers provided
Dowerin trolley

The spelling on this trolley is probably the closest to how a local might pronounce Dowerin. Local train stations in Western Australia had their own locally branded trolleys, to ensure they didn't go...

Do you smell rabbit?

This rail carriage was used for carrying rabbit carcasses to Perth. In the early 1900s rabbit populations had reached plague proportions and by the 1920s there was a large industry in trapping rabbits...

Green engine

An important part of WA rail history sits quietly on the tracks in the Minnivale wheat bin. The AB 1535 diesel locomotive is a slight modification of the original A class built in the 1960s. There...

More Golden Outback collections

A large museum for a small town

The Mt. Magnet Mining and Pastoral Museum celebrates its mining and pastoral history over several buildings. The sheer scale of the restored Hill 50 Winder in one of the sheds is impressive, whilst...

A meeting place between the Goldfields and the Wheatbelt

A visit to the Yilgarn Museum is a journey through the history of Southern Cross, which is sometimes referred to as the gateway to the Goldfields region. The museum building is the original courthouse...

Walk through the lense of the Big Camera, into a world of cameras.

Walk through the lens of the Big Camera to be transfixed by wall-to-wall cameras! This is believed to be the largest working camera display in the Southern hemisphere. It is a place to learn about the...

Town hall houses an intimate collection

This intimate collection provides an insight into the innovation and flavour of country-life. Learn about local inventors and sports people and town history. Pingelly Museum and Historical Group is...

While you're in the area

Filter
Dowerin Short Stay Accommodation & Caravan Park
Accommodation
Dowerin Short Stay Accommodation & Caravan Park
Dowerin is a one stop shop for visitors and is only a 2 hour scenic drive...
Corner of Fraser Street and East Street, Dowerin, WA 6461
Dowerin Museum
Attraction
Dowerin Museum
The Dowerin Museum offers visitors an opportunity to see what life on the...
16 Cottrell Street, Dowerin, WA 6461
Wyalkatchem CBH Agricultural Museum
Attraction
Wyalkatchem CBH Agricultural Museum
The Wyalkatchem CBH Museum is a fine collection of agricultural history...
Lot 1500 Railway Terrace, Wyalkatchem, WA 6485