[3] Queensland's first railway line, opened on 31 July 1865, ran between Ipswich and Grandchester, approximately 35 km (21.7 mi)[a] to the town's west.

[5][6][4] By the time the line to Grandchester opened, plans were already well underway to extend it over the Great Dividing Range to provide access to the agriculturally rich Darling Downs.

However, the Al0 Nelson locomotives imported from England struggled with the gradient and were limited to loads of no more than 58 tons between Murphy's Creek and Toowoomba.

[citation needed] Following the opening of the Redbank Railway Workshops in 1958 for its diesel fleet and with stream locomotives being phased out of service in the 1960s.

[citation needed] Despite its heritage status, The Workshops is still a functioning maintenance facility for Queensland Railways.

The original plan of six locomotives increased to fourteen - the Queensland Railways Heritage Fleet - and coincided with the Ipswich Rotary Club's plan to relocate and preserve A10 locomotive A10 no.3 and two carriages that had previously been on displayed at Countess Street in Brisbane city to Ipswich.

The museum was entirely outdoors, except for a small shed containing the curator's office and a souvenir shop, with the locomotives exposed to the weather.

[10][11] In 1991, due to concerns about security of and to prevent further deterioration to the locomotives, as well as workplace health and safety issues, the decision was taken to close the collection to the public.

During World War II, the Foundry also produced various metal casings and fittings for ships of the Royal Australian Navy.

[9][12] Construction commenced in 1901 by contractor D. D. Carrick with equipment from the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company provided by Noyes Brothers of Sydney and took a little over a year to complete.

The system generated 2-phase 60-cycle Ac current with sufficient power for about 200 electric motors, and was also provided to Ipswich Railway Station and the shunting yard on the south side of the Bremer River.

Each day when the lunchtime whistle - located on the front of the Power House - sounded, hundreds of workers poured into the hall to buy a three-course lunch.

During World War I more than three hundred men from the workshops enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), of which thirty-one did not return.

[3] The Workshops is laid out in 'zones' that "showcase the social, technical and cultural impacts rail transport and travel have had on our lives".

[9] The museum's collection contains diesel and steam locomotives and pieces of other rolling stock from Queensland Rail as well as various private operators.

[citation needed] The Workshops has a large number of steam locomotives on display, some of which operate heritage trains.