Next stop is Ifracombe just 27 kms south of Longreach. It is a town whose heart pumps history, putting its soul on display even to the point of being a little absurd - well everyone has a hub cap museum don't they! As you drive into town one of the world's longest museums peels away down the main street. This is the Machinery Mile and Heritage Display where you will be able to trace the history of pastoral and community development from early walking beam drilling rigs to early graders, tractors, pumps and fireploughs- just about every bit of heavy metal needed establish a sheep station, make a town and keep the roads passable. It graphically displays the challanges faced by earlt pioneers. Just down the road is the Qantas Founders Museum. The first airline to fly around the world. When you see some of the really early models you wonder how they got off the ground but when you compare the latest addition to the museum - retired Boeing 747 - and the size of it , you again wonder how it ever got off the ground! Weight on landing at Longreach was 185 tonnes - but it had to be stripped of many internal features to be able to land safely at Longreach on 16th November 2002. Maximum takeoff weight is 377.84 tonnes