By 1866 Curnow had settled in
Ipswich,
Queensland, as a railway storekeeper, a position made necessary by the opening of the
Ipswich-Grandchester railway line. He was promoted in January 1877 to the position of Chief Clerk in the Railway Commissioner's Office, a position second only to that of the Commissioner. The offices for the staff of the Secretary for Railways in Queensland were established on the grounds of the original Brisbane Terminal Station at Roma Street, possibly in the early
Brisbane Grammar School, resumed for railway purposes. In January 1884 Curnow was promoted to be the position of Acting Commissioner for Railways and on 12 March 1885 was again promoted to the position of
Commissioner for Railways. Curnow was the third person to hold this position, superseding
Arthur Orpen Herbert who became the Under Secretary for Railways. During the time of Curnow's employment as Commissioner of Railways, the Railways Act (1888) was introduced to create a Board of three Commissioners to oversee decision making in the railways, in a bid to reduce political influence. The appointment of the Board of Commissioners on 29 July 1889 prompted Francis Curnow to retire from the railways with a pension of . He was soon after appointed Chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Commission, a position he held until shortly before his death. == Personal life ==