Melba Line: Difference between revisions

Melba Line
Melba Line
	The Melba Line at Rosebery
Overview
Status	Open
Owner	Government of Tasmania
Locale	West Coast, Tasmania
Termini	Burnie; Melba Flats (current); Zeehan (original);
Stations	3
Service
Type	Heavy rail
Operator(s)	TasRail
History
Opened	1 February 1878 (1st stage); 21 December 1900 (in full)
Technical
Line length	130 km (81 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) (after relaying)
Highest elevation	670 m (2,200 ft)
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	Waratah Line
	to Waratah
	Hellyer Line
	to Hellyer Mine
	Mount Dundas Line
	to Mount Dundas
	Strahan Line
	to Strahan
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

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Revision as of 09:10, 14 November 2019

The Melba Line is a 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge railway on the West Coast of Tasmania. The line was originally constructed as a private railway line named the Emu Bay Railway and was one of the longest-lasting and most successful private railway companies in Australia. While at present the line travels from Burnie to Melba Flats, it previously ran through to Zeehan carrying minerals and passengers as an essential service for the West Coast community.

History

In the 1870s, the Van Diemen's Land Company engaged John C. Climie to undertake a survey of a line from near Burnie to Mount Bischoff.^[1] On 1 February 1878 a 71 kilometres (44 mi), horse drawn wooden tramway opened from Emu Bay (Burnie) to Rouse’s Camp, near Waratah to serve the Mount Bischoff tin mines.^[2] In 1887, the line was taken over by the Emu Bay to Mount Bischoff Railway Company and relaid with steel rails as 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge railway line to allow steam locomotives to operate.^[3] In 1897 the Emu Bay Railway Company took over the line, extending it 60 kilometres to Zeehan on 21 December 1900.^[4]^[5]

Following the opening of the Murchison Highway, the line was closed between Rosebery and Zeehan in August 1965.^[6] After being sold in 1967 to EZ Industries, the line was upgraded to carry heavier trains and in January 1970 reopened from Rosebery to Melba Flats.^[7] During the construction of the Pieman River hydro electric scheme in the late 1970s the line was diverted in places and new bridges were built.

The Melba Line was included in the October 1984 sale of EZ Industries to North Broken Hill Peko, which in 1988 merged with CRA Limited to form Pasminco. In 1989 an 11 kilometre branch opened from Moorey Junction to serve Aberfoyle’s Hellyer Mine. On 22 May 1998, the line was sold by Pasminco to the Australian Transport Network and integrated into its Tasrail business.^[5]^[8]^[9]^[10] In February 2004 it was included in the sale of Tasrail to Pacific National and in September 2009 to the government owned TasRail.^[11]

Stopping places

At its peak as a steam operation the railway had approximately 23 stopping or named places (including names for watering locations and other passenger operation related points) on its line and adjacent lines:

Burnie
Pigeon Hill
Ridgley
Highclere
Hampshire
Ringwood
Toronna
Wey River Bridge
Guildford - junction to the Mount Bischoff tin mine
- Rouse's Camp (Mount Bischoff branch line)
- Magnet Junction (Mount Bischoff branch line)
- Waratah (Mount Bischoff branch line)
- Mount Magnet (Magnet Tramway)
Muddy Creek
Bulgobac
Boko
Farrell Junction with the North Mount Farrell Tramway to Tullah, now known as the Wee Georgie Wood Railway
Primrose
Barkers Crossing
Rosebery
Renison Bell
Argent Tunnel
Melba Flats
- Junction with the North East Dundas Tramway to Montezuma and Williamsford on the southern slopes of Mount Read
Rayna Junction - junction with the Maestris or Mount Dundas – Zeehan Railway
Zeehan

Beyond Zeehan the Tasmanian Government Railways line continued to Regatta Point to connect with the Mount Lyell line to Queenstown.

Notes

^ TASMANIA. HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. TRAMWAY : (No. 90.) Report on Survey of proposed by Mr. J. C. Climie, CE. laid upon the Table by the Minister of Lands, and ordered by the House to be printed, 16 August 1882
^ Fenton, James (1884). The History of Tasmania From its Discovery in 1642 to the Present Time. p. 391.
^ "Railway from Emu Bay to Mount Bischoff". Sydney Morning Herald. 1 August 1887 – via Google News.
^ "Emu Bay Railway Company Annual Meeting". The Age. 30 March 1901 – via Google News.
^ ^a ^b Oberg, Leon (2010). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-2010. Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 109, 330. ISBN 9781921719011.
^ "Emu Bay Railway Act 1965". Government of Tasmania. 22 June 1965.
^ "Emu Bay". The Age. 23 August 1968 – via Google News.
^ "ATN grabs Emu Bay". The Examiner. 7 April 1998.
^ "Tasrail to take over Emu Bay Railway". Railway Digest. May 1998. p. 16.
^ Tranz Rail Holdings (22 May 1998). "ATN Officially Adds Emu Bay Rail Operation to Its Tasrail Business" (Press release) – via PRNewswire.
^ "Emu Bay Railway (Operations & Acquisition Act) 2009". Government of Tasmania. 27 October 2009.

References

Along the Line in Tasmania. Book 2. Private Lines. Traction Publications. 1972. ISBN 0-85829-003-0.
Atkinson, H.K. (1991). Railway Tickets of Tasmania. ISBN 0-9598718-7-X.
Blainey, Geoffrey (2000). The Peaks of Lyell (6th ed.). Hobart: St. David's Park Publishing. ISBN 0-7246-2265-9.
Lou Rae (1997). The Emu Bay Railway. ISBN 0-9592098-6-7.

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 ==History==
-In the 1870s, the [[Van Diemen's Land Company]] engaged [[John C. Climie]] to undertake a survey of a line from near [[Burnie]] to [[Mount Bischoff]].<ref>TASMANIA. HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. TRAMWAY : (No. 90.) Report on Survey of proposed by Mr. J. C. Climie, CE. laid upon the Table by the Minister of Lands, and ordered by the House to be printed, 16 August 1882</ref> On 1 February 1878 a {{convert|71|km|mi}}, horse drawn wooden tramway opened from Emu Bay (Burnie) to Rouse’s Camp, near [[Waratah, Tasmania|Waratah]] to serve the [[Mount Bischoff]] tin mines.<ref>{{cite book|authorlink=James Fenton (farmer)| first=James| last=Fenton|title=The History of Tasmania From its Discovery in 1642 to the Present Time|date=1884|page=391}}</ref> In 1887, the line was taken over by the Emu Bay to Mount Bischoff Railway Company and [[Track gauge conversion|relaid]] with [[steel]] [[Rail profile|rails]] as {{Track gauge|1067mm|lk=on}} gauge railway line to allow [[steam locomotive]]s to operate.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=18870801&id=gvtjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3ZUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6237,2395785&hl=en| title=Railway from Emu Bay to Mount Bischoff| newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald| date=1 August 1887| via=Google News}}</ref> In 1897 the [[Emu Bay Railway]] Company took over the line, extending it 60 kilometres to [[Zeehan]] on 21 December 1900.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19010330&id=vedhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=g5EDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4567,5745083&hl=en| title=Emu Bay Railway Company Annual Meeting| newspaper=The Age| date=30 March 1901| via=Google News}}</ref><ref name=Oberg>{{cite book|last=Oberg|first=Leon|title=Locomotives of Australia 1850s-2010|year=2010|publisher=Rosenberg Publishing|location=Dural|isbn=9781921719011|pages=109, 330}}</ref>
+In the 1870s, the [[Van Diemen's Land Company]] engaged [[John C. Climie]] to undertake a survey of a line from near [[Burnie]] to [[Mount Bischoff]].<ref>TASMANIA. HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. TRAMWAY : (No. 90.) Report on Survey of proposed by Mr. J. C. Climie, CE. laid upon the Table by the Minister of Lands, and ordered by the House to be printed, 16 August 1882</ref> On 1 February 1878 a {{convert|71|km|mi}}, horse drawn wooden tramway opened from Emu Bay (Burnie) to Rouse’s Camp, near [[Waratah, Tasmania|Waratah]] to serve the [[Mount Bischoff]] tin mines.<ref>{{cite book|authorlink=James Fenton (farmer)| first=James| last=Fenton|title=The History of Tasmania From its Discovery in 1642 to the Present Time|url=https://archive.org/details/ahistorytasmani00walkgoog|date=1884|page=391}}</ref> In 1887, the line was taken over by the Emu Bay to Mount Bischoff Railway Company and [[Track gauge conversion|relaid]] with [[steel]] [[Rail profile|rails]] as {{Track gauge|1067mm|lk=on}} gauge railway line to allow [[steam locomotive]]s to operate.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=18870801&id=gvtjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3ZUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6237,2395785&hl=en| title=Railway from Emu Bay to Mount Bischoff| newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald| date=1 August 1887| via=Google News}}</ref> In 1897 the [[Emu Bay Railway]] Company took over the line, extending it 60 kilometres to [[Zeehan]] on 21 December 1900.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19010330&id=vedhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=g5EDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4567,5745083&hl=en| title=Emu Bay Railway Company Annual Meeting| newspaper=The Age| date=30 March 1901| via=Google News}}</ref><ref name=Oberg>{{cite book|last=Oberg|first=Leon|title=Locomotives of Australia 1850s-2010|year=2010|publisher=Rosenberg Publishing|location=Dural|isbn=9781921719011|pages=109, 330}}</ref>
 Following the opening of the [[Murchison Highway]], the line was closed between [[Rosebery, Tasmania|Rosebery]] and Zeehan in August 1965.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.thelaw.tas.gov.au/tocview/content.w3p;doc_id=17++1965+AT@EN+20090920000000;rec=0| title=Emu Bay Railway Act 1965| website=Government of Tasmania| date=22 June 1965}}</ref> After being sold in 1967 to [[Electrolytic Zinc|EZ Industries]], the line was upgraded to carry heavier trains and in January 1970 reopened from Rosebery to [[Melba Flats]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19680823&id=eP1UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dJMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2612,3930833&hl=en| title=Emu Bay| newspaper=The Age| date=23 August 1968| via=Google News}}</ref> During the construction of the [[Pieman River Power Development|Pieman River hydro electric scheme]] in the late 1970s the line was diverted in places and new bridges were built.

Melba Line: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:10, 14 November 2019

History

Stopping places

See also

Notes

References

Further reading