Eastern Railway (Western Australia)

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Eastern Railway (Western Australia)

Legend 0 mi Fremantle 0.5 mi Fremantle North 1.25 mi Fremantle East 6 mi Claremont 9 mi Subiaco 11.5 mi Perth, North 12 mi Perth 12.5 mi Perth, East 20 mi Guildford Forrestfield freight line Upper Darling Range Railway Bellvue Helena Vale Racecourse Greenmount Boya Darlington 29 mi Glen Forrest Nyaania Mahogany Creek Zamia Mundaring Mundaring Weir Branch Line 35 mi Sawyers Valley Swan View Tunnel Junction Swan View Tunnel National Park Hovea Parkerville Stoneville 38.75 mi Mt Helena 41.23 mi Chidlow Wooroloo Werribee Wundowie Coates Baker's Hill Clackline Mokine Spencer's Brook Spring Hill Northam Eastern Goldfields Railway Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta via Trans-Australian Railway

current line where it leaves the Swan coastal plain and follows the Avon River through the Darling Scarp to Toodyay

Eastern Railway is the name given to the railway constructed east of Fremantle, Western Australia, in the 19th century.

It was later changed to the line east of Perth, Western Australia, as the line progressed east in the 1880s. Perth was then the location from which miles were measured.

[edit] First section

Eastern Rail reserve in Bellevue. Looking east from near the site of the Bellevue station, behind is Greenmount

The first section of the Eastern Railway, from Fremantle to Guildford, remained generally unchanged since it was opened on 1 March 1881.

Source: West Australian Government Gazette of 1885, January 5th

[edit] First Route

The First Route was opened on 11 March 1884. The route ascended the escarpment around Greenmount Hill passing through Boya, Darlington, Glen Forrest, Mundaring and Sawyers Valley before turning north to White's Mill. A significant delay in construction was experienced at a site which became popularly known as 'Devil's Terror' - a location between Darlington and Glen Forrest. The Nyaania Creek had to be diverted at this point.

Source: West Australian Government Gazette of 1885, January 5th

It soon became apparent that this route was too steep for the increasingly heavier trains and engines required for the route. As a result, another route was quickly devised in the 1890's.

After the completion of the Second Route, this line became known in Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) records as the Smith's Mill Branch, then the Mundaring Branch, and later as the Mundaring Loop.

Passenger traffic ceased between Boya and Mount Helena on 24 January 1954 and the route was closed from Koongamia - Mount Helena on 12 March 1965.

The current condition of the stations on this route today are as follows:

The Eastern Railway was then later extended beyond Northam to the Kalgoorlie goldfields. The line was known as the Eastern Goldfields Railway.

[edit] Second Route

Also known as the Parkerville deviation, Second Route via Swan View, John Forrest National Park, Hovea, Parkerville and Stoneville, through to Mt Helena opened on 1 July 1896, within a decade after the First Route. Its grades were less strenuous and the line didn't suffer from the more serious problems of the first route. The line was originally only a single track and featured Western Australia's first (and only until 1990) railway tunnel. As traffic increased the newer route was duplicated, with the second track bypassing the tunnel, resulting in a slightly longer journey for trains heading across the Darling Scarp. The Second Route eventually closed on 13 February 1966.

A grain train on the Eastern Railway near Bells Rapids at Brigadoon.

[edit] Third Route

The Indian Pacific passing under Great Eastern Highway in Bellevue

In the 1950s, it became clear to the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) that the original Eastern Railway alignments were not suitable for future traffic and the loadings that were to be carried between the coast and the areas east of the Darling Scarp.

It was not until the 1960s that a new eastern railway route was commissioned to run through the Avon Valley, further north than existing Eastern Railway alignments. The Third route was Originally built with timber sleepers and 94lb rail. It was later upgraded using heavy (60kg) continuously welded rail laid on new concrete sleepers during the late 1970's through into the early 1980's. It features much milder grades and is designed for faster train speeds.

It is a dual gauge (Stevenson standard gauge and Anglo Cape 3' 6" narrow gauge) double line throughout its entirety, also including a few crossing loop sections, where there are 3 tracks. These loops are located at Jumperkine, Moondyne and Toodyay West. Numerous cuttings were also constructed, including the deep Windmill Hill Cutting east of Toodyay.

This new route was opened on 13 February 1966 and coincided with the closure of the earlier two routes of the Eastern Railway. The line is still operational and is used by all rail freight to the east as well as the Transwa Prospector and Transwa Avonlink running frequently on the route.

[edit] Current conditions

The original Eastern Railway alignments still survive today, in the form of a shared path used for cycling, horse riding and walking. Over 80 km remain as a path, all the way from Bellevue near Midland right through to Clackline. The original section from Fremantle to Perth to Midland is still in use as part of Transperth's suburban rail network and the Western Australian rail freight network (see also: WestNet Rail).

[edit] Railway Reserve Heritage Trail

Cyclist preparing at the Bellevue end of the Railway Reserve Heritage trail

The Railway Reserve Heritage Trail is the result of the Mundaring Shire Council being allocated funds from a number of external authorities to maintain and improve the old railway alignment as a walking trail. Between 2004-2006, the trail has had considerable signage and track maintenance conducted along the trail.

It is also utilised for the annual Trek the Trail event conducted in conjunction between Mundaring and Hills Historical Society, the Mundaring Shire Council and the Mundaring Visitor Centre. The event was conducted between Wooroloo and Chidlow in 2004,and Mount Helena and Parkerville in 2005. The 2006 event will be between Mundaring and Darlington.

The Shire of Mundaring and the Mundaring Arts Centre in 2006 has conducted an invitational group art exhibition called From Track to Trail.

[edit] See also

• Western Australian Government Railways

[edit] References

1. ^ Gunzburg, Adrian (1984) A History of WAGR Steam Locomotives ARHS (WA Division) ISBN 0959969039 - page 23 regarding accident of C class locomotive - and system - wide change of braking systems as a result.

[edit] Further reading

• Affleck, Fred N.(1978) On track: the making of Westrail, 1950 to 1976 . Perth: Westrail. ISBN 0-7244-7560-5
• Australian Railways Historical Society, W.A. Division The Kalgoorlie 1897-1971.
• Elliot, Ian (1983) Mundaring a History of the Shire ISBN 0959277609
• Finlayson, Don (1986) Steam around Perth ARHS WA
• Gunzburg, Adrian (1984) A History of WAGR Steam Locomotives ARHS WA ISBN 0959969039
• Quinlan, Howard & Newland, John R. (2000) Australian Railway Routes 1854-2000 ISBN 0-909650-49-7
• Watson, Lindsay (1995) The Railway History of Midland Junction ISBN 0-646-24461-2