Launceston and Western Railway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Launceston and Western Railway was a private railway on Tasmania that opened a 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge railway line between Deloraine and Launceston, in 1871. It was a 45 mile line constructed to ship agricultural products to port for Victorian markets.[1]

It was built with debt guarantees from landowners near the line who stood to benefit. The line went bankrupt in 1872 and was taken over by the Tasmanian Government, ultimately becoming part of the Tasmanian Government Railways.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Clements, Graham Railways pp.299-301 in Alexander Companion to Tasmanian History
  2. ^ Linking a Nation. Australian Heritage Commission www.ahc.gov.au. Retrieved on 2006-04-28.

[edit] Further reading

  • Stokes, H, A Century of Tasmanian railways Hobart 1971
  • Cooper, Greg. and Goss, Grant (1996) Tasmanian railways 125 years, 1871-1996 : a pictorial history Devonport, Tas. : CG Publishing Co. ISBN 0646276336
Rail stub icon  This Australian rail-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.