Melba Line

Melba Line
The Melba Line at Rosebery
Overview
Type	Heavy rail
Status	In use
Locale	West Coast, Tasmania
Termini	Burnie Melba Flats
Stations	3
Operation
Opened	2004
Owner	Government of Tasmania
Operator(s)	TasRail
Technical
Line length	130 km (81 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Highest elevation	670 m (2,200 ft)
Route map Legend Western Line Old Surrey Road  Cascade Road Metaira Road Metaira Road Circular Road Ridgley Highway Oonah Road Tena Road Ridgley Highway Sugarloaf Road Upper Natone Road Silvermine Road North Goderich Road Hellyer River Bunkers Road Guildford Road Wey River Waratah Line to Waratah Muddy Creek Clipper Road Hellyer River Hellyer Line to Hellyer Mine Murchison Highway Huskisson Road Hatfield Hatfield River Suprise Creek Que River Que River Sawmill Creek Boco Boco Creek Pieman Road Lake Rosebery Pieman River Chasm Creek Rosebery Mine Primrose  Baillieu Street Barker Creek Max Fitzallen Drive Nicholas Street Belstead Street Rosebery Chamberlain Creek Natone Creek Josephine Creek -41.775072,145.444586 Argent River Murchison Highway Argent River Murchison Highway Melba Creek Melba Flats Nevada Creek  Argent Tunnel Parting Creek Little Henty River Mount Dundas Line to Mount Dundas Zeehan Strahan Line to Strahan

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 initially ran through to Zeehan carrying minerals and passengers as an essential service for the West Coast community.

History

See Emu Bay Railway

Stopping Places

See : Emu Bay Railway for the larger list of known stopping places

At its peak as a steam operation the railway had approximately 23 stopping or named places on its line and adjacent lines. Current operations, and modifications for dieselisation, and the Pieman Hydro Electric Scheme, and other modifications by the EBR following its change to a freight only operation has seen many of the structures at the locations identified demolished or disused.

• Burnie
• Guildford - junction to the Mount Bischoff tin Mine (no sign of this junction or station remains)
• 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 Siding

Notes

See also

• Railways on the West Coast of Tasmania

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melba Line.

• 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. 
• Rae, Lou (1997). The Emu Bay Railway. ISBN 0-9592098-6-7. 

Further reading

• Manny, L.B. (1961) The Emu Bay Railway Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, November, 1961