“Mount Perry railway line”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

The Mount Perry Branch Railway is a closed railway line in Central Queensland, Australia. In 1869 copper was discovered at Mount Perry (approx 100 km west of Bundaberg) and the township grew rapidly. A railway to the coast was essential to provide cheap transport and make the mining of low percentage ore viable. Maryborough and Bundaberg vied for the opportunity to be the terminus and the latter city was successful.

Survey

A survey dated 20 March 1875 proposed a line from North Bundaberg, thus avoiding an expensive bridge over the Burnett River, west to Gin Gin and then via the old road and telegraph route to Moolboolaman but still some distance short of Mount Perry. There were delays in gaining official approval for the line to the extent that, when Queensland Parliament finally approved construction, mining at Mount Perry was substantially curtailed.

Opening

The first 65 kilometre section from North Bundaberg railway station (originally called Bundaberg station) to Moolboolaman opened on 19 July 1881.^[1] The stops were at Oakwood, Sharon, Manoo, Bingera, Birthamba, Koolboo, Goondoon, Hilo, Bullyard, Tagon, Maroondan, Uping, McIlwraith, Gin Gin, Tookie, Watawa, Tirroan, Guragila and Daylsford. Construction of the first stage predated the completion of the North Coast line from Maryborough to Bundaberg by some seven years and it was only then that Bundaberg station was renamed North Bundaberg.

Extensions

There followed extensions to Gillen’s Siding opened on 15 August 1882, then via Goyan and Ellimatta to Boolboonda opened on 12 November 1883, and lastly via Wonbah, Wolca and Drummer’s Creek to Mount Perry opened on 20 May 1884. A feature of the last stage of the line was construction of the Boolboonda Tunnel. Excavated a distance of 192 metres through solid rock, the tunnel is the longest unsupported tunnel in the southern hemisphere. Completion of the final stage meant that a service leaving Mount Perry at 7.30am took 4 ½ hours to reach Bundaberg before departing at 3.00 pm for the return journey.

Locomotives

Information about locomotives is sketchy. The locomotive pictured on the right was apparently used from 1881 to 1890. The description of the photo reads:

Traffic

Two trains a week operated after the Moolboolaman opening but a rapid rise in timber transport necessitated three trains a week in 1883 and daily services in 1884. Sugar cane traffic increased quickly when a mill was opened at Bingera in 1885. Although mining activities dwindled, timber transport took over to some degree until copper mining again became viable in the early 1900s. Until then, the line ran at a loss but high copper prices saw large scale mining return to Mount Perry and provide the railway and town with a new lease of life.

Accident

A fatal accident resulted after a derailment near Gillen’s Siding early on Sunday 17 February 1924. The train was on an holiday excursion from Mount Perry to Bargara.^[2] Two people died in the incident which was deemed to have been caused by excessive speed and negligence by the driver and guard.^[3]^[4]

Closure

Transportation of timber, sugar and dairy products continued until it became uneconomical for the service to continue. The line closed in stages – from Mount Perry to Tirroan (just west of Gin Gin) on 31 October 1960, from Tirroan to Gin Gin in 1988, Gin Gin station on 17 January 1992 and the line to North Bundaberg on 16 January 1993.

Heritage listings

Industrial railways

See also

References

1. ^{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article183952245|title=LOCAL OPTION.|date=23 July 1881|newspaper=The Week|accessdate=5 April 2019|issue=291|location=Queensland, Australia|volume=XII,|page=15|via=National Library of Australia}}
2. ^{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article217112534|title=THE DISASTER.|date=18 February 1924|newspaper=The Bundaberg Mail|accessdate=5 April 2019|issue=8,606|location=Queensland, Australia|volume=54,|page=5|via=National Library of Australia}}
3. ^{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180039424|title=Another Victim|date=19 February 1924|newspaper=The Telegraph|accessdate=5 April 2019|issue=15982|location=Queensland, Australia|page=8 (SECOND EDITION)|via=National Library of Australia}}
4. ^{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article217104984|title=MAGISTERIAL INQUIRY.|date=18 April 1924|newspaper=The Bundaberg Mail|accessdate=5 April 2019|issue=8658|location=Queensland, Australia|volume=54,|page=2|via=National Library of Australia}}
5. ^{{cite QHR|16279|Boolboonda Railway Tunnel|601516|accessdate = 29 October 2009}}
6. ^{{cite web|url=http://qldrailheritage.com/scb/brm.htm|title=Bundaberg Railway Museum|website=Queensland's Rail Heritage|accessdate=15 April 2018|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802190836/http://qldrailheritage.com/scb/brm.htm|archivedate=2 August 2016|df=dmy-all}}.
7. ^{{cite QHR|15304|Splitters Creek Railway Bridge|600529|accessdate=7 July 2013}}
8. ^{{cite web|author=A.C. Lyn Zelmer|url=http://www.zelmeroz.com/album_rail/ctn/ctn_05.pdf|title=Cane Tram Notes #5: Bundaberg Fowler Steam Locomotives|date=2005|accessdate=15 April 2018|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075607/http://www.zelmeroz.com/album_rail/ctn/ctn_05.pdf|archivedate=4 March 2016|df=dmy-all}}
9. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionsaustralia.net/org/997/about/|title=Botanical Gardens Railway|website=Collections Australia Network|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211203425/http://www.collectionsaustralia.net/org/997/about/|archivedate=11 February 2014|deadurl=yes|accessdate=15 April 2018}}