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History of Rail in Australia

Introduction
First Railways in each State and Territory
Milestones in Australian Railways Construction

A BRIEF history of Australia's Railways appears below, but if you wish to access other information about historic railways, some links are provided here:

Rail Preservation Links
Australian Railway Historical Society
Australian Railway Historical Society - Victorian Division
Australian Railway Historical Society - ACT Division
Australian Railway Historical Society - Tasmanian Division
Puffing Billy Railway
Diamond Valley Railway
Light Rail Research Society of Australia

Introduction

AUSTRALIA'S first rail systems were mostly built when the country consisted of sparsely settled colonies, before they combined to form a Federation of States in 1900.

Until the middle of the 1800s, people travelled around the colonies of the Australian continent by horse-drawn transport and by coastal shipping services. From 1854, when the first steam railway between Melbourne and Port Melbourne started, the railway system of the various colonies developed rapidly. Initially all track and rolling stock was imported, although by the 1880s most of the equipment was being made locally.

While the railways were operated initially by private companies, a shortage of speculation capital resulted in the continued development of the railways being undertaken by individual colonial governments. The initial purpose of the rail development was to connect the hinterland with the major export seaports which, in most cases, were the capital cities.

Planners gave little thought to connecting their railways with the other rail systems.

By Federation in 1901, all States except Western Australia were 'linked' by rail and more than 20,000 km of track had been laid. Sadly, those who envisaged a nation had not contemplated a national rail network. Three different gauges had been used.

New South Wales adopted the European standard gauge of 1435 mm, Victoria and South Australia built with the broad Irish gauge of 1600 mm, and Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia and parts of South Australia used the narrow 1067 mm gauge. For many years, the different gauges handicapped the effective operation of interstate rail services.

In 1917, a person wanting to travel from Perth to Brisbane on an east-west crossing of the continent had to change trains six times.

The independent development of the State rail systems led to significant incompatibility problems, not only in relation to gauge but also equipment and operating practices.

This incompatibility of the State rail systems was brought to a head during World War II when the war effort required large quantities of goods and personnel to be moved quickly throughout Australia. But it was not until June 1995 that trains could travel between Brisbane and Perth, via Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide on a standard gauge track.

By 1970 the situation had improved sufficiently so that a passenger could remain on the same train on a journey from Perth to Sydney. Three different gauges still exist in Australia, but the state capitals are now linked by one uniform gauge.

Steam locomotion was used until the 1950s when diesel-electric locomotives began to take over. Steam locomotives were completely withdrawn in the 1970s, but tourist trips are still available on scenic routes in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

Suburban electric trains operate in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

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First Railways in Each State and Territory

New South Wales: The coming of rail to New South Wales followed the pattern of private sector instigation, financial collapse and absorption into government which is only now being reversed. In 1849, the Sydney Railway Company started building the first railway track in New South Wales between Sydney and Parramatta - a distance of 22 km. The project ran into financial difficulty and was taken over by the New South Wales colonial government. The line opened on 26 September 1855.

Victoria: The first railway line in Australia opened between Melbourne's Flinders Street Station and Port Melbourne, then called Sandridge, on 12 September 1854. Operated originally as a 1600mm gauge, it has since been converted to a 1435mm gauge electric light railway feeding the Melbourne tram system.

Queensland: The first railway in Queensland ran from Ipswich inland to Grandchester using the narrow 1067mm gauge. The system was extended further to the Darling Downs before being connected with Brisbane, the capital, in 1875.

South Australia: While South Australia had a horse-drawn railway operating at the mouth of the Murray River in 1854, the first line carrying steam powered trains opened on 21 April 1856 between Adelaide and Port Adelaide. It was built by the colonial government to the then Australian 'standard' gauge of 1600mm.

Tasmania: A railway line 72 km long opened between the Northern Tasmanian towns of Launceston and Deloraine in 1868. Built to the 1600mm gauge, the operator was the Launceston and Western Railway Company. Subsequently, the Tasmanian Government passed an act of Parliament incorporating the Tasmanian Mainline Railway Company. This company built the mainline between Launceston and Hobart, the State capital.

Northern Territory: The completion of the Alice Springs to Darwin standard gauge rail link in January 2004 resulted in a National rail Network linking all mainland State and Territory capital cities. A railway between Darwin and Pine Creek (253 km) became operational on 1 October 1889. The Australian Government took control of the Pine Creek Railway from 1 January 1911. It operated until 1 July 1918, when the line became part of the Commonwealth Railways. The former North Australia Railway linked Darwin with Birdum - a distance of 511 km - by 1929. It was never profitable and has been closed for many years.

Australian Capital Territory: A 10 km standard gauge branch line opened between Queanbeyan, NSW, and Canberra, the Australian capital, in 1914. Only goods were carried initially, until passenger operations commenced in 1923.

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Milestones in Australian Railways Construction

STANDARDISATION of interstate track gauge (using 1435 mm as the standard gauge)

• A standard gauge line connected Brisbane with the New South Wales system in 1930.
• Melbourne was linked to New South Wales by a standard gauge line in 1962.
• The standard gauges link between Perth and Kalgoorlie was completed in 1968.
• The Broken Hill to Port Pirie line in 1969 completed the standard gauge east-west transcontinental connection.
• Alice Springs was connected to the transcontinental line in 1980 with a line built from Tarcoola.
• Adelaide was connected to the transcontinental line in 1982 with the conversion of the line from Crystal Brook,
• Melbourne and Adelaide were linked by a standard gauge line that opened in June 1995.
• The standard gauge link between Alice Springs to Darwin was completed in January 2004.

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