The Callide Valley railway line ran from Rannes to Lawgi in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The Callide Valley lies to the south-west of

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coas ...

History

There were grand plans to link

Monto Monto was the nickname for the one-time red light district in the northeast of Dublin, Ireland. The Monto was roughly the area bounded by Talbot Street, Amiens Street, Gardiner Street and Seán McDermott Street (formerly Gloucester Street) in ...

by railway with the south, east and north. Links with Maryborough to the south and

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

to the east materialised but the northern link terminated at Lawgi some 70 kilometres away. Rannes was already linked by rail to Rockhampton by the

Dawson Valley railway line The Dawson Valley Branch Railway was a railway line in Central Queensland, Australia. It branched from the Central Western railway line at Kabra in the Rockhampton Region and went via Mount Morgan to Theodore in the Shire of Banana. It op ...

via Mount Morgan and a branch line from Rannes to Lawgi provided access to the rich Callide Valley and justified its construction.

Opening

The first stage commenced from Rannes, heading south-east to Callide (originally called Callidi) and opened on 3 May 1924. Stops en route were Jooro, Goovigen, Jambin and Argoon. A

mixed train A mixed train or mixed consist is a train that contains both passenger and freight cars or wagons. Although common in the early days of railways, by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. Typically, servic ...

ran twice a week from

Baralaba Baralaba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Banana in central Queensland, Australia. In the , Baralaba had a population of 314 people. Geography The Dawson River forms the western boundary of the locality. The town is located in the ...

, west of Rannes on the Dawson Valley branch, to Callide and connected at Rannes with a service northeast to Rockhampton. A 22 kilometre extension was opened on 24 August 1925 south from Callide via

Biloela Biloela ( ) is a rural town and locality in Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia. It is situated inland from the port city of Gladstone at the junction of the Burnett and Dawson highways. Biloela is the administrative centre of Banan ...

Thangool Thangool is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Banana, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Thangool had a population of 741 people. Geography Thangool is north west of the state capital, ...

which at the time was the main township between Rannes and Monto.

Train services

A mixed service took 7 hours for the journey from Thangool to Mount Morgan and a later passenger service took 6 hours from Thangool to Rockhampton. The

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

at Thangool was intended to be temporary and trucking yards were not constructed. However, facilities were provided at Biloela siding and it quickly became the major centre of the district.

Later stages

Construction beyond Thangool was halted in August 1926 and resumed during the depression as an employment measure. The third and final stage took the line a further 14 kilometres via Mount Scoria to Lawgi. Proposed construction to Monto did not eventuate and isolated Lawgi became the terminus on 19 September 1932. The Lawgi station mistress was withdrawn in 1952 and the section to Thangool was closed on 1 July 1955. The Thangool to Biloela section closed on 31 January 1988 and Biloela became the railhead. The line between Biloela and Lawgi was taken up. It remains in place between Rannes and Biloela, though only the section between Dakenba and Earlsfield is in service. A 1939 map shows the proposed railway beyond Lawgi with the following planned railway stations: * Mount Lookerbie * Yaparaba * Dawes

Timeline

* Rannes-Callide, 46 km, opened 3 May 1924 * Callide-Biloela-Thangool, 22 km, opened 24 August 1925 * Thangool-Lawgi, 14 km, opened 19 September 1932 * Dakenba-Callide Coalfields branch, 15 km, opened 9 November 1953 * Lawgi-Thangool closed 1 July 1955 * Thangool-Biloela, 11 km, closed 31 January 1988 * Biloela-Dakenba currently out of service * Callide Coalfields-Dakenba-Earlsfield (junction with the Moura Short Line) in active service for coal traffic * Koorngoo-Rannes, 24 km, closed ~1999 * Earlsfield-Koorngoo available for seasonal grain haulage

Moura Short Line

In 1968 the Moura Short Line was opened to transport coal from the Callide and Moura mines to Gladstone port.Moura Line
The line crosses the Callide branch line between Jambin and Callide at Earlsfield Junction and thus links Biloela with Gladstone in lieu of its previous link to Rockhampton.

Route

References

Works cited * "Triumph of Narrow Gauge: A History of Queensland Railways" by John Kerr 1990 Boolarong Press, Brisbane

External links

YouTube video "Four locos into the Callide Valley"

YouTube video "Callide Valley Down Hill"
{{Railway lines in Queensland , state=expanded Railway lines in Queensland Railway lines opened in 1924 1924 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in Central Queensland