The Commonwealth Railways were established in 1917 by the
Government of Australia
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federalism, federal parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster system, Westminster-sty ...
with the Commonwealth Railways Act to administer the
Trans-Australia and
Port Augusta to Darwin railways. It was absorbed into
Australian National in 1975.
Operated railways
Trans-Australian Railway
Construction of the
standard-gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
Trans-Australian Railway between
Port Augusta
Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...
and
Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...
commenced in 1912. Despite the inhospitable nature of the terrain
and wartime supply problems, satisfactory progress was made, and the two tracklaying machines, one working from each end, met near
Ooldea
Ooldea is a tiny settlement in South Australia. It is on the eastern edge of the Nullarbor Plain, west of Port Augusta on the Trans-Australian Railway. Ooldea is from the bitumen Eyre Highway.
Being near a permanent waterhole, Ooldea Soak, th ...
on 17 October 1917.
The promise to construct the Trans-Australian Railway had been one of the principal inducements to
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
to join the
Commonwealth of Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
during
federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
, and it was for the purpose of surveying and constructing this railway that the Commonwealth Railways Department was initially formed. It was a matter of misfortune that its two termini were
break-of-gauge
With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...
stations connecting with narrow-gauge lines that formed part of the transcontinental link.
In 1937 the eastern end was extended south to
Port Pirie
Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South ...
, enabling one less break of gauge in the trip across Australia, but at the same time establishing a three-gauge junction at Port Pirie with the broad gauge
South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...
line to
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
.
The Trans-Australian Railway remained an isolated stretch of standard-gauge track between two narrow-gauge railways until 1968, when the Kalgoorlie to
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
standard-gauge line replaced the line at the western end, and 1970 when a standard-gauge line from Port Pirie to
Broken Hill
Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
replaced a narrow-gauge line, completing the long-delayed project to connect Perth to
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
with one standard gauge.
The Trans-Australian Railway remained fundamentally a single-track main line, the only branch line being a short section from
Pimba
Pimba is a Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Po ...
to
Woomera (officially known as a stores siding, though a passenger service operated when Woomera was the base of a large
rocket testing range). There are two junctions: one on the outskirts of Port Augusta is the line to
Whyalla
Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...
, which opened for traffic in 1972; and one at Tarcoola is the
Central Australia Railway
The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and closed in 1980, was a 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta and Alice Springs. A standard gauge line duplicated the southern section from Port Aug ...
, which opened in 1980.
North Australia Railway
The North Australia Railway was the name given to the Northern Territory narrow-gauge railway that extended south from
Darwin to
Birdum. Construction of this line was commenced by the
Government of South Australia
The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...
, being known then as the Palmerston & Pine Creek Railway, it opened in 1889.
[
When the administration of the Northern Territory passed from South Australia to the Commonwealth Government on 1 January 1911 the railway was transferred to Commonwealth ownership. The railway was initially placed under the control of the Administrator of the Northern Territory. At this time it was known as the Northern Territory Railway, but was transferred to the control of the Commonwealth Railways Commissioner in 1918.
It was renamed the North Australia Railway in 1926. Extensions to Birdum were completed in 1929, but during and following ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the effective railhead was Larrimah
Larrimah is a town and a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located about southeast of the territorial capital of Darwin and about southeast of the municipal seat of Katherine. The specific geographical location is -15 35' 00 ...
, a few miles north.
The railway gained increased importance in the 1960s and early 1970s through the mining of iron ore from the Frances Creek deposits, about 230 kilometres south of Darwin. Ore traffic exceeded one million tons per annum, but after the mine closed, other traffic was not enough to justify keeping the railway open and it closed in 1976.
Australian Capital Territory Railway
In March 1913 work began on an 8.5 kilometre standard-gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
line from Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
to Queanbeyan
Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...
on the Bombala line. The line was constructed by the New South Wales Public Works Department
NSW Public Works (or New South Wales Public Works), an agency of the Government of New South Wales, was responsible for providing expert advice to government and professional services to government agency clients in New South Wales, Australia.
T ...
on behalf of the Federal Government. Canberra station along with the line to Queanbeyan was owned and staffed by Commonwealth Railways even though all services on the line were operated by the New South Wales Government Railways
The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932.
Management
The agency was managed by a range of differe ...
.
Central Australia Railway
The Central Australia Railway extended from Port Augusta
Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...
to Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
. Work on the first section of this railway was commenced by the South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...
in 1878.[
Under South Australian ownership the railway, known as the Great Northern Railway, was extended in stages and reached ]Oodnadatta
Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta Track, an outback road ...
in 1891. The South Australian Government subsequently made offers to several syndicates to construct a line north from Oodnadatta to Pine Creek on the land grant system, however negotiations were unsuccessful and Oodnadatta remained the railhead.
Like the North Australia Railway
The North Australia Railway was a narrow gauge railway in the Northern Territory of Australia which ran from the territory capital of Darwin, once known as Palmerston, to Birdum, just south of Larrimah. Initially its name was the ''Palmerst ...
, this railway passed to Commonwealth ownership on 1 January 1911, but continued to be operated by the South Australian Railways until the Commonwealth Railways took over operations on 1 January 1926. An extension of the railway to Alice Springs was completed in 1929.
In the years following World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
large tonnages of coal were railed from Leigh Creek and heavy demands were placed on the railway. In many ways the original line was inadequate; sharp curves and heavy gradients limited train loads, whilst light track and bridges restricted speeds and axle loads. Consequently, a new standard-gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
Stirling North to Marree line was constructed and extended from Stirling North
Stirling North is a town located east of Port Augusta in the Australian state of South Australia. The now abandoned Marree railway line forms the official border line separating the two towns. Primarily, Stirling North is a satellite town to Po ...
, via Telford to Marree. During the construction stages, and after washaways on the old line, but with the new standard-gauge line available to that point, complete trains of narrow-gauge wagons were carried (Piggyback
Piggyback, piggy-back, or piggybacking may mean:
Transport
* Piggyback (transportation), something that is riding on the back of something else
Art, entertainment, and media
* Splash cymbal piggybacking, mounting a cymbal on top of an already ...
) style to Brachina, 140 kilometres from Stirling North. Completed in 1957, the new line enabled much larger quantities of coal to be carried.
The old narrow-gauge line between Marree and Hawker
Hawker or Hawkers may refer to:
Places
* Hawker, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
* Hawker, South Australia, a town
* Division of Hawker, an Electoral Division in South Australia
* Hawker Island, Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarct ...
was closed, but between Stirling North and Hawker it was retained and used to a limited extent for some years. The line between Stirling North and Hawker was closed in 1972 and the section between Stirling North and Quorn
Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products, or the company that makes them. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 14 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin.
Quorn is sold as bo ...
handed over to the operations of the Pichi Richi Railway
The Pichi Richi Railway is a narrow-gauge heritage railway in the southern Flinders Ranges of South Australia between Quorn and Port Augusta. For much of its length the line lies in the picturesque Pichi Richi Pass, where the line was complete ...
.
Gauges
Narrow gauge
The Commonwealth Railways owned and operated narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
lines on the Central Australia Railway
The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and closed in 1980, was a 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta and Alice Springs. A standard gauge line duplicated the southern section from Port Aug ...
(Port Augusta
Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...
via Quorn
Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products, or the company that makes them. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 14 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin.
Quorn is sold as bo ...
and Marree to Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
); and the North Australia Railway
The North Australia Railway was a narrow gauge railway in the Northern Territory of Australia which ran from the territory capital of Darwin, once known as Palmerston, to Birdum, just south of Larrimah. Initially its name was the ''Palmerst ...
.
Standard gauge
The Commonwealth Railways owned and operated standard-gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
lines on the Trans-Australian Railway
The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the easter ...
; the Central Australia Railway (both Tarcoola to Alice Springs and Port Augusta via Leigh Creek to Marree); and Whyalla to Port Augusta.
Named trains
The Ghan
The Ghan train commenced operation for the Commonwealth Railways when they took over the narrow-gauge Central Australia Railway
The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and closed in 1980, was a 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta and Alice Springs. A standard gauge line duplicated the southern section from Port Aug ...
from the South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...
in 1926. It ran between Port Augusta
Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...
and Oodnadatta
Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta Track, an outback road ...
initially, being extended to Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
in 1929. When the new standard gauge to Marree line opened in 1957 the journey was broken into two. A standard-gauge run from Port Pirie Junction to Marree, with the rest of the journey remaining on narrow gauge.
Indian Pacific
The Indian Pacific commenced operating in February 1970 between Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
following completion of the standard gauge line. Commonwealth Railways were responsible for the train from Port Pirie
Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South ...
to Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...
.
Tea & Sugar
The Tea & Sugar was a train that serviced isolated Australian towns between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie. The train provided all the supplies for remote towns in South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
that were mainly inhabited by railway workers who maintained the line.
Trans-Australian
The Trans-Australian Passenger train ran between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie that commenced in 1917 and was still being operated by Australian National when it ceased in 1991.
Fleet
For its standard gauge operations, Commonwealth Railways purchased G, K, KA, C, CA, CN and L class steam locomotives. From 1951 it purchased Clyde Engineering
Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products.
It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...
built GM and CL class diesel locomotives. It also purchased three CB railcars.
For its narrow gauge operations, NC, NSU, NT and NJ diesels were purchased to replace steam locomotives inherited from the South Australian Railways in 1911.
In 1936, the company owned 105 locomotives, 2 railcars, 67 coaches, 14 brake vans and over 1000 freight wagons.
Commissioners
*1917–1929 – Norris Garrett Bell
Norris Garrett Bell (1860 – 12 January 1937), sometimes referred to as Col. N. G. Bell, was a Scottish-born railway engineer in Australia. He was employed as the Commissioner of Railways from 1917 to 1929 and played a significant role all as ...
*1929–1948 – George A. Gahan
*1948–1960 – P. J. Hannaberry
*1960–1975 – Keith Smith
Demise
Australian National Railways
The Australian National Railways Commission was an agency of the Government of Australia that was a railway operator between 1975 and 1998. It traded as Australian National Railways (ANR) in its early years, before being rebranded as Australian ...
was established by the Whitlam Federal Government following a commitment made in the 1972 election to invite the states to hand over their railway systems to the federal government. In July 1975 Australian National Railways was formed taking over the operations of Commonwealth Railways.
During the next two years discussions between the state governments of South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
and Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
and the federal government resulted in all South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...
services (except the Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
metropolitan passenger network) and all Tasmanian Government Railways
The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorption into the Australian Na ...
services transferring to Australian National Railway in March 1978, the latter being rebranded AN Tasrail
AN Tasrail was an Australian railway operator that operated the Tasmanian rail network from March 1978 until November 2004. Originally a subsidiary of the Federal Government's Australian National, it was sold to Australian Transport Network (A ...
.
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Commonwealth Railways Act 1917
National Railway Museum
{{Authority control
Former government railways of Australia
Trans-Australian Railway
Australian companies established in 1917
Railway companies established in 1917
Australian companies disestablished in 1975
Railway companies disestablished in 1975