The Goldsworthy railway, owned and operated by

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

, is a private rail network in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

region of

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 ...

built to carry iron ore. It is one of two railway lines BHP operates in the Pilbara, the other being the

Mount Newman railway The Mount Newman railway, owned and operated by BHP, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It is one of two railway lines BHP operates in the Pilbara, the other being the Goldsworthy rail ...

.Rail

In addition to the BHP network, there are three more independent iron ore rail lines in the Pilbara. One is operated by

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, a ...

, the

Hamersley & Robe River railway The Hamersley & Robe River railway, majority-owned by Rio Tinto, and operated by its subsidiary Pilbara Iron, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for the purpose of carrying iron ore. The network is larger than ...

, the

Fortescue Metals Group Fortescue Metals Group Limited (often referred to as Fortescue Metals Group, FMG, or simply Fortescue) is an Australian iron ore company. As of 2017, Fortescue is the fourth-largest iron ore producer in the world. The company has holdings of ...

operates the

Fortescue railway The Fortescue railway, owned and operated by Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It opened in 2008.Hancock Prospecting Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd is a leading Australian owned mining and agricultural business run by Executive Chairman Gina Rinehart and CEO Garry Korte. At stages of its trading, the company has been known as Hancock Prospecting Ltd, Hancock Reso ...

the

Roy Hill railway The Roy Hill railway, officially the Roy Hill Infrastructure railway, owned and operated by Hancock Prospecting, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. In addition to the Hancock Prospecti ...

History

Don Rhodes Goldsworthy Mining 2, 2012 (2)

In May 1966, the 112 kilometre Goldsworthy railway opened to transport

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

from

Mount Goldsworthy Goldsworthy (named after the geographical feature Mount Goldsworthy) is a former mining town in Western Australia, east of Port Hedland and located in the Shire of East Pilbara. It was the first iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Aust ...

mine to the port on

Finucane Island Finucane Island () is located adjacent to Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.Gazetteer of Australia The Gazetteer of Australia is an index or dictionary of the location and spelling of geographical names across Australia. Geo ...

. The line was extended to Shay Gap in 1972 and

Yarrie mine The Yarrie mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 90 kilometres north-east of Marble Bar. The mine is majority-owned (85 percent)Railway Digest ''Railway Digest'' is a monthly magazine, published in Sydney, covering contemporary railways of Australia. Overview The magazine's publisher is the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), NSW Division. The first issue was published in M ...

'' February 1999 pages 18-27 In June 2004, the National Competition Council of Australia received an application from the

(FMG) to use part of the

and also part of the Goldsworthy railway. In June 2010, the Australian Competition Tribunal ruled that FMG be granted access to Rio Tinto's Robe River line and BHP Billiton's Goldsworthy line but not to the busier Hamersley and Mount Newman lines. Treasurer

Wayne Swan Wayne Maxwell Swan (born 30 June 1954), often colloquially referred to as Swanny, is an Australian politician who is National President of the Labor Party. He was previously the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Deputy Leader of the Labor ...

suggested that several advantages would accrue from access to the rail lines by third parties. It would increase competition, reduce duplication of infrastructure, and reduce environmental damage. Access to the rail networks by third parties is governed by the State Agreements Act.

Operation

The Goldsworthy railway is long, connecting the

Yarrie mine The Yarrie mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 90 kilometres north-east of Marble Bar. The mine is majority-owned (85 percent)Finucane Island Finucane Island () is located adjacent to Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.Gazetteer of Australia The Gazetteer of Australia is an index or dictionary of the location and spelling of geographical names across Australia. Geo ...

, near

Port Hedland A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

. Unlike Mount Newman line trains, with up to 208 wagons per train, Goldsworthy line trains only have 90 wagons per train. Each wagon carries up to of ore.

Rolling stock

In December 1965, Mount Goldsworthy Mining Co took delivery of two

English Electric N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during th ...

Rocklea Rocklea is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Rocklea had a population of 1,595 people. Geography Rocklea is located 9 kilometres south of the city. The west of the suburb is bordered by the Oxley Creek. The ...

locomotives (no 1 & 2) to the same design as the Western Australian Government Railways H class. Initially used on construction trains, they were later used on general freight trains and shunting duties. One was written off in an accident in 1968 with some parts incorporated into a new frame built by English Electric in 1970. In 1966, the first of six English Electric, Rocklea built locomotives (no 3 to 8) to the same design as the Western Australian Government Railways K class. After one was damaged in 1968, a K class was purchased from the

Western Australian Government Railways Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsi ...

followed by another in July 1986. In November 1992 all were transferred to BHP's

Port Kembla A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

operation.Port Kembla – Diesel Locomotive Fleetlisting
Light Rail Research Society of Australia By this stage, the infrastructure had been upgraded to allow

GE Transportation GE Transportation is a division of Wabtec. It was known as GE Rail and owned by General Electric until sold to Wabtec on February 25, 2019. The organization manufactures equipment for the railroad, marine, mining, drilling and energy generation ...

36-7 locomotives to take over the line. In 1990,

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

GML10 GML10 is a diesel-electric locomotive built by Clyde Engineering, Kelso for the Goldsworthy Mining Company in 1990. It is currently operated by Qube. History GML10's design is a hybrid of two earlier classes of Clyde-built locomotives, its ...

was purchased. It was sold to

Comalco Rio Tinto Aluminium (previously known as Comalco) is now known as Rio Tinto Alcan after Rio's takeover of Alcan. It was the world's eighth largest aluminium company. It mines and manufactures bauxite, alumina and primary aluminium. Rio Tinto ...

in August 1994. In March 2012, BHP Billiton placed an order for 80

Electro-Motive Diesel Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its sub ...

SD70ACe/LCi locomotives for use on its Western Australia mining railroads.

References

External links

BHPPilbara Railways
– rail enthusiast website {{coord missing, Western Australia BHP Iron ore railways Mining railways in Western Australia Railway lines in the Pilbara Railway lines opened in 1966 Standard gauge railways in Australia 1966 establishments in Australia