StateLibQld 1 258703 Country scene at Marburg, ca

The Marburg Branch Railway is a branch line of the

Main Line railway The Main Line is a railway line in South East Queensland, Australia. It was opened in a series of sections between 1865 and 1867. It commences at Roma St Station in Brisbane and extends west 161 km to Toowoomba. It is the first narrow gau ...

(from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

) 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. It branches near

Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...

, which is about 20 kilometres west of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

. Previously known as Rosewood Gate, a railway gatekeeper was appointed to Rosewood in 1866. A waiting room and stationmaster's house were built in 1875 and a station office built in 1880 was replaced with the current building in 1918. Agricultural land to the north of Rosewood was not directly serviced by the

Brisbane Valley railway line The Brisbane Valley railway line was a railway connection in Queensland, Australia connecting Ipswich, west of Brisbane, to the upper Brisbane River valley. Progressively opened between 1884 and 1913, the railway provided a vital transport link ...

and, in December 1909, parliament approved the construction of a branch line to run about 15 kilometres to

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...

. The Marburg locality was originally known as First Plain, then as Frederick after the name of an early settler, and lastly as Marburg after a Prussian town of the same name. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the town was known as Townshend but the Marburg name was reinstated in 1920. The line opened on 18 December 1911. The route was (from north to south): *

() *

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

() * Birru () * Tallegalla () * Kunkala () * Cabanda () * Perrys Knob () * North Rosewood () *

() A daily service to

departed Marburg each morning and returned in the evening. It was a two-hour journey by rail and over time the faster road trip prevailed. Coal mines in the region kept the line viable until they progressively closed. The branch closed in stages – from Marburg to Birru in 1964, to Kunkala in 1970, Cabanda in 1973 and to Perry's Knob in 1979. The

Rosewood Railway Museum The Rosewood Railway Museum is located near Rosewood, Queensland, Australia on the former railway to Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf dis ...

now uses the upper section of the line. It has a display at Kunkala station.

References

*"Heritage Trails of the Great South East" QEPA September 2000 *"Triumph of Narrow Gauge: A History of Queensland Railways" by John Kerr 1990 Boolarong Press, Brisbane

External links

1925 map of the Queensland railway system
{{Railway lines in Queensland , state=expanded Closed railway lines in Queensland South East Queensland Railway lines opened in 1911 Railway lines closed in 1964 Railway lines closed in 1979 1911 establishments in Australia 1979 disestablishments in Australia

See also

References

External links