The Maryvale railway line was a

branch railway A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

in the

Southern Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was general ...

region of

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 , establishe ...

, Australia. Maryvale Estate to the north east of

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

was purchased by the government and subdivided into farms. A branch line to service the region was approved in 1908. Opened on 30 September 1911, the line branched from the

Southern main line The Southern Main Line ( sv, Södra stambanan) is a long standard gauge electrified railway between Malmö and Katrineholm in Sweden. The trains continue further on to Stockholm Central Station along the Western Main Line and terminate there (a ...

at Killarney Junction (now named Mill Hill) and stretched about 30 kilometres to Maryvale via Womina, Sladevale, Campbell's Plains, Freestone, Clintonvale and Gladfield. The line was intended to be part of a ''via recta'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, "straight route") from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

to Sydney. Prior to the completion of 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 differen ...

North Coast Line in 1932, the only rail link from Brisbane to Sydney was via the break-of-gauge at

Wallangarra Wallangarra is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia on the border with New South Wales. In the , the locality of Wallangarra had a population of 468 people. It is the third-most southerly town in Queens ...

on the state border, where the two states' railway systems met. The route from Brisbane to Wallangarra went west from Brisbane to

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 ...

then south to Wallangarra. The ''via recta'' was a putative short-cut south-west from

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 ...

to Warwick, which would have shortened the distance from Brisbane to Sydney by between 92 km and 95 km. The ''via recta'' would have consisted of the Maryvale branch from Warwick, the Mount Edwards branch from Ipswich, through

Spicers Gap Spicers Gap is a mountain pass that is located west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and was the original route over the Great Dividing Range in the area around Brisbane. Today it is included in Main Range National Park and is a popular ...

(just south of

Cunninghams Gap Cunninghams Gap is a pass over the Great Dividing Range between the Darling Downs and the Fassifern Valley in Queensland, Australia. The Gap is the major route over the Main Range along the Great Dividing Range, between Warwick and Brisbane. ...

) through the Great Dividing Range. The ''

Warwick Argus The ''Warwick Argus'' was a newspaper published in Warwick, Queensland, Australia from 1879 to 1919. History The Warwick Argus was preceded by the '' Warwick Argus and Tenterfield Chronicle'' published between November 1864 and 21 August 1879 ...

'' reported that the citizens of Toowoomba were unhappy at the prospect of the ''via recta'' being built, as interstate traffic would bypass their town. Trial surveys for the ''via recta'' line began as early as 1880, and the first sod on the Maryvale line was turned on 18 March 1910 by

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

William Kidston William Kidston (17 August 1849 – 25 October 1919) was an Australian bookseller, politician and Premier of Queensland, from January 1906 to November 1907 and again from February 1908 to February 1911. Early life William Kidston was born in Fa ...

. However, once the standard gauge line from NSW was extended north to

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisba ...

in 1930, the rationale for the ''via recta'' disappeared and the project was abandoned. A daily mixed train began on the line and was later reduced to a thrice-weekly service. A rail motor service began in 1930 and linked with the Sydney Mail at Warwick. A 1932 timetable showed five

rail motor Railmotor is a term used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for a railway lightweight railcar, usually consisting of a railway carriage with a steam traction unit, or a diesel or petrol engine, integrated into it. Steam railcars Overview In th ...

s and one

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, service ...

per week running in each direction on the Maryvale line, with extra goods services during the wheat season. The line closed on 1 November 1960 after the

Cunningham Highway The Cunningham Highway is a national highway located in south-eastern Queensland, Australia. The highway links the Darling Downs region with the urbanised outskirts of via Cunninghams Gap. The Cunningham carries the National Highway 15 shie ...

was upgraded through

due to the increasing popularity of road transport, thus ending all hope of the ''via recta'' line being built.

References

"Triumph of Narrow Gauge: A History of Queensland Railways" by John Kerr 1990 & 1998 Boolarong Press, Brisbane

External links

1925 map of the Queensland railway system
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maryvale Railway Line Railway lines opened in 1911 Closed railway lines in Queensland Railway lines closed in 1960 1911 establishments in Australia 1960 disestablishments in Australia Darling Downs

See also

References

External links