The Midland Railway of Western Australia (MRWA) was a railway company that built and operated the Midland line in

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 ...

. It was listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

. Although having its headquarters in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, it had no association with the English

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

History

In December 1883, John Waddington representing a syndicate of English capitalists, proposed to Governor Broome to build a line from

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

via Northam,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, Bejoording,

New Norcia New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and along the Berkshire Valley to

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

under a land grant scheme. A parliamentary select committee recommended the route be altered to branch off from the Eastern Railway at

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

and run via Chittering, Bindoon, Victoria Plains, Carnamah,

Arrino Arrino is a small town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The town is located between Mingenew and Three Springs on the Midlands Road. The name of the town is Aboriginal in origin; it is the name of the local springs, thought to me ...

, Upper Irwin and Dongara to Walkaway where it would join the Western Australian Government Railway's line from Geraldton. The agreement was signed on 27 February 1886, with work commencing a few days later.Midland Railway Company

Battye Library The J S Battye Library (more properly known as the J. S. Battye Library of West Australian History) is an arm of the State Library of Western Australia. It stores much of the state's historical records and original publications including books, ...

Under the land grant scheme, of land was granted for every mile of railway completed, a total of . The consortium was able to select land within of the new railway. Financing problems delayed construction with construction being suspended in June 1887. The

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

tried to rescind the contract, but could not as the consortium had until 1890 to complete the first 160 kilometres of the line. On 21 March 1890, the Midland Railway Company of Western Australia was floated on the

and Herbert Bond purchased John Waddington's shareholding in the consortium and work recommenced on the 446 kilometre line from both ends. The first section from

Midland Junction Midland is a suburb in the Perth metropolitan region, as well as the regional centre for the City of Swan local government area that covers the Swan Valley and parts of the Darling Scarp to the east. It is situated at the intersection of G ...

to Gingin opened on 9 April 1891, followed by Walkaway to Mingenew on 16 August 1891. The rest of the line opened in stages until the two sections met on 1 November 1894. Between 1905 and 1918, the company actively pursued a scheme of land classification and settlement led by land agent and politician James Gardiner. The first subdivision was auctioned at Moora on 22 June 1906. /sup> By 1911, 16 subdivisions between Midland Junction and Dongara had been classified and auctioned. From 1910, Gardiner managed th
Ready Made Farms
Scheme, which provided cleared and fenced farms with houses to prospective settlers. /sup> The townsites of Coorow, Winchester and Carnamah formed the backbone of the scheme. The scheme was advertised widely to British citizens and was moderately successful, with 35 of the 58 farms sold by the end of 1915. /sup> In 1915, 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 ...

opened the parallel, but longer Northern Railway route about 50 kilometres further east via

Wongan Hills Wongan Hills is a range of low flat-topped hills in the Avon Wheatbelt bioregion of Western Australia. It is located at , in the Shire of Wongan–Ballidu. History The range was first recorded in 1836 by Surveyor General of Western Australia Jo ...

and Mullewa. Between 1914 and 1917, business declined rapidly and the company operated at a loss. This was brought on by decreased revenue owing to the construction of the Northern Railway (which captured railway traffic from the Midland Railway), crop losses due to drought, the loss of men from districts owing to

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 ...

, and the imposition of new federal taxes. In 1918, the land settlement scheme was wound up. /sup> In 1922, the MRWA made the first of a number of proposals for the Western Australian Government Railways to purchase it. In December 1962, with much of the track and rolling stock in need of replacement, the company entered negotiations for the WAGR to purchase the business. This was concluded in December 1963, with the sale effective 1 August 1964.

Passenger service

Up until it cessation, a weekly passenger service operated over the line.

Road Service Department

In 1946, the Midland Railway Company began operating a bus service between Perth and Geraldton. Buses to conduct wildflower tours. In 1948, it began operating Wildflower Study Tours from Perth and along roads to and from Geraldton through the northern wheatbelt. Also in 1948, it began operating truck services. By 1962, seven road coaches, six trucks and two prime movers were operated.

Workshops

The Midland Railway established its workshops and headquarters at Midland Junction. Later on, in 1904, the WAGR relocated their workshops from its overcrowded site at

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

to Midland also. The site of the Midland Railway Company Workshops. A different and separate workshops north west and the other side of the main rail corridor from the Midland Railway Workshops and marshalling yard (which actually worked across the

Great Eastern Highway Great Eastern Highway is a road that links the Western Australian capital of Perth with the city of Kalgoorlie. A key route for road vehicles accessing the eastern Wheatbelt and the Goldfields, it is the western portion of the main road link ...

next to the town Post Office) is now the location of the Centrepoint shopping centre and its car-park.

Rolling stock

In 1936, the MRWA owned 23 locomotives, 23 carriages and 523 freight wagons. At the time of the sale, the MRWA operated nine diesel locomotives, 10 passenger carriages and 602 freight wagons.

Steam locomotives

The MRWA operated nine A, nine B, five C and two D class locomotives. All were withdrawn from service in the 1950s. B6 was placed on a plinth in a park in Geraldton as a display, but in 2000, was removed due to poor condition and road transported to Midland Railway Workshops for possible restoration by members of

Rail Heritage WA Rail Heritage WA is the local trading name of the Australian Railway Historical Society (Western Australian Division) Inc. History The Western Australian branch of the Australian Railway Historical Society was formed in February 1959. In the 19 ...

. However, the group could not proceed with the work required, and were required to vacate the workshops site to allow the site to be redeveloped, with B6 moving to the

Western Australian Rail Transport Museum The Railway Museum, also known as the Rail Transport Museum, is situated in Bassendean, Western Australia. It is run by the Western Australian division of the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), which is called Rail Heritage WA. In th ...

, Bassendean. It has since moved to Walkaway.

Diesel locomotives

In 1957, MRWA took delivery of its first diesel powered locomotive in the form of diesel mechanical shunting unit E30. A year later the first of seven F class mainline diesel electric units entered service. In 1963, two

G class G class or Class G may refer to: Locomotives * NZR G class (1928), a type of steam locomotive used in New Zealand * Tasmanian Government Railways G class, a class of 0-4-2T steam locomotive used in Australia * V/Line G class, a class of diese ...

were delivered but due to their

axle load An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...

ing were restricted to working between Midland Junction and

Watheroo Watheroo is a small town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. There are 137 residents, according to the . History Land in the area was settled by James Oliver in 1851, the area was surveyed in 1871 and the name Watheroo was charted fo ...

Survivors

* B6 stored at Walkaway * E30 preserved at

, Bassendean * F40 operational with

Hotham Valley Railway The Hotham Valley Tourist Railway (commonly Hotham Valley Railway) is a tourist and heritage railway in the Peel region of Western Australia. The railway operates over a 32 kilometre section of the original Pinjarra to Narrogin railway line ...

, Pinjarra *F41 static display within the Moora Railway Reserve near station *F43 preserved at Western Australian Rail Transport Museum, Bassendean * G50 operational with Hotham Valley Railway, Pinjarra, owned by

Revival

In 2002, the name was revived by

South Spur Rail Services South Spur Rail Services was a Western Australian owned railway company that provides terminal operations and short haul rail services. In February 2006, it purchased Silverton Rail. In March 2007, it was sold to Coote Industrial, then in Ma ...

for a restaurant train business that ran the ''

Spirit of the West Spirit of the West were a Canadian folk rock band from North Vancouver, active from 1983 to 2016. They were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which ma ...

'' for a number of years.Application for Declaration of the Tasmanian Rail Network
South Spur Rail Services 1 June 2007

References

Notes

#'Midland Railway Company', in J.S. Battye, ''Cyclopedia of Western Australia'', p. 474. #Appleyard R.T. 1981, 'Western Australia: Economic and demographic growth 1850–1914', in C.T. Stannage (ed.), ''A New History of Western Australia'', Nedlands: UWA Press, p. 216. #''The Midland Railway Company of Western Australia Ltd'', London, 1914, MN239/2, PR4983/23:

. #''Midland Railway Co.'', 1914. #Dornan G. n.d., 'The Early History of the Midland Railway Company', unpub. thesis;

. #Dornan G. n.d., 'The Early History of the Midland Railway Company', unpub. thesis;

. #Midland Railway Co., London, Minute Book No. 8, p. 201, MN239/1, 1558A/3-8:

Bibliography

*Gardiner, David (2001) "James Gardiner: Politics, Cricket and Land Sales", ''Early Days'', 12 (1), pp. 47–59 *Searle, M.J. (1984) "A Short History of the Midland Railway Co." :

Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin ''Australian Railway History'' is a monthly magazine covering railway history in Australia, published by the New South Wales Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society on behalf of its state and territory Divisions.Virtual exhibition on the Midland Railway Company's Ready Made FarmsReady Made Farms in Western Australia: Handbook of Information for Intending Settlers (digitised booklet)Flickr gallery
{{Authority control Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Defunct railway companies of Australia History of rail transport in Western Australia Midland, Western Australia Australian companies established in 1890 Australian companies established in 1964 Railway companies established in 1964 Railway companies established in 1890