The Mount Dundas – Zeehan Railway (also known as the Maestris Tram) was a railway line running from
Dundas to
Zeehan
Zeehan is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia south-west of Burnie. It is part of the West Coast Council, along with the seaport Strahan, and neighbouring mining towns of Dundas, Rosebery and Queenstown.
History
The greater ...
on the
West Coast of
Tasmania
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. It operated from 1892 until 1932, and the rails were removed in 1940.
Operation
It was built by the Mount Dundas and Zeehan Railway Company and opened on 25 April 1892.
[ ] Under an agreement signed on 4 February 1891, the
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 ...
(TGR) operated the line.
On 28 June 1899, the
Emu Bay Railway
The Emu Bay Railway was a Tasmania, Australian railway company. The railway was significant during full operation, in that it linked the Tasmanian Government Railways system at Burnie with that at Zeehan that further linked to the Mount Lyel ...
(EBR) agreed to purchase the Dundas railway, however the TGR continued to operate it.
The closure of the Silver Bell smelters in 1913 virtually ended mining in the Dundas district, leaving the railway with only a small amount of passenger and timber traffic. By 1921, Dundas had only 55 people. Between 1922 and 1924, the line carried no revenue passengers and only very small amounts of freight. By 1926, timetables merely listed stations on the line and noted that trains ran 'as required'. After a derailment in August, 1931, the TGR refused to work the line. The EBR provided a locomotive to work whatever trips ran thereafter, until a stop block was placed at the junction in June, 1932.
[ The official closure date is given as 5 July 1932, after which contractors were permitted to work timber over the line by horse-power. The rails were lifted in 1940.
]
Stopping places
As identified in 1916.
* Zeehan
* Rayna Junction – junction with the Emu Bay Railway from 21 December 1900[ ]
* Brickworks – also known as Brickfield's Siding from 1905
* Mather's
* Leslie
* Nobby's – also known as Nobby's Cutting Siding
* Brewery Junction
* Dundas – also known as Mount Dundas
* Maestris – station for the Comet Mine
See also
*North East Dundas Tramway
The North East Dundas Tramway was a narrow gauge tramway, that ran between Zeehan and Deep Lead (now Williamsford) on the West Coast of Tasmania. Opening in 1896 and closing in 1932, it was part of the Tasmanian Government Railways network ...
*Railways on the West Coast of Tasmania
The history of the Railways on the West Coast of Tasmania has fascinated enthusiasts from around the world, because of the combination of the harsh terrain in which the railways were created, and the unique nature of most of the lines.
Points of ...
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Dundas - Zeehan Railway
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Australia
Closed railway lines in Tasmania
West Coast Range
Railway lines opened in 1892
Railway lines closed in 1932
Railway lines in Western Tasmania
Zeehan