The Midland railway line runs 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 Walkaway (30 kilometres south of

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. ...

) 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 ...

. Built by the

Midland Railway of Western Australia The Midland Railway of Western Australia (MRWA) was a railway company that built and operated the Midland line in Western Australia. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange. Although having its headquarters in London, it had no associatio ...

, the 446 kilometre line opened in November 1894.

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

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

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 ...

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

to Gingin opened on 9 April 1891, followed by Walkaway to Mingenew on 16 August 1891, Gin Gin to Moore River (Mogumbur) on 22 February 1892, Mingenew to

on 25 February 1892, Mogumbur to Mora on 2 July 1894, with the two sections linked between Carnamah and Three Springs on 1 November 1894. On 1 August 1964, the line was sold to 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 ...

Services

The Midland Railway of Western Australia operated a weekly passenger train in each direction. After the sale of the line to the Western Australian Government Railways, it was relaunched as '' The Midlander''. It ceased on 28 July 1975. Today the line is primarily utilised by

CBH Group The CBH Group (commonly known as CBH, an acronym for Co-operative Bulk Handling), is a grain growers' cooperative that handles, markets and processes grain from the wheatbelt of Western Australia. History CBH was formed on 5 April 1933, at ...

grain trains operating to the ports of Geraldton and Kwinana from eight receival points.Receival site map
CBH Group

References

External links

Flickr gallery
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Australia Railway lines in Western Australia Railway lines opened in 1894 Wheatbelt (Western Australia)