The Sandfly Colliery Tramway (also known as the Kaoota Tramway) was a ,
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
tramway linking the Kaoota Mine to
Margate, Tasmania
Margate is a small seaside town on the Channel Highway between North-West Bay and the Snug Tiers, south of Kingston in Tasmania, Australia. It is mostly in the Kingborough Council area, with about 4% in the Huon Valley Council LGA.
Locatio ...
.
Constructed in 1905–06, the Tramway climbed
above sea level and crossed ten bridges. After coal mining ceased the tramway was used to transport logs, fruit and passengers.
The line was lifted and abandoned in 1922 after bushfires destroyed several bridges along the line.
Currently, of the old track is used as
cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...
/
walking
Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...
tracks, while the remainder of the old line is on private property.
History
The narrow gauge steel tramway was built by the
Sandfly
Sandfly (or sand fly) is a colloquial name for any species or genus of flying, biting, blood-sucking dipteran (fly) encountered in sandy areas. In the United States, ''sandfly'' may refer to certain horse flies that are also known as "greenhea ...
Colliery
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
Company in 1906. In 1904, of rail, one locomotive and 47 wagons were purchased from the contractors, Messrs. Henrickson and Knutson of
Dunalley. The cost to the company was
AU£1000. By 1916 the tramway was owned by the Tasmanian Wallsend Company, and when the coal seam became unproductive the company was bought out by the
state government. Between 1917 and 1921 the line was leased to
Kingborough Council
Kingborough Council is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. Kingborough is classified as an urban local government area and has a population of 37,734, it covers the ...
for the purpose of transporting local freight before being dismantled in 1922 and shipped to the colliery at
Catamaran.
Route
The tramway left the
Wharf
A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...
at Margate and crossed the
Channel Highway, Hickman's Road, Van Morrey Road, McGowans Road, Perrins Saddle, Thomson Creek and Pelverata Road. It reached a maximum gradient of 1:28 between Channel Highway and Hickmans Road.
Rolling Stock
Motive power was supplied by two
Krauss Krauss is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Alison Krauss (born 1971), American bluegrass musician
* Alexander Krauß (born 1975), German politician
* Alexis Krauss (born 1985), musician of the noise pop duo Sleigh Bells ...
tank locomotives
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locomo ...
.
Krauss 4526 (
0-4-0T builder's number 4526 constructed 1902) was purchased from Messrs. Hendrickson and Knutson, arriving at the colliery in 1906. It was later sold to the Catamaran Colliery Company and then repaired with parts from Krauss 4080 in 1940.
The other locomotive (2-4-0T 5682, 1906) weighed and had cylinders and driving wheels. It was purchased new by the Colliery from Lohmann Brothers of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, agents for Krauss, and shipped to Margate, arriving in early 1907. Being new and heavier than 4526, it was regarded as the colliery's No. 1 locomotive. After 1914, it was the Colliery's sole locomotive. A bushfire in January 1920 left 5682 stranded and, as rebuilding a burned bridge was too expensive, the locomotive was left idle with a timber shed built around it for protection. In June 1922, the dismantling of the tramway from the colliery end reached the locomotive and it was removed to Margate, a temporary section of line having been built around the burnt bridge. The locomotive was sold to the
Electrona Electrona may refer to:
* ''Electrona'' (fish), a genus of lanternfishes in the family Myctophidae
* Electrona, Tasmania, a town in Tasmania, Australia
{{disambig ...
Carbide Works for use on the
Ida Bay line. It now resides at the Redwater Creek Steam Railway in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
.
References
External links
* Margate Wharf –
* Kaoota mine –
5x speed of a bike cycling along the route of the Sandfly Colliery Tramway*
{{Southern Tasmania , state=autocollapse
Closed railway lines in Tasmania
Southern Tasmania
2 ft gauge railways in Australia