The Texas railway line is a disused

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 ...

of the

South Western railway line __NOTOC__ South Western Railway may refer to: Australia *South West Rail Link in Sydney, Australia *South Western railway line, Queensland, Australia *South Western Railway, Western Australia United Kingdom *Glasgow and South Western Railway in Sc ...

in the south of the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, and was the last traditional branch line railway constructed in Queensland. The McDougall brothers settled land in the Texas region in about 1840. They later had to prove their claim to the property after another settler moved in during their absence. At the time, the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

in North America was in the midst of a land war with neighbouring Mexico and thus they called their property Texas station. Deposits of silver, lead and copper were mined at

Silver Spur The Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit is a full-size luxury car produced by Rolls-Royce Motors, in Crewe, England, from 1980 to 1997. It was the first model in the SZ series. The Silver Spur is a long-wheelbase version of the Silver Spirit, produced ...

about east of Texas. Tobacco was grown in the Texas region along with a busy trade in rabbit meat and skins. Between October 1910 and March 1912, a road train serviced the area between

Inglewood Inglewood may refer to: Places Australia *Inglewood, Queensland * Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area *Inglewood, South Australia *Inglewood, Victoria * Inglewood, Western Australia Canada * Inglewood, Ontario *Inglewo ...

(a railhead on the South Western line), Texas and Silver Spur. In 1914, following an inefficient and unreliable service, a branch line was approved linking the three centres. Construction did not begin until February 1929 and the section between

and Texas opened on 3 November 1930. Two small sidings appeared en route at Magee and Mundoey. Grain, tobacco, dairy products and livestock were its main cargo but the line faced stiff competition with motor transport in the ascendancy. Closure of the Silver Spur mine sounded the death knell of an extension beyond Texas. Two trains a week connected with services at Inglewood. Although special trains ran during busy times, branch traffic was always sparse. Short branch lines ran from Texas station to livestock pens and past the Texas Freezing Works where rabbits were processed. By 1963, passenger services had disappeared from the timetable. Regular services were withdrawn in 1985 and services were replaced by motor truck. The line closed on 1 January 1994 and is retained by Queensland Rail as a non-operational corridor. The track was left in place but other facilities were removed.

References

External links

1925 map of the Queensland railway system
{{Railway lines in Queensland , state=expanded Railway lines opened in 1930 Closed railway lines in Queensland Railway lines closed in 1994 Darling Downs

See also

References

External links