''The Kalgoorlie'' was a train service operated by 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 ...

between November 1962 and November 1971.

Railway

Following the opening of the

Eastern Goldfields Railway The Eastern Goldfields Railway was built in the 1890s by the Western Australian Government Railways to connect Perth with the Eastern Goldfields at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. History The Eastern Railway opened in stages from Perth to Nort ...

to Kalgoorlie in December 1887, a service from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

commenced. Although not officially named, it was often referred to as the ''Great Eastern Express'', ''Kalgoorlie Express'' or ''Kalgoorlie Passenger''. Following the opening of the

Trans-Australian Railway The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the east ...

in October 1917, its importance increased with the commencement of the '' Trans-Australian Express'' from Port Augusta in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. By May 1921, a separate overnight express (later named ''

The Westland ''The Westland'' was the name given in 1938 to the overnight train operated by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) with sitting and sleeping cars between Perth and Kalgoorlie, where it connected with the '' Trans-Australian'' se ...

'') for interstate passengers and mail was introduced and it became the connecting train with the ''Trans-Australian Express''. The existing service remained to service intrastate passengers and was named ''The Kalgoorlie'' on 3 December 1962. Following the conversion of the

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and Eastern Goldfields lines to standard gauge, ''The Kalgoorlie'' was scheduled to be replaced by '' The Prospector''. However delays in delivery of new rolling stock saw the existing narrow gauge service continue. As it was the only narrow gauge train traversing the Northam to Merredin section of the Eastern line, it was diverted via Wyalkatchem in October 1970 to allow the old line to close. ''The Kalgoorlie'' last ran on 28 November 1971.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Kalgoorlie Express, The Kalgoorlie

Railway

References

External links

See also