The Upper Darling Range Railway (also known as the Upper Darling Range Branch) was a branch railway 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 Gr ...

, Western Australia, that rose up the southern side of the

Helena Valley Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer *Helena, mother of Constantine I Places Greece * Helena (island) Guyana * ...

and on to the

Darling Scarp The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, to th ...

via the

Kalamunda Zig Zag The Kalamunda Zig Zag was a Zig zag (railway), zig zag rail line that was part of the Upper Darling Range Railway line in Western Australia, opening in July 1891 and closing in July 1949. Most of it was converted to a public road in 1952, part o ...

. At the time of construction it was the only section of railway in Western Australia to have had a

zig zag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...

formation.

History

Completed in July 1891, the Upper Darling Range Railway line was built by the

Canning Jarrah Timber Company The Canning Jarrah Timber Company was a timber and timber railway company operating in the Darling Range in Western Australia in the 1890s. The company was registered in London in 1898. It built the Upper Darling Range Railway. The railway de ...

to supply railway sleepers to

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 is ...

's growing railway system. It ran from Midland Junction railway station through to the

Darling Ranges The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, to t ...

and up into Kalamunda. It was later extended to Canning Mills and in 1912 to Karragullen. From Pickering Brook, a line branched off to Bartons Mill.History of the Railway
Pickering Brook Heritage Group On 1 July 1903, the line was taken over 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 ...

and became known as the Upper Darling Range Branch. The last service ran on 22 July 1949. The line was formally closed by the Railways (Upper Darling Range) Discontinuance Act 1950; it was dismantled in 1952.

Stopping places

Named stopping places and locations on the line included:Part of this table is sourced from:- Slee, John (1979) ''Cala Munnda'' pp. 55–56

References

*Gunzburg, Adrian (1967) ''Upper Darling Range Railway: WAGR'' held at Battye Library *Price, Eric T. (1983) ''The Canning jarrah line, 1891–1903'' Western Australia : E.T. Price *Slee, John. (1979) ''Cala Munnda : a home in the forest : a history of Kalamunda'' Kalamunda, W.A. : Shire of Kalamunda. *Steele, Ken.(1993) ''Zig Zag to Kalamunda : the story of the Upper Darling Range Railway'' Lesmurdie, W.A.: Drillmark Publications Division. {{ISBN, 0-646-16323-X *Watson, Lindsay (1995)''The Railway History of Midland Junction : Commemorating The Centenary of Midland Junction, 1895–1995'' Swan View, W.A : L & S Drafting in association with the Shire of Swan and the Western Australian Light Railway Preservation Association. *Webb, E.G. (Eric Godfrey) & Kalamunda and Districts Historical Society (1996). Rails in the hills : a history of the railway from Midland to Karragullen, 1891–1949 Kalamund & Districts Historical Society, Kalamunda, W.A

External links

Kev's Workshop Kalamunda Zig-Zag Page
Bickley, Western Australia Closed railway lines in Western Australia Kalamunda, Western Australia Midland, Western Australia Railway lines opened in 1891 Railway lines closed in 1949

History

Stopping places

References

Further reading

External links