The Wandoan Branch is a 70 km railway line in the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generall ...

region

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. It links the towns of

Miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

and

Wandoan Wandoan is a town and locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was formerly known as Juandah. It is on the Leichhardt Highway about halfway between Taroom and Miles and is the centre for the local cattle industry. In the ...

. It was approved to extend to

Taroom Taroom is a town in the Shire of Banana and locality split between the Shire of Banana and the Western Downs Region in Queensland, Australia. At the , Taroom had a population of 869 people. Geography The town is located on the Dawson River ...

, but construction halted during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and never recommenced.

History

The Western Line from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

reached Miles in August 1878. Taroom, about 120 kilometres to the north of Miles, later became an established pastoral region and a line in that direction was proposed to promote closer settlement. Approval was given in 1910 for construction of the first section to Wandoan (then called Juandah) and the line opened from Miles as far as Giligulgul on 20 December 1913. Sidings enroute were Dalwogan (now Dalwogon), Kowguran and Gurulmundi. On 11 August 1913, during construction of the Miles-Taroom section, a ballast train collided with several cattle from Miles. Two men including the train's timekeeper were killed, another man was injured. Hopper cars being pushed in front of the locomotive were emitting dust at the time. A fourth crew member was not significantly injured. Juandah Station was established in 1853 following favorable reports from

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 – c. 1848) was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's dis ...

after his trek through the region in 1844, and the small town of Juandah gradually developed. The second stage of the line opened via Guluguba, Burunga and Wubagul to Juandah on 16 December 1914. The approved section to Taroom was never constructed. Juandah was renamed Wandoan in 1927 to avoid confusion with the town of

Jundah Jundah is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Barcoo, Queensland, Australia. Jundah is the administrative centre of the Barcoo Shire local government area. In the , the locality of Jundah had a population of 106 people. Geography The t ...

southwest of

Longreach Longreach is a town and a locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and Isisford s ...

. Kowguran siding achieved prominence during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when the

RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

operated a munitions store next to the railway line. Kowguran Sub-depot to No. 3 Central Reserve Explosive Store included 20 concrete underground bunkers in which up to 2500 tons of bombs and ammunition were stored. Supplies, munitions and personnel were connected by rail to Brisbane via Miles and

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

Services

Trains worked from Chinchilla about 40 kilometres to the east of Miles. A twice-weekly mixed serviced the route which connected at Miles with trains west to Roma and east to Brisbane. The 70 kilometres between Miles and Wandoan was traversed in three hours. In 1954, a twice-weekly rail motor service was introduced to connect with the

Sydney Mail Sydney Mailmay refer to: * Sydney Mail (train service), a train service that existed between 1888 and 1972 going from Brisbane to Wallangarra, where passengers would transfer at Wallangarra for the Brisbane Limited. * The Sydney Mail, an Australi ...

at Toowoomba. Like so many services in country Queensland, the line faced increasing competition from road transport. Traffic gradually dwindled to seasonal grain transport.

Present and future

The line is still open, with rail of 30 kg/m re-laid for about 50% of the line, with the balance being 21 kg/m. Steel sleepers have been installed at a rate of 1 in 4 to 1 in 3, and the maximum axle load is 15.75 tonnes. The maximum grade is 1 in 50 (2%), the minimum radius curve is 200m, and the line speed is 30 km/h. the Wandoan Line is currently listed as "booked out of use" by both

Aurizon Aurizon ( ) is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National. it was the world’s largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland Government-owned company, it was privatised and floated o ...

and

Watco Australia Watco Australia is a rail haulage operator that was formed in 2010 to haul grain for the CBH Group in Western Australia. In 2019, it commenced operating in Queensland under a contract with GrainCorp. It is a subsidiary of Watco. History In 200 ...

. A major coal mine is proposed at Wandoan, with coal to be shipped from

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

via the proposed Surat Basin railway, which would connect to the Moura Short Line south of the town of Banana. This proposed line would be well east of Taroom, and pass close to the former gold mining town of Cracow. An existing coal mine, Cameby Downs, is situated at Columboola about 25 km east of Miles, and currently rails coal to Brisbane via the Western line. If the Surat Basin railway is built, the mine has approval to upgrade the Wandoan line to the same standard (i.e. 26.5 tonne axle load) so it can export coal via Gladstone.

References

External links

1925 map of the Queensland railway system

Surat Basin Rail website
{{Coord, 26, 23, S, 150, 02, E, display=title Railway lines in Queensland Railway lines opened in 1913 1913 establishments in Australia Western Downs Region

History

Services

Present and future

See also

References

External links