Bellarine-peninsula-railway-no4-steam-loco

The Fyansford Cement Works Railway was an

industrial railway An industrial railway is a type of railway (usually private) that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics, or military site. In regions of the world influenced by British ra ...

near

Geelong, Australia Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, built by the Australian Portland Cement Company to carry

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

from its quarry to its cement works at Fyansford. The railway was notable for including a tunnel, the longest rail tunnel in Victoria, apart from the underground sections of the

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 ...

City Loop. It had a fleet of one diesel and 11 steam locomotives, the majority of which have been preserved by heritage railway operators, in particular the

Bellarine Railway The Bellarine Railway, formerly the Bellarine Peninsula Railway, is a volunteer-operated steam-driven tourist railway located in Victoria, Australia. It operates on a 16 km section of a formerly disused branch line on the Bellarine Penin ...

History

The line was built in 1926, replacing an earlier overhead ropeway from the quarry to the main works. The railway had two main sections: one from the works depot to an older quarry, and a longer track which used the tunnel and connected to a newer quarry. The length of the main line from the new quarry to the depot was . The rail track had a

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, ...

of , one not often used in Victoria, where the predominant rail gauge was . The cement works railway operated until 1966, when it was replaced by an above-ground conveyor belt between a new crushing works on the quarry floor and the cement works. At the time of its closure, the railway's motive power consisted of a diesel-electric locomotive (which was sold to the

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

), and six steam locomotives, which were donated to preservation societies.

Locomotives

Of the original twelve locomotives, seven (one diesel and six steam locomotives) are still in existence today. With the relocation to Queenscliff of the

Australian Standard Garratt The Australian Standard Garratt (ASG) was a Garratt steam locomotive designed in Australia during World War II, and used on narrow gauge railway systems in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. History With the outbreak ...

from the

Australian Railway Historical Society Museum The Newport Railway Museum is located on Champion Road, Newport, Victoria, near the North Williamstown station. History The museum opened on 10 November 1962, after the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) Victorian Division was allocat ...

in May 2013, all six steam locomotives existing at the time of the line's closure are now in preservation at the

References

{{coord missing, Australia Industrial railways in Australia 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Australia