Yallourn 900mm Railway

The Yallourn 900 mm railway was a narrow gauge railway operated by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria in the Latrobe Valley of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The railway was built for the haulage of brown coal and overburden between the Yallourn Power Station, Victoria, Yallourn open cut mine, briquette works, and power station. The Morwell Interconnecting Railway (ICR) was later constructed, linking the Yallourn mine complex with the Hazelwood Power Station, Victoria, Hazelwood open cut, briquette works, and power station.

Operation

The network used overhead lines, overhead-wire electrification, and track in the open-cut mine was frequently moved using special track shifters. Locomotives were supplied by Henschel & Son, Siemens AG, Siemens, and Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi. Use of the electric locomotive declined in later years, with diesel locomotives used on the Interconnecting Railway in the 1990s.

The Yallourn railway commenced operation with the power station, being replaced by conveyor belts in 1984. The Morwell Interconnecting Railway opened with the Hazelwood complex, and crossed the Orbost railway line, main Gippsland railway by an overpass to the West of Morwell. The ICR was replaced by diesel locomotive haulage in 1993, with railway operations ending in October 2000 and the track was lifted between September and December 2001. A number of wagons from the railway after closure were acquired by the Walhalla Goldfields Railway and regauged for their use. A locomotive and coal wagon from the line are preserved at the North Williamstown railway museum.

Gallery

Image:Coal-dredge-and-train-yallourn.jpg, Trains being loaded by a coal dredge in the open cut.
Image:Overburden-wagons-dumping-to-spreader.jpg, Loaded wagons dumping overburden
Image:Track-shifter-dredge.jpg, Special wagon used for moving track in the mine
Image:Track-shifter-side-on-yallourn.jpg, Special wagon used for moving track in the mine

See also

* Yallourn railway line

References

Further reading

*{{cite book
, last = Vines
, first = J.A.
, title = Train Systems – Yallourn and Morwell Open Cuts
, publisher = Generation Victoria
, year = 1994

External links

*Railpage Australia
Former Inter-connecting railway (SECV) Morwell
*Ausloco mailing list

*Darren's Gunzel Gallery
Locomotive and rolling stock plans

Railway lines in Victoria (Australia)
900 mm gauge railways in Australia
Transport in Gippsland (region)
City of Latrobe