The Meekatharra to Wiluna railway was a branch line of 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 respons ...

that extended the Mullewa – Meekatharra railway from Meekatharra to Wiluna. Wiluna was the furthest rail terminus from

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

on the Western Australian Government Railways system. Paroo was the highest station, at

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The ...

; the highest point on the Western Australian railway network, west of Paroo, was .

Overview

Construction began in the late 1920s, and the line operated between 1932 and 1957, mainly serving the Wiluna gold mining area. However Wiluna was also at the end of the

Canning Stock Route The Canning Stock Route is a track that runs from Halls Creek in the Kimberley region of Western Australia to Wiluna in the mid-west region. With a total distance of around 1,850 km (1,150 mi) it is the longest historic stock route ...

from

Halls Creek Halls is a plural of the word hall. Halls may also refer to: People * Walter Halls (1871–1953), British trade unionist and politician * Ethel May Halls (1882–1967), American actress * Julian Halls (born 1967), British field hockey player * ...

in the

Kimberley region of Western Australia The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, a ...

, and so the railway became a vital means of dispatching cattle intended for southern markets. The track was susceptible to

washaway A washaway is a particular kind of landslide that can affect man-made structures such as cuttings, embankments and bridges. They are thus a hazard to railways and road traffic. Overview The biggest danger with washaways is that they may be d ...

Intermediate stopping points

* Meekatharra - from

* Gnaweeda - * Richardson - * Yaganoo - * Paroo – * Wiluna - ~

Closure

The two sections - Meekathara to Paroo (107.7 km) and Paroo to Wiluna (68.3 km) were closed on 5 August 1957.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meekatharra-Wiluna railway Closed railway lines in Western Australia Mid West (Western Australia) Railway lines opened in 1932 Railway lines closed in 1957