Bunbury Bridge was a single-track, timber railway bridge in East Perth in Western Australia. The bridge crossed the Swan River near Claise Brook and was built for passenger and freight traffic to Bunbury on the South Western Railway.
Originally called the Swan Bridge, [1] it was built in 1892 by Atkins and Law. [2] Construction was delayed due to troubles with sinking the jarrah piles into the soft riverbed: they were intended to be sunk 42 feet (13 m) below the water level, but reached this depth under their own weight as soon as they were put in position. Ultimately, they had to be driven to 85 to 96 feet (26 to 29 m) before a solid footing was found. [1]
The bridge was opened as part of the Perth to Bunbury Railway, which was officially opened on 8 September 1893 by Governor Robinson. [3] [4] [5] Following concerns for its safety, a so-called "temporary" replacement bridge was built between 1930 [6] and 1932. [7] [8] [9]
After 63 years of use, the temporary structure was closed when a new concrete railway bridge opened in 1995. [10] [11] The old timber bridge was demolished in early 1996. The 1995 concrete dual-track Goongoongup Bridge was built as part of the electrification of Perth's suburban railways. Windan Bridge (opened April 2000) is immediately adjacent and carries road traffic from the Graham Farmer Freeway.
Perth railway station is the largest station on the Transperth network, serving the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. It serves as an interchange between the Airport, Armadale, Fremantle, Midland, and Thornlie lines as well as Transwa's Australind service. It is also directly connected to Perth Underground railway station, which has the Yanchep and Mandurah lines.
The Eastern Railway is the main railway route between Fremantle and Northam in Western Australia. It opened in stages between 1881 and 1893. The line continues east to Kalgoorlie as the Eastern Goldfields Railway.
The Australind is a currently suspended rural passenger train service in Western Australia operated by Transwa on the South Western Railway between Perth and Bunbury.
Serpentine is a town located 55 kilometres (34 mi) south-southeast of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and 7 km south of Mundijong.
Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the state owned operator of railways 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 responsibility for tram and ferry operations that it assumed and later relinquished. Westrail was the trading name of the WAGR from September 1975 until December 2000, when the WAGR's freight division and the Westrail brand were privatised. Its remaining passenger operations were transferred to the Public Transport Authority in July 2003.
South Western Highway is a highway in the South West region of Western Australia connecting Perth's southeast with Walpole. It is a part of the Highway 1 network for most of its length. It is about 406 kilometres (252 mi) long.
Jarrahdale is a small historic town located 45 km south-east of Perth, Western Australia in the Darling Range. The name is derived from its situation in a jarrah forest. Established in the late 1800s as the state's first major timber milling operation, it played a key role in the development of Western Australia through the exportation of jarrah around the world. At the 2016 census, Jarrahdale had a population of 1,192. Since 2001, the historic precinct has been managed by the state's National Trust organisation alongside private residential and tourism-oriented developments.
Canning Bridge is a traffic bridge which is the most downstream crossing of the Canning River in the city of Perth, Western Australia. The bridge is a part of Canning Highway, and it connects the suburbs of Como and Applecross. The Canning River is approximately 100 metres wide at the crossing, the narrowest point of the river along its downstream stretch. It is located near the Canning Bridge railway station.
Railways in Western Australia were developed in the 19th century both by the Government of Western Australia and a number of private companies. Today passenger rail services are controlled by the Public Transport Authority through Transperth, which operates public transport in Perth, and Transwa, which operates country passenger services. Journey Beyond operates the Indian Pacific.
The South Western Railway, also known as the South West Main Line, is the main railway route between Perth and Bunbury in Western Australia.
The Old Bunbury railway station was the main railway station for Bunbury, Western Australia from 1894 until 1996. It was the terminus for the Australind passenger railway service from Perth. It was replaced in May 1985 by the current Bunbury Terminal in East Bunbury.
Railways in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, have existed since 1881, when the Eastern Railway was opened between Fremantle and Guildford. Today, Perth has seven Transperth suburban rail lines and 78 stations.
Forrest Highway is a 95-kilometre-long (59 mi) highway in Western Australia's Peel and South West regions, extending Perth's Kwinana Freeway from east of Mandurah down to Bunbury. Old Coast Road was the original Mandurah–Bunbury route, dating back to the 1840s. Part of that road, and the Australind Bypass around Australind and Eaton, were subsumed by Forrest Highway. The highway begins at Kwinana Freeway's southern terminus in Ravenswood, continues around the Peel Inlet to Lake Clifton, and heads south to finish at Bunbury's Eelup Roundabout. There are a number of at-grade intersections with minor roads in the shires of Murray, Waroona, and Harvey including Greenlands Road and Old Bunbury Road, both of which connect to South Western Highway near Pinjarra.
Thomas Watson was a surveyor and early settler of the Swan River Colony in what is now Western Australia.
Millars' Karri and Jarrah Company (1902) Limited, commonly known as Millars, was a Western Australian focused timber and timber railway company.
Goongoongup Bridge is a railway bridge in East Perth, Western Australia which crosses the Swan River and forms part of the Armadale line. It opened on 24 July 1995 as part of the electrification of Perth's suburban railway network. The name is derived from the Nyungar word for the Claisebrook area.
The Mullewa–Meekatharra railway was a section of the Northern Railway in Western Australia.
Garratt Road Bridge consists of two adjacent bridges over the Swan River, linking the suburbs of Bayswater and Ascot in Perth, Western Australia. The upstream bridge was built in 1935, while the matching downstream bridge was built in 1972. The site was significant prior to the construction of Garratt Road Bridge – it featured in Aboriginal mythology, and was in the near vicinity of 1880s bridges for pedestrians and trains accessing Ascot Racecourse. From that time there were various proposal to provide a vehicular crossing between Bayswater and Bassendean. Interest peaked in 1928, but plans were delayed due to the Great Depression. The first bridge, designed by Main Roads Chief Engineer Ernest Godfrey, was constructed in 1934–35. It allowed two lanes of traffic to cross the Swan River, alongside pedestrians on an adjacent footbridge.
The Belmont Railway Line was a branch railway in Western Australia that extended from the Eastern Railway at Bayswater to cross the Swan River to Belmont near the Ascot Racecourse. The line closed in 1956.
The Northcliffe branch, also known as the Northcliffe section or Picton to Northcliffe line, is the railway route between Picton and Northcliffe in Western Australia.