Southern Cross is a town in Western Australia, 371 kilometres east of state capital Perth on the Great Eastern Highway. It was founded in 1888 after gold prospectors Richard Greaves and Ted Paine during their October 1887 expedition successfully found gold, and gazetted in 1890. It is the major town and administrative centre of the Shire of Yilgarn. At the 2016 census, Southern Cross had a population of 680.
Great Eastern Highway is a 590-kilometre-long (370 mi) road that links the Western Australian capital of Perth with the city of Kalgoorlie. A key route for road vehicles accessing the eastern Wheatbelt and the Goldfields, it is the western portion of the main road link between Perth and the eastern states of Australia. The highway forms the majority of National Highway 94, although the alignment through the Perth suburbs of Guildford and Midland, and the eastern section between Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie are not included. Various segments form parts of other road routes, including National Route 1, Alternative National Route 94, and State Route 51.
Merredin is a town in Western Australia, located in the central Wheatbelt roughly midway between Perth and Kalgoorlie, on Route 94, Great Eastern Highway. It is located on the route of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, and as a result is also on the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail.
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.
Coolgardie is a small town in Western Australia, 558 kilometres (347 mi) east of the state capital, Perth. It has a population of approximately 850 people.
The Prospector is a rural passenger train service in Western Australia operated by Transwa between East Perth and Kalgoorlie. On this service, two trains depart almost at the same time in opposite directions. One travels between East Perth and Kalgoorlie, the other between Kalgoorlie and East Perth with crew changeover occurring in Merredin. The original vehicles ordered in 1968 for trains providing this service were replaced in 2004 with vehicles capable of reducing journey times to 6 hours 45 minutes.
Koolyanobbing is located 54 km (34 mi) north-northeast of the town of Southern Cross, Western Australia. Iron ore has been mined here since 1948 by a series of companies, with a break between 1983 and 1993. The ore is currently railed to the port at Esperance for export. The current owner and operator of the lease is Mineral Resources.
Booraan is a railway siding at the 297 km (185 mi) peg of the standard gauge Eastern Goldfields Railway between Northam and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
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 Goldfields Water Supply Scheme is a pipeline and dam project that delivers potable water from Mundaring Weir in Perth to communities in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields, particularly Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. The project was commissioned in 1896 and completed in 1903.
Merredin railway station is located on the Eastern Goldfields Railway in Western Australia. It is in the town of Merredin.
Kalgoorlie railway station is the easternmost attended station in Western Australia, located at the eastern terminus of the Eastern Goldfields Railway. It serves the city of Kalgoorlie. Beyond Kalgoorlie, the line continues east as the Trans-Australian Railway.
The Esperance branch railway is a railway from Kalgoorlie to the port of Esperance in Western Australia.
Railway dams and reservoirs were used to supply water to an extensive railway system that ventured into low rainfall, and poor water quality areas of the inner regions of Western Australia in the 1890s.
Western Australian Government Railways railway system during its peak operational time in the 1930s to 1950s was a large system of over 6,400 kilometres (4,000 mi) of railway line.
The WAGR WCA class railcars and WCE class trailers were built by Comeng, Granville for the Western Australian Government Railways in 1971 to operate the new Prospector service between East Perth and Kalgoorlie. At the time of their construction the WCA class units were the longest and fastest diesel railcars in the world.
Northam railway station is located in Northam on the Eastern Railway route in Western Australia. It is the second and more recent railway station in Northam.
The Kalgoorlie was a railway passenger service operated by the Western Australian Government Railways between November 1962 and November 1971.
The Goomalling to West Merredin railway line is a 183-kilometre (114 mi) long railway line operated by Arc Infrastructure in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, connecting Goomalling with West Merredin. Only the western part of the railway line, the 66-kilometre (41 mi) section from Goomalling to Wyalkatchem, is operational, while the 117-kilometre (73 mi) section from Wyalkatchem to West Merredin is not in use.
The Southern Cross Southwards Railway, also referred to as the South Yilgarn railway, was an authorised but never constructed railway line in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The railway line was to head south from Southern Cross, where it connected to the Eastern Goldfields Railway.
