Great Southern Railway (Western Australia)

Great Southern Railway
	Map of the Great Southern Railway of Western Australia (1894)
Overview
Main state(s)	Western Australia
Dates of operation	1886–1896
Successor	Western Australian Government Railways
Technical
Track gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Route map
Great Southern Railway
	Legend

Last updated September 23, 2023

The Great Southern Railway was a railway company that operated from Beverley to Albany in Western Australia between 1886 and 1896. In 1896 the Western Australian Government Railways took over the company, and kept the name for the route.^[1]^[2]

Land development

The Great Southern Railway project was directly tied in with developments of lands related to agriculture.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Construction

The first sods for the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge railway were turned on 20 October 1886. This occurred simultaneously at Beverley and Albany by Lady Broome and the Governor Sir Frederick Broome respectively. The final spike was driven on 14 February 1889, 122 miles (196 km) north of Albany. The official opening of the line was on 1 June 1889.[6]

The construction of the railway was significant for the development of economic activity in the region and led to the establishment of grain and sheep grazing, along with the development of towns such as Katanning, Broomehill, Tambellup, Cranbrook, Mount Barker and Woodanilling.

There was some initial debate over where the railway line should be placed. In the end, the link was made from an existing line ending at Beverley because it was the cheapest option. This devastated residents of the town of Kojonup, who initially hoped the line would pass through their town and follow the Albany Highway.

Conversion to diesel

Steam locomotives were withdrawn from mainline work in Western Australia in 1971 –the process of removing steam from the Great Southern line had serious economic effects upon the towns of Narrogin and Katanning where extensive barracks and services relative to steam operations were closed down after this date.^[7]

Present

Currently the line is managed by Arc Infrastructure. The majority of movements are CBH grain trains out of the Albany and Wagin depots. Aurizon currently operates a woodchip train between Albany and Redmond.

Related Research Articles

The human history of Western Australia commenced between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago with the arrival of Aboriginal Australians on the northwest coast. The first inhabitants expanded across the east and south of the continent.

Katanning is a town located 277 kilometres (172 mi) south-east of Perth, Western Australia on the Great Southern Highway. At the 2016 census, Katanning had a population of 3,687.

Spencers Brook is a waterway, locality and a district located within the Avon Valley in Western Australia.

Great Southern Highway is a highway in the southern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, starting from Great Eastern Highway at The Lakes, 50 km (31 mi) from Perth, and ending at Albany Highway near Cranbrook. It is the primary thoroughfare for this part of Western Australia and runs parallel with the Perth-Albany railway for its entire length. It is signed as State Route 120 from York to Cranbrook, and was first named in 1949, although it was built well before that time.

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.

Elleker is a small town in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, about 16 kilometres (10 mi) west of the regional city of Albany. It is situated along the Lower Denmark Road; the main tourist route from Albany to Denmark.

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 responsibility for tram and ferry operations that it assumed and later relinquished. Westrail was the trading name of WAGR from September 1975 until December 2000, when the WAGR's freight division and the Westrail name and logo were privatised. Its freight operations were privatised in December 2000 with the remaining passenger operations transferred to the Public Transport Authority in July 2003.

Beverley is a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, 133 kilometres (83 mi) south-east of the state capital, Perth, between York and Brookton on the Great Southern Highway. It is on the Great Southern railway line.

The Midland Railway of Western Australia (MRWA) was a railway company that built and operated the Midland line in Western Australia. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange. Although having its headquarters in London, it had no association with the English Midland Railway.

Gnowangerup is a town located 61 kilometres (38 mi) south-east of Katanning in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.

Broomehill is a town on the Great Southern Highway between Katanning and Albany, in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Its local government area is the Shire of Broomehill-Tambellup.

Frederick Henry Piesse, CMG was a farmer, businessman and politician who is credited with much of the early development of the region around Katanning, 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 Northern Railway has had a number of meanings in Western Australian railway history.

The WAGR Q class was a six-member class of 4-6-2T tank engine steam locomotives operated by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) between 1896 and 1925.

The WAGR S class was a two-member class of 0-6-0WT tank locomotives operated by the Great Southern Railway (GSR) and later Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR).

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 Midland railway line runs from Midland Junction to Walkaway in Western Australia. Built by the Midland Railway of Western Australia, the 446 kilometre line opened in November 1894.

York railway station is a disused station on the Eastern Railway in Western Australia. It is located in the town of York.

References

Affleck, Fred (1978). On Track: The Making of Westrail, 1950–1976. Perth: Westrail. ISBN 0724475605. OCLC 6489347.
Quinlan, Howard & Newland, John R. Australian Railway Routes 1854-2000 2000. ISBN 0-909650-49-7

Notes

↑ West Australian Land Company (1896), Agreement for purchase of the Great Southern Railway and other interests of the company in the Colony dated 24 December 1896, Sutton, Ommanney & Randall, retrieved 26 May 2012
↑ Goodman, R. W; Albany Historical Society; Australian Railway Historical Society. Western Australian Division (1963), The Great Southern Railway : a short talk delivered to the Albany Historical Society on 14th February, 1963 , retrieved 26 May 2012
↑ Western Australia; Hordern, Anthony, 1842-1886 (1886), Contract between the Government of the Colony of Western Australia and Mr. Anthony Hordern for the construction of a railway between Beverley and Albany on the land grant system and other purposes : dated 25th October, 1884, Waterlow & Sons, printers, retrieved 17 February 2014{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ West Australian Land Company (1890), The West Australian Land Company, Limited (Great Southern Railway of Western Australia.) : descriptive prospectus of company's land, Stirling Bros. & Co., Printers, retrieved 17 February 2014
↑ West Australian Land Company (1896), Agreement for purchase of the Great Southern Railway and other interests of the company in the Colony dated 24 December 1896, Sutton, Ommanney & Randall, retrieved 17 February 2014
↑ Bollans, A. R. (Alan R.); Australian Railway Historical Society. Western Australian Division (1989), One hundred years of the Great Southern Railway of Western Australia, Australian Railway Historical Society, Western Australian Division, ISBN 978-0-9599690-6-1
↑ "Item R4967-A – Dieselisation of Great Southern Railway". State Records Office of WA. Retrieved 4 June 2018.

External links

Media related to Great Southern Railway (Western Australia) at Wikimedia Commons

^ "The Great Southern Railway of Western Australia" . Retrieved 16 December 2005.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] West Australian Land Company (1896), Agreement for purchase of the Great Southern Railway and other interests of the company in the Colony dated 24 December 1896, Sutton, Ommanney & Randall, retrieved 26 May 2012

[2] Goodman, R. W; Albany Historical Society; Australian Railway Historical Society. Western Australian Division (1963), The Great Southern Railway : a short talk delivered to the Albany Historical Society on 14th February, 1963 , retrieved 26 May 2012

[3] Western Australia; Hordern, Anthony, 1842-1886 (1886), Contract between the Government of the Colony of Western Australia and Mr. Anthony Hordern for the construction of a railway between Beverley and Albany on the land grant system and other purposes : dated 25th October, 1884, Waterlow & Sons, printers, retrieved 17 February 2014{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[4] West Australian Land Company (1890), The West Australian Land Company, Limited (Great Southern Railway of Western Australia.) : descriptive prospectus of company's land, Stirling Bros. & Co., Printers, retrieved 17 February 2014

[5] West Australian Land Company (1896), Agreement for purchase of the Great Southern Railway and other interests of the company in the Colony dated 24 December 1896, Sutton, Ommanney & Randall, retrieved 17 February 2014

[6] Bollans, A. R. (Alan R.); Australian Railway Historical Society. Western Australian Division (1989), One hundred years of the Great Southern Railway of Western Australia, Australian Railway Historical Society, Western Australian Division, ISBN 978-0-9599690-6-1

[7] "Item R4967-A – Dieselisation of Great Southern Railway". State Records Office of WA. Retrieved 4 June 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[7]