Kalgoorlie railway station

Last updated

Kalgoorlie
Transwa icon v2.svg
Kalgoorlie railway station, 20 November 1930.jpg
Eastern end of the station in November 1930
General information
LocationForrest Street, Kalgoorlie
Coordinates 30°44′46″S121°28′01″E / 30.7460°S 121.4669°E / -30.7460; 121.4669
Elevation1,234 feet (376 m) [1]
Owned by Transwa
Operated byTranswa
Line(s) Eastern Goldfields Railway
Trans-Australian Railway
Distance653 kilometres from Perth
Platforms3 (1 side, 2 bay)
Construction
Structure typeGround
AccessibleYes
History
Opened8 September 1896
Services
Preceding station Transwa icon v2.svg Transwa Following station
Bonnie Vale
towards East Perth
Prospector Terminus
Preceding station Journey Beyond Following station
Perth
Terminus
Indian Pacific Rawlinna
towards Sydney
TypeState Registered Place
Designated14 December 2001
Reference no. 1279

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.

Contents

Establishment

View from the station in May 1931 View from Railway Station, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, 23 May 1931.jpg
View from the station in May 1931
Sunrise over Kalgoorlie Railway Station, 27 May 2021 Kalgoorlie Railway Station.jpg
Sunrise over Kalgoorlie Railway Station, 27 May 2021
WAGR P class locomotive with the Kalgoorlie Express at the station in 1935 P class + Kalgoorlie Express, Kalgoorlie, 1935.jpg
WAGR P class locomotive with the Kalgoorlie Express at the station in 1935

Construction of the railway station and yard was begun in the late 1890s, as part of the extension of the Eastern Goldfields Railway from Coolgardie in January 1897. [2] The station was formally opened by the Governor of Western Australia, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Gerard Smith KCMG, at a ceremony held on the station platform on 8 September 1896. [3]

In the early stages of the development of railways in the Eastern Goldfields, it was the junction for the following railways: [4]

In 1917, Kalgoorlie became a break-of-gauge station when the Commonwealth Railways' standard gauge Trans-Australian Railway from Port Augusta opened. This ceased on 3 August 1968, when the Eastern Goldfields Railway was gauge converted. [8] [9]

Loop line

Surveyed in 1899, [10] the line went from Kalgoorlie station. [11] Due to costs and passenger decline, in 1920, some of the stations listed below were reduced in status by ceasing to be booking stations: Hannan Street, Golden Gate, Brown Hill and Trafagar. [12] In 1921, fares increased. [13] In 1930, the passenger service was closed. [14] [15]

Western side:

Inner western side

Boulder Loop

Eastern side

Platform

The platform was the longest in Western Australia, 527 m [18]

It was eclipsed by the new East Perth Terminal platform, built for the 1969-70 extension of standard gauge into Perth. [19] At each end of the main platform are bay platforms; the three to the east (adjacent to the former water tank and signal box) were where Boulder loop line passenger services arrived, and the western one is where the current Prospector services terminate. The eastern bays were converted to standard gauge for Trans-Australia Railway, prior to the extension of the standard gauge line to Perth.

Location and commemorations

Due to it being the western terminus of the Trans-Australian Railway, the station has been the location of a number of commemorations and ceremonies from the opening of that railway in 1917 and since. [20]

Services

Kalgoorlie is served by the Transwa Prospector rural train service and the Indian Pacific . It was also previously served by the Kalgoorlie Express, The Westland and Trans Australian .

The Prospector service runs to and from East Perth once or twice each day. [21]

Indian Pacific

The Indian Pacific also stops here. It runs once a week each way between East Perth and Sydney Central.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalgoorlie</span> City in Western Australia

Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located 595 km (370 mi) east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includes the historic townsite of Boulder and the local government area is the City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Cross, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Southern Cross is a town in Western Australia, 371 kilometres east of state capital Perth on the Great Eastern Highway. It was founded by gold prospectors in 1888, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merredin, Western Australia</span> Town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Railway (Western Australia)</span> Railway line in Western Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coolgardie, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

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.

<i>The Prospector</i> (train) Passenger train between East Perth and Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

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 travelling between East Perth and Kalgoorlie, and the other between Kalgoorlie and East Perth. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bodallin, Western Australia</span> Town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia

Bodallin is a town located around half way between Merredin and Southern Cross in Western Australia.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Goldfields Railway</span> Railway line in Western Australia

The Eastern Goldfields Railway was built in the 1890s by the Western Australian Government Railways to connect Perth with the Eastern Goldfields at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie.

<i>The Westland</i> Train operated by the Western Australian Government Railways

The Westland was the name given in 1938 to the overnight train operated by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) with sitting and sleeping cars between Perth and Kalgoorlie, where it connected with the Trans-Australian service to Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail transport in Western Australia</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder</span> Local government area in Western Australia

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merredin railway station</span> Railway station in Merredin, Western Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAGR WCA/WCE class</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toodyay railway station</span> Railway station in Western Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northam railway station, Western Australia</span> Railway station in Northam, Western Australia

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<i>The Kalgoorlie</i> Former railway service in Western Australia

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The community of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia had an energetic newspaper publishing industry in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

References

  1. WAGR Timetable 1964, pg9
  2. "Kalgoorlie Railway Station". Kalgoorlie Western Argus . WA. 22 April 1897. p. 11. Retrieved 23 March 2013 via National Library of Australia.
  3. "To-Day's Proceedings. Reception of the Guests. The Week's Programme". Kalgoorlie Miner . 8 September 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  4. "Kalgoorlie Railway Station". Kalgoorlie Miner. 5 May 1899. p. 4. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  5. "Opening of Boulder Line Extension". The West Australian . Perth,WA. 12 November 1897. p. 3. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  6. "Local and General". Kalgoorlie Western Argus. 9 December 1897. p. 12. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  7. "The Opening Ceremonies". Kalgoorlie Western Argus. 24 March 1898. p. 11. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  8. May, Andrew S; Gray, Bill (2006). A History of WAGR Passenger Carriages. Midland, WA: Bill Gray. p. 262. ISBN   0646459023.
  9. History of Rail in Australia Department of Infrastructure & Regional Development
  10. "KALGOORLIE AND BOULDER". The West Australian . Vol. 15, no. 4, 045. Western Australia. 16 February 1899. p. 6. Retrieved 11 October 2019 via National Library of Australia.
  11. David Paton Printing; Golden Mile Loopline Railway Society; Eastern Goldfields Historical Society (W.A.) (1983), Historical notes and commentary on the Golden Mile Loop Line Railway, D. Paton Printing, ISBN   978-0-9591843-0-3
  12. "KALGOORLIE-BOULDER CITY BROWN HILL LOOP LINE". The Evening Star . Vol. 20, no. 6984. Western Australia. 29 January 1920. p. 2. Retrieved 11 October 2019 via National Library of Australia.
  13. "BOULDER-BROWNHILL RAILWAY LOOP". The Daily News . Vol. XXXX, no. 14, 512. Western Australia. 15 September 1921. p. 5 (THIRD EDITION). Retrieved 11 October 2019 via National Library of Australia.
  14. "MINES LOOP LINE". Kalgoorlie Miner . Vol. 36, no. 9575. Western Australia. 1 August 1930. p. 4. Retrieved 11 October 2019 via National Library of Australia.
  15. "MINES LOOP LINE". Western Argus . Vol. 36, no. 2096. Western Australia. 5 August 1930. p. 11. Retrieved 11 October 2019 via National Library of Australia.
  16. "Brown Hill Loop Line". Western Mail . Vol. XVII, no. 847. Western Australia. 22 March 1902. p. 34. Retrieved 27 June 2018 via National Library of Australia.
  17. "Williamstown, Kalgoorlie". Western Mail (Western Australia) . Vol. XVII, no. 858. Western Australia. 7 June 1902. p. 38. Retrieved 1 September 2023 via National Library of Australia.
  18. "Kalgoorlie Railway Station". Kalgoorlie Western Argus . Vol. 2, no. 126. Western Australia. 22 April 1897. p. 11. Retrieved 1 September 2023 via National Library of Australia.
  19. "The Railway Station at Kalgoorlie". The West Australian. Perth, WA. 11 July 1934. p. 16. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  20. Institution of Engineers, Australia. Western Australia Division (2001), Trans-Australian Railway : national engineering landmark, commemorative plaque unveiling ceremony, Kalgoorlie-Western Australia, Tuesday, 27 November 2001, Kalgoorlie Railway Station, Institution of Engineers, Australia, W.A. Division, retrieved 23 March 2013
  21. "Prospector Timetable" (PDF). Transwa. Public Transport Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.