List of tramways in Queensland provides three separate lists, each in alphabetical order of the key identifier. They are:
This list article does not include the Brisbane tramway network, the Brisbane Tramway Museum, the Gold Coast light rail, or the Rockhampton steam tram network.
The information listed is derived from the references and from the wikilinked articles (including those in “See also”)
Except where shown otherwise these tramways had a gauge of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm). They were regarded as tramways because of their lighter construction, and because they did not compete with government railways. The Mapleton Tramway, a former sugar cane tramway, is included in this list because it has its own article, and is heritage listed.
Tramway lengths are shown in miles to conform to other Australian railway articles. Where the source shows the distance in kilometres some small difference may occur due to rounding.
| Tramway name [1] | Owner / operator | From locality | To locality | From year | To year | Length | Gauge | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aramac | Aramac Shire | Aramac | Barcaldine | 1913 | 1975 | 41 mi (66 km) | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Now a heritage listed station and museum at Aramac. |
| Ballara | Hampton mine | Devoncourt (former train station) | Ballara (former mining town) | 1915 | 1926 | 21.8 mi (35 km) | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Served the “Wee Macgregor” mine, in the locality of Kuridala. This line joined a 1.85 mi (3 km) tramway, with 2 ft (610 mm) gauge. |
| Barakula | Queensland Railway Department | Chinchilla | Barakula State Forest | 1911 | 1970 | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | The tramway transported railway sleepers made from logs taken from the state forest at Barakula and milled at the Barakula sawmill (approx 26°25′40″S150°30′16″E / 26.4279°S 150.5044°E ). The route of the Barakula tramway was based on an earlier plan to construct a railway line from Chinchilla to Taroom that was subsequently abandoned in favour of a railway line from Miles to Taroom. [2] [3] [4] [5] | |
| Beaudesert Shire | Beaudesert Shire | Beaudesert | Lamington and Rathdowney | 1903 | 1944 | 39.36 mi (63.34 km) | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | With a branch line from Tabooba to Rathdowney. |
| Belmont | Belmont Shire | Norman Park | Belmont | 1912 | 1926 | 4.3 mi (6.9 km) | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Passenger tramway. |
| Big Pineapple | The Big Pineapple | Loop around the property | 1971 | N/A | 0.6 mi (1.0 km) | 2 ft (610 mm) | Tourist tramway. | |
| Buderim | Maroochy Shire | Palmwoods railway station | Buderim | 1914 | 1935 | 7.2 mi (11.6 km) | 2 ft (610 mm) | Built to carry farm produce from Buderim. Now heritage listed remnants at Buderim. |
| Cooloola | Brisbane Saw Mills | Broutha Scrub, Cooloola | Poverty Point, Cooloola | 1874 | 1884 | 8.5 mi (13.7 km) | 2 ft (610 mm) (assumed) | Built to carry timber to Tin Can Bay. Now heritage listed remnants [6] in Great Sandy National Park. |
| Innisfail | Johnstone Shire | Mourilyan Harbour | Mourilyan | 1883 | 1997 | 6.8 mi (11 km) | 2 ft (610 mm) | Built to carry materials from Mourilyan Harbour to build the Mourilyan sugar mill. Later expanded into a sugar cane tramway network to service the Mourilyan mill. |
| Laheys | Laheys Sawmill | Canungra | Upper Coomera | 1900 | 1933 | 16.5 mi (26.6 km) | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Now a heritage listed tunnel at Canungra. |
| Mapleton | Moreton Central Sugar Mill | Nambour | Mapleton | 1897 | 2003 | 26.1 mi (42.0 km) | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Expanded to a network of lines converging on Nambour. Now a heritage listed tramway segment in Nambour, and Tramway Lift Bridge over Maroochy River.. |
| Mill Point | McGhie, Luya and Co. | Near Kin Kin Creek | Mill Point sawmill, Como | 1870s | 1890s | 4 mi (6.4 km) | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Timber haulage near Lake Cootharaba, originally using timber rails. Heritage listed remnants at Como. |
| Stannary Hills | Stannary Hills Mines and Tramway Company | Boonmoo [7] | Stannary Hills | 1902 | 1941 | Unknown | 2 ft (610 mm) | Built for tin mining. Now heritage listed remnants at Irvinebank, and a rail trail to Boonmoo. [8] Refer to Chillagoe Railway & Mining Co. for a map showing Boonmoo, Stannary Hills, Irvinebank and Rocky Bluff, and the tramways between them. |
| Stannary Hills [9] | Irvinebank | 1907 | 1936 | 7.5 mi (12.1 km)(est) | ||||
| Stannary Hills | Rocky Bluff (a former mining town in the locality of Watsonville) | 1902 | 1926 | 6.8 mi (10.9 km) | ||||
With the exception of the Oaklands and Pioneer mill tramways, with a gauge of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm), and the Morayfield line (3 ft (914 mm)), these tramways have a gauge of 2 ft (610 mm). None of these tramways have their own article, but some of the mills have articles in which the associated tramway network is mentioned. Most of the locality articles contain some information about the associated sugar mill/s.
| Mill name [1] ' | Mill locality | Mill open year | Mill close year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babinda | Babinda | 1915 | 2011 | Dates from ref. [10] |
| Bingera | South Kolan | 1885 [11] | N/A | |
| Bloomfield | Bloomfield | 1885 | 1890 | Tramway was 10 mi (16 km) long, built from portable track. Mill closed 1890. |
| Cattle Creek | Finch Hatton | 1906 | 1990 | Tramway absorbed by Marian mill. |
| Fairymead | Fairymead | 1884 | 2004/5 | Tramway absorbed by Bingera mill. |
| Farleigh | Farleigh | 1883 | N/A | Tramway built 1956 to 1961. [12] |
| Gin Gin | Wallaville | 1896 | 1974 | Tramway absorbed by Bingera mill. |
| Goondi | Goondi | 1883 | 1987 | Tramway absorbed by Babinda and Mourilyan mills. |
| Habana | Habana | 1883 | 1901 | Heritage listed remains at Habana. |
| Hambleton | Edmonton | 1895 | 1992 | Tramway, built in 1897, absorbed by Mulgrave mill. |
| Inkerman | Home Hill | 1914 | N/A | |
| Invicta | Giru | 1918 | N/A | |
| Isis | Cordalba | 1896 | N/A | |
| Kalamia | Brandon | N/A | ||
| Macknade | Macknade | 1874 | N/A | |
| Marian | Marian | 1885 / 1895 [13] | N/A | |
| Millaquin | Bundaberg North | 1882 [14] | N/A | |
| Morayfield | Morayfield | 1867 | 1889 | A 3 mi (4.8 km), 3 ft (914 mm) gauge line. Tram initially horse-drawn; later by an 8-ton locomotive. Heritage listed ruins, including tramway rails. |
| Moreton | Nambour | 1897 | 2003 | Mill demolished in 2006 and most lines removed. See Mapleton tramway in the above table for further details. |
| Mossman | Mossman | 1894 | N/A | |
| Mourilyan [15] | Mourilyan | 1884 | 2006 | Mill destroyed by Cyclone Larry. |
| Mulgrave | Gordonvale | 1896 | N/A | See also Cairns-Mulgrave Tramway, a 31 mi (50 km), 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge line incorporated into Queensland Rail In 1911. |
| North Eton | North Eton | 1888 | 1989 | Tramway absorbed by Pleystowe and Racecourse mills. |
| Pioneer | Brandon | N/A | ||
| Plane Creek | Sarina | 1896 | N/A | |
| Pleystowe | Pleystowe | 1872 | 2009 | Dates from ref. [16] |
| Proserpine | Proserpine | 1897 | N/A | |
| Qunaba | Qunaba | pre-1900 | 1985 | Tramway absorbed by Millaquin and Fairymead mills. |
| Racecourse | Racecourse | 1889 [17] | N/A | |
| Richmond | Richmond | 1881 | 1895 | Heritage listed remnants at Richmond. |
| Rocky Point | Steiglitz | 1924 | 1951 | Rocky Point Sugar Mill is still operational. The Fowler locomotive is on display at the Beenleigh Historical Village. [18] [19] [20] |
| South Johnstone | South Johnstone | 1916 [21] | N/A | |
| Tully | Tully | 1925 | N/A | |
| Victoria | Victoria Plantation | 1883 [22] | N/A | |
The following mills, through common ownership arrangements, share their tramway networks: [1]
This list shows early enterprises that had some form of tramway, of which little is known.
| Enterprise name | Enterprise locality | Open year | Close year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anglo Saxon Mine | Groganville | 1889 | 1897 | Tramway from gold mine to battery. Heritage listed remnants at Groganville. |
| Argyle Homestead | Geham | 1897 | 4.8 mi (7.7 km) tramway from sawmill to railway at Hampton. Heritage listed farm remnants (not tramway) at the homestead. | |
| Beam Creek Sawmill | Hazeldean | 1920s | 1920s | 300 metre tramway for very steep descent from mountain top to bottom. [23] |
| Bunya Mountains National Park | Bunya Mountains | 1923 | 1928 | 670 metre tramway for 250 metre descent from mountain top to bottom at Wengenville, used with winches, winders and flying foxes. [24] The logs were transferred to a horse drawn tram for movement to a log dump. [23] A “not to scale” model can be seen at the natural history museum at the Dandabah camping area. [25] |
| Central Sugar Mill | Yengarie | 1866 | 1890 | Tramway from wharf to mill. Heritage listed remnants at Yengarie. See also Yengarie Sugar Refinery Ruins. |
| Cressbrook Creek Sawmill | Cressbrook Creek | 1922 | 1930s | 700 metre tramway for very steep descent from mountain top to bottom. [26] The logs were transferred to a horse drawn tram for movement to the sawmill. [23] |
| Cumberland Company | Cumberland | 1891 | 1897 | 800 metre tramway from gold mine to Battery. Brick chimney of Battery is only remains. |
| Evelyn Scrub War Memorial | Evelyn | 1910 | 1921 | 6.2 mi (10 km) tramway from timber mill to railway line. Heritage listed items (not tramway) at the War Memorial. |
| Hampton Timber Tramway | Palmtree | 1901 | 1936 | 6 mi (9.7 km) tramway from timber mill at Palmtree to railway line at Hampton. |
| Killarney railway line | Tannymorel | 1908 | 1964 | Tramway from Mount Colliery coal mine to railway line at Tannymorel. |
| Lytton Quarantine Station | Lytton | 1913 | 1980s | Tramway from wharf to Reception House. Heritage listed remnants at Lytton. |
| Mount Crosby Pumping Station | Mount Crosby | 1913 | 1932 | Tramway from Tivoli for construction, and then to bring coal to power the pumps. Heritage listed site (no remnants of tramway) |
| Neranwood Hardwood Company | Neranwood | 1923 | 1928 | Tramway from sawmill to railway at Mudgeeraba. |
| Pinelands Sawmill [27] | Hillview | 1904 | 1912 | 5 mi (8 km) tramway from timber source to sawmill. Visible evidence is a rock cutting up to three metres deep and ten metres long. |
| Scrubby Creek Sawmill [28] | Royston | 1920s | 1920s | Royston is 8.7 mi (14.0 km) east of Kilcoy. (see map) [29] Short tramway and chute from timber source to sawmill. Visible evidence is cuttings, embankments and sleepers. |
| St Helena Island | Moreton Bay | 1885 | Passenger tramway - first in Queensland. Heritage listed site (remnants of tramway ?) | |
| St Lawrence Meatworks and Wharf | St Lawrence | 1860s | 1911 | Tramway between meatworks, other buildings (and wharf?) Heritage listed remnants at St Lawrence. |
| Sundown Tin and Copper Mine | Stanthorpe | 1904 | 1923 | 250 metre tramway from copper mine to furnace. Heritage listed remnants (no tramway) at Stanthorpe. |
| Totley Township | Ravenswood | 1890 | Endless chain tramway between silver mine and treatment plant. Heritage listed remnants at Ravenswood. | |
Sarina is a rural town and coastal locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Sarina had a population of 5,522 people.
Mackay is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about 970 kilometres (603 mi) north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is described as being in either Central Queensland or North Queensland, as these regions are not precisely defined. More generally, the area is known as the Mackay–Whitsunday Region. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's sugar.
The North Coast railway line is a 1,681-kilometre (1,045 mi) 3-foot 6-inch gauge railway line in Queensland, Australia. It commences at Roma Street station, Brisbane, and largely parallels the Queensland coast to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The line is electrified between Brisbane and Rockhampton. Along the way, the 1680 km railway passes through the numerous towns and cities of eastern Queensland including Nambour, Bundaberg, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville. The line though the centre of Rockhampton runs down the middle of Denison Street.
Babinda is a rural town and locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census the locality of Babinda had a population of 1,253 people.
Tramways are lightly laid railways, sometimes with the wagons or carriages moved without locomotives. Because individual tramway vehicles are not intended to carry the weight of typical standard-gauge railway equipment, the tramways over which they operate may be built from less substantial materials. Tramways can take many forms; sometimes just tracks temporarily placed on the ground to transport materials around a factory, mine or quarry. Many, if not most, use narrow-gauge railway technology. The trains can be manually pushed by hand, pulled by animals, cable hauled by a stationary engine, or use small, light locomotives. At the other extreme they could be complex and lengthy systems, such as the Lee Moor Tramway in the county of Devon, England, in the United Kingdom.
The rail network in Queensland, Australia, was the first in the world to adopt 1,067 mm narrow gauge for a main line, and now the second largest narrow gauge network in the world, consists of:
Rail transport in Australia involves a number of narrow-gauge railways. In some states they formed the core statewide network, but in the others they were either a few government branch lines, or privately owned and operated branch lines, often for mining, logging or industrial use.
Wallaville is a rural town and locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. It is 372 kilometres (231 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane and 43 kilometres (27 mi) south west of the regional centre of Bundaberg. In the 2016 census, Wallaville had a population of 410 people.
The 73 class is a diesel-hydraulic locomotive built by Walkers Limited, Maryborough for the New South Wales Department of Railways between 1970 and 1973.
The DH class was a class of diesel-hydraulic locomotives built by Walkers Limited, Maryborough for Queensland Railways between 1966 and 1974.
Finch Hatton is a rural town and locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census the locality of Finch Hatton had a population of 499 people.
Racecourse is a suburb of Mackay in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census Racecourse had a population of 184 people.
The Mackay Railway was a 68 kilometres (42 mi) line situated in the Pioneer River valley in North Queensland, Australia. It opened in a series of sections between 1885 and 1911. 3 short branches junctioned from it, parts of which were initially built by the local government. It closed in sections between 1959 and circa 2007.
Marian is a rural town and locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Marian had a population of 3,903 people.
Moreton Central Sugar Mill Cane Tramway is a heritage-listed tramway at Mill Street, Currie Street, and Howard Street, in Nambour, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built c. 1897. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 7 February 2005.
Finch Hatton railway station is a heritage-listed former railway station at Mackay-Eungella Road, Finch Hatton, Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1904. It is also known as Hatton railway station and Pelion railway station. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 6 December 2004.
Moreton Central Sugar Mill was a sugar milling facility in Nambour, Queensland, Australia owned by Bundaberg Sugar Ltd.
The Cairns-Mulgrave Tramway was a private tram line from Cairns to the Mulgrave River in Queensland, Australia. It was built until 1897 to serve the Mulgrave Central Sugar Mill, built in 1895. The line, which led through difficult terrain including dense jungle, was built by the Cairns Divisional Board, later renamed Cairns Shire Council, at a cost of £15,319. The line originally ran from Cairns to Nelson, later renamed Gordonvale. In 1898 it was extended to Aloomba, and in 1910 it was finally extended to Babinda, over a length of 50 kilometres (31 mi). The end point in Cairns was between Spence and Bunda Street, adjacent to the Queensland Government's Cairns railway station, with which the line was connected by a short distance.
