Moreton Bay Tramway Company

The Moreton Bay Tramroad Company was a private enterprise attempt to establish railways in the new colony of Queensland. It was stillborn.

People

• Coote,
• Stephens,
• Buckley.

• Abraham Fitzgibbon engineer, who was assistant to William Doyne on the Dun Mountain Tramway in Nelson, New Zealand.

Land Grant Railway

It had been proposed to fund it as a Land Grant Railway. ^[1]

Horse power

The tramway was intended to be operated by horses. ^[2]

Characteristics

• ^[3]

Gradients

Original proposed MBT company gradient was 1 in 25 (4.0%). ^[4] The original gauge was 1435mm with horse drawn motive power.

The later railway along the route of the tramway has ruling gradients of 1 in 50. This might be rather steep for horse operation, unless unloaded in uphill direction.

Rails

The line was originally to use 35 pounds per yard (17 kg/m) rail.

Nomenclature

The Tramway company is sometimes called a Tramroad.

Timeline

1859

• Queensland separated from New South Wales on 6 June 1859. Some very preliminary railway plans had been prepared by the New South Wales Government which were handed over to the new Queensland Government.

1860

• April – An early mention in a political platform of the need for railways or tramways in Queensland. ^[5]
• April – An early mention of the constructing firm of Moreton, Peto and Brassey. ^[6]
• November – An advertisement for the company's prospectus in a Sydney newspaper. ^[7]
• November – An advertisement for the company's prospectus in a Brisbane paper. ^[8]

1862

• April – coal deposits reported next to the proposed route. ^[9]
• 29 May – Tramway assets taken over by Government. ^{[10] [11]}

1863

• Insolvent Court ^[12]
• 9 May – the Government Railways Bill repeals the Tramway Act, except for court actions already in action. ^[13]
• 20 August – Railway Bill in parliament ^[14]

1865

• 29 March 1865 – three large shareholder taken to Supreme Court for not paying calls on contributing shares. ^[15]

The three are:

• Coote,
• Stephens,
• Buckley.

References

1. "Advertising". The Argus . Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 11 April 1862. p. 3. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
2. "Advertising". The Argus . Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 11 April 1862. p. 3. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
3. "The Courier". The Courier (Brisbane) . Vol. XVIII, no. 1826. Queensland, Australia. 31 December 1863. p. 2. Retrieved 30 March 2021– via National Library of Australia.
4. Triumph of Narrow Gauge. Boolarong Publishing. 1848. p. 4. ISBN   0864391021.
5. "Classified Advertising". The Moreton Bay Courier . Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 17 April 1860. p. 3. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
6. "Colonial Parliament". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 25 April 1860. p. 5. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
7. "Sydney News". The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser . NSW: National Library of Australia. 8 November 1860. p. 3. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
8. "Classified Advertising". The Moreton Bay Courier . Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 10 November 1860. p. 1. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
9. "Advertising". The Argus . Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 5 April 1862. p. 3. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
10. "Latest Intelligence". North Australian and Queensland General Advertiser . Ipswich, Qld.: National Library of Australia. 29 May 1862. p. 2. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
11. "Latest Intelligence". North Australian and Queensland General Advertiser . Ipswich, Qld.: National Library of Australia. 29 May 1862. p. 2. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
12. "Queensland". The Mercury . Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 2 January 1863. p. 3. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
13. "The Government Railway Bill". The Courier (Brisbane) . Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 9 May 1863. p. 3. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
14. "The Railway Bill". The Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser . Toowoomba, Qld.: National Library of Australia. 20 August 1863. p. 2. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
15. "Queensland". The Mercury . Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 29 March 1865. p. 3. Retrieved 8 September 2012.