The term Mount Lyell Railway was one of the terms used for the railway operated by the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company between 1899 and 1963.
Many name variations were used for identifying the line, the most common being the Abt railway. [1] After closing of the railway, most of the railway infrastructure was removed, except for a few buildings and bridges.
Surveying for the railway line began in 1892. [2] A bill for construction of the railway was introduced into the Tasmanian House of Assembly in November 1892. [3] A further survey was undertaken in March 1893 to determine the best route [4] and in June the same year preparations were made to float the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company to undertake the work. [5]
The line was primarily the only transport service out of Queenstown prior to roads being constructed. Passenger and freight services were consistent over the duration of the operation of the railway.
In the 1920s as typical passenger service was the daily mail train that left Queenstown at 8 am for 10 am arrival at Regatta Point. The return trip being 4.30 pm from Regatta Point to 6.30 pm arrival in Queenstown. [6]
Mount Lyell company had railways on its lease that were separate from the mainline between Queenstown and Strahan. [7] The company constructed a haulage line to the mining operations on the ridge between Mount Owen and Mount Lyell in the early decades of operations.
The company had small gauge lines to move materials on the lease.
In later stages of operations, the mine had an underground railway to haul ore to the processing facilities on the lease.
The reconstructed railway over the most of the original formation with some variations:
Queenstown is a town in the West Coast region of the island of Tasmania, Australia. It is in a valley on the western slopes of Mount Owen on the West Coast Range.
Strahan, is a small town and former port on the west coast of Tasmania. It is now a significant locality for tourism in the region.
West Coast Council is a local government body in Tasmania, covering much of the western region of the state. West Coast is classified as a rural local government area and has a population of 4,167. The major towns and localities of the region include Strahan, Rosebery, Zeehan and the principal town of Queenstown.
Zeehan is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia 139 kilometres (86 mi) south-west of Burnie. It is part of the West Coast Council, along with the seaport Strahan and neighbouring mining towns of Rosebery and Queenstown.
The Lyell Highway is a highway in Tasmania, running from Hobart to Queenstown. It is the one of two transport routes that passes through the West Coast Range, the other being the Anthony Road.
Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company was a Tasmanian mining company formed on 29 March 1893, most commonly referred to as Mount Lyell. Mount Lyell was the dominant copper mining company of the West Coast from 1893 to 1994, and was based in Queenstown, Tasmania.
Regatta Point is the location of a port and rail terminus on Macquarie Harbour.
The North Mount Lyell disaster refers to a fire that broke out on 12 October 1912 at the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company operations on the West Coast of Tasmania, killing 42 miners. The mine had been taken over from the North Mount Lyell Company in 1903.
Trial Harbour is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of West Coast in the North-west and west LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south-west of the town of Zeehan. The 2016 census has a population of 24 for the state suburb of Trial Harbour.
The North Mount Lyell Railway was built to operate between the North Mount Lyell mine in West Coast Tasmania and Pillinger in the Kelly Basin of Macquarie Harbour.
The Queen River, part of the King River catchment, is a minor perennial river located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Mount Jukes mine sites were a series of short-lived, small mine workings high on the upper regions of Mount Jukes in the West Coast Range on the West Coast of Tasmania.
The mines of the West Coast of Tasmania have a rich historical heritage as well as an important mineralogical value in containing or having had found, specimens of rare and unusual minerals. Also, the various mining fields have important roles in the understanding of the mineralization of the Mount Read Volcanics, and the occurrence of economic minerals.
The history of the Railways on the West Coast of Tasmania has fascinated enthusiasts from around the world, because of the combination of the harsh terrain in which the railways were created, and the unique nature of most of the lines.
The Strahan–Zeehan Railway, also known as the "Government Railway", was a railway from Strahan to Zeehan on the west coast of Tasmania.
Thomas Bather Moore was a pioneer explorer of Western and South West, Tasmania, Australia.
The West Coast Wilderness Railway is a reconstruction of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company Mount Lyell railway in Western Tasmania between Queenstown and Regatta Point, Strahan. The railway is significant because of its Abt rack system to conquer the mountainous terrain through rainforest, with original locomotives still operating on the railway today. Now operating as a tourist experience with a focus on sharing the history of Tasmania's West Coast, the original railway began operations in 1897 as the only link between Queenstown and the port of Strahan.
Dubbil Barril is a stopping place and railway station on the northern bank of the King River and West Coast Wilderness Railway in Tasmania.
Rinadeena is railway station and stopping place on the West Coast Wilderness Railway in Tasmania.
The Mount Lyell Standard was a Queenstown based newspaper in Western Tasmania, that was contemporaneous with the Zeehan and Dundas Herald. It was also known as the Mount Lyell Standard & Strahan gazette. The newspaper operated between 1896 and 1902.