Nannup branch railway

Last updated

Nannup branch
Overview
Owner Public Transport Authority
Termini
Service
Type Heavy rail
History
OpenedJune 1871 (as Ballaarat tramway)
then in stages until
31 March 1909 (Jarrahwood–Nannup)
Technical
Line length62 km (39 mi)
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map

Contents

mi-ch
km
BSicon exLCONTg.svg
 0-00
BSicon exdCONTgq.svg
BSicon exHSTq.svg
BSicon MASKe.svg
BSicon exABZq+r.svg
BSicon exLSTR.svg
BSicon exdCONTfq.svg
0.0
Wonnerup
 4-22
BSicon exlHST.svg
BSicon exv-SHI2r.svg
6.9
Ruabon
 7-62
BSicon exHST.svg
12.5
Tutunup
10- 5
BSicon exHST.svg
16.2
Cartis
10-45
BSicon exHST.svg
17.0
Yoganup
15-20
BSicon exHST.svg
24.5
Maryvale
16-35
BSicon exHST.svg
26.5
Claymore
BSicon exABZgnl.svg
BSicon exnCONTfq.svg
19-36
BSicon exHST.svg
31.3
Quilergup
21-72
BSicon exHST.svg
35.2
Jarrahwood
BSicon exABZgnl.svg
BSicon exnlCONTf@Fq.svg
BSicon exnABZq+r.svg
BSicon exnCONTgq.svg
BSicon exBRUCKE2.svg
BSicon exnSTRq.svg
BSicon exnSTRr.svg
28-32
BSicon exHST.svg
45.7
Cambray
BSicon exnCONTgq.svg
BSicon exABZgnr.svg
30-34
BSicon exHST.svg
49.0
Dellerton
BSicon exABZgnl.svg
BSicon exnCONTfq.svg
33-31
BSicon exHST.svg
53.7
Bibilup
BSicon WCONTgq.svg
BSicon exhKRZWae.svg
BSicon WCONTgeq.svg
38- 8
BSicon exHST.svg
61.3
Nannup Township
00-00
BSicon exKHSTe.svg
62.4
Nannup
38-64
BSicon exnKSTRa.svg
BSicon exKHSTe.svg
62.4
Nannup
BSicon exnCONTf.svg

The Nannup branch railway, also known as the Wonnerup to Nannup railway, was a branch line of the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) between Wonnerup and Nannup.

History

In 1897 the Jarrah Wood and Saw Mills Company leased the W.A. Timber Company's former timber concession in the South West of Western Australia. The section of the W.A. Timber Company's Ballaarat tramway route south of the BunburyBusselton railway was reused by the Jarrah Wood and Saw Mills Company for the construction of a railway between Wonnerup and Jarrahwood [1] in 1898–99.

The line operated until 1903, and was bought by the WAGR in 1907. [2] Residents in the Nannup region were advocating for the extension to the railway in 1905 [3] [4] [5] and in 1909 the Jarrahwood to Nannup line was completed and opened. [6] Construction of this extension was authorised through the Wonnerup-Nannup Railway Act 1907, assented to on 20 December 1907. [7]

As operated by the WAGR, the line was 38 miles 64  chains (38.80 miles, 62.44 km) from Wonnerup to Nannup and saw three trains per week in each direction during the 1940s. [8]

The line was closed in 1984. [9] A re-commissioning study was conducted in 1989 [10] but did not result in the reinstatement of the railway.

Rail Trail

While the rails have been lifted, the rail corridor is still owned by the Government, through the Public Transport Authority. [11]
The section between Jarrahwood and Nannup has been converted to the Sidings Rail Trail and forms part of the Munda Biddi Trail. [12] [13]

Notes

  1. "Ballaarat Tramline". Monument Australia. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  2. page 66 – Quinlan, Howard; Newland, John R; Australian Railway Historical Society. New South Wales Division (2000), Australian railway routes 1854 to 2000, Australian Railway Historical Society – New South Wales Division, ISBN   978-0-909650-49-0
  3. Even earlier (1900) for the first section [Petition to the Hon. the Premier from the residents of the Sussex district re the construction of the Wonnerup – Jarrahwood Railway southwards to the Lower Blackwood], [19--], 1900, retrieved 8 February 2014
  4. In 1905 – "THE PREMIER IN THE SUSSEX ELECTORATE". The West Australian . Perth: National Library of Australia. 13 June 1905. p. 5. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  5. "THE PREMIER IN THE SUSSEX ELECTORATE". Western Mail . Perth: National Library of Australia. 17 June 1905. p. 18. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  6. "THE NANNUP RAILWAY". Western Mail . Perth: National Library of Australia. 1 May 1909. p. 28. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  7. "Wonnerup-Nannup Railway Act 1907". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 20 December 1907. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  8. Western Australian Government Railways (1946). Time Table for passenger, mixed, and goods trains over all lines. Perth: Western Australian Government Railways.
  9. McNess, Archibald E. J (2005), Original railways of the southwest (Western Australia) : Busselton – Margaret River, Flinders Bay railway construction and Busselton – Wonnerup, Nannup railway line, A.E.J. McNess, retrieved 8 February 2014
  10. MacFarlane, Helen (Helen Mary); Busselton (W.A. : Shire); Western Australia. South West Development Authority; Nannup (W.A. : Shire) (1989), Feasibility study into the recommissioning of the Capel-Busselton and Wonnerup-Nannup railway lines, MacFarlane Research, retrieved 8 February 2014
  11. Public Transport Authority Network Map Public Transport Authority
  12. Western Australia Dept. of Environment and Conservation (2007), Sidings rail trail : Jarrahwood to Nannup, Dept. of Environment & Conservation, retrieved 17 July 2024
  13. "Sidings Rail Trail". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 28 August 2020.

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