The West Coaster (Tasmanian train)

Last updated

The West Coaster
Overview
Service typePassenger train
StatusCeased
First service17 October 1960
Last service2 January 1964
Former operator(s) Emu Bay Railway
Route
Termini Burnie
Rosebery
Line(s) used Melba

The West Coaster was a passenger train operated by the Emu Bay Railway between Burnie and Rosebery from October 1960 until January 1964.

Contents

History

With the November 1959 introduction of the roll-on/roll-off ship Princess of Tasmania on the Bass Strait service from Melbourne to Devonport, Western Tasmania began to experience an increased level of tourism. At that stage there was no road south of Guildford. [1] [2] [3]

Enquiries about transporting road vehicles led to the Emu Bay Railway deciding to replace its railmotor service with a locomotive hauled service with flat wagons to carry road vehicles. The first West Coaster ran on 17 October 1960. Pioneer Tours coaches were frequently carried. [1] [2] [3]

The service departed Burnie in the morning, stopping at Guildford to load the road vehicles before continuing to Rosebery returning north in the afternoon. With the opening of the Murchison Highway in December 1963, the West Coaster last ran on 2 January 1964. Passengers continued to be carried on mixed trains until 1977. [1] [2] [4]

Rolling stock

To operate the service, two Dübs and Company-built 4-8-0 steam locomotives were restored to service and named Murchison and Heemskirk and, along with three former Tasmanian Government Railways carriages, repainted in the company’s two-tone blue livery. To carry road vehicles, flat wagons were attached. On occasions, Australian Standard Garratt and 10 class diesel-hydraulic locomotives were used. [1] [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

Rosebery is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is at the northern end of the West Coast Range, in the shadow of Mount Black and adjacent to the Pieman River now Lake Pieman.

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regatta Point, Tasmania</span> Port and locality in Western Tasmania, Australia

Regatta Point is the location of a port and rail terminus on Macquarie Harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murchison Highway</span> Highway in Tasmania, Australia

The Murchison Highway is a highway located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The 147-kilometre (91 mi) highway runs generally north–south, with Somerset, near Burnie, as its northern terminus and Zeehan as its southern terminus. The highway was opened on 13 December 1963. Part of the highway from Waratah to Burnie was known as the Waratah Highway until 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melba Line</span> Railway line in Tasmania, Australia

The Melba Line is a 1,067 mm narrow-gauge railway on the West Coast of Tasmania. The line was originally constructed as a private railway line named the Emu Bay Railway and was one of the longest-lasting and most successful private railway companies in Australia. While at present the line travels from Burnie to Melba Flats, it previously ran through to Zeehan carrying minerals and passengers as an essential service for the West Coast community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North East Dundas Tramway</span> Former railway near Zeehan, Tasmania, Australia

The North East Dundas Tramway was a 2 ft narrow gauge tramway, that ran between Zeehan and Deep Lead on the West Coast of Tasmania. Opening in 1896 and closing in 1932, it was part of the Tasmanian Government Railways network. The world's first Garratt locomotives, the K class, were used on the line.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Standard Garratt</span> Australian Garratt locomotive class

The Australian Standard Garratt (ASG) was a Garratt locomotive designed in Australia during World War II, and used on 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge railway systems in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasmanian Government Railways</span> Former government railway operator in Tasmania, Australia

The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorption into the Australian National Railways Commission in 1978.

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

Rail transport in Tasmania consists of a network of narrow gauge track of 1,067 mm reaching virtually all cities and major towns in the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Today, rail services are focused primarily on bulk freight, with no commercial passenger services being operated. The mainline railways of Tasmania are currently operated by TasRail, a Government of Tasmania-owned Corporation, who owns and maintains both rolling stock, locomotives, and track infrastructure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wee Georgie Wood Railway</span> Railway line in Tasmania, Australia

The Wee Georgie Wood Railway is a 2 ft narrow gauge tourist tramway running from Tullah, on a 1.9 km (1.2 mi) short track by the edge of Lake Rosebery in the West Coast Municipality of Tasmania.

Tullah is a town in the northern part of the West Coast Range, on the west coast of Tasmania, about 111 km south of Burnie. The town has a population of approximately 202 people.

The Mount Dundas – Zeehan Railway was a railway line running 7 miles (11 km) from Dundas to Zeehan on the West Coast of Tasmania. It operated from 1892 until 1932, and the rails were removed in 1940.

Guildford is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of Waratah–Wynyard in the North-west and west LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about 81 kilometres (50 mi) south of the town of Wynyard. The 2016 census has a population of nil for the state suburb of Guildford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emu Bay Railway</span> Former railway company in Tasmania

The Emu Bay Railway was a Tasmania, Australian railway company. The railway was significant during full operation, in that it linked the Tasmanian Government Railways system at Burnie with that at Zeehan that further linked to the Mount Lyell railway allowing connection through to Queenstown.

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

Zeehan railway station in Tasmania, was a major junction and railway yard for numerous different railway and tramway systems in western Tasmania in the town of Zeehan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Coast Wilderness Railway</span> Rebuilt railway between Queenstown and Strahan, Western 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.

Lou Rae is a Tasmanian author and historian of the West Coast of Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnet Tramway</span> 2ft gauge tramway in Tasmania

The Magnet Tramway, often found referred to as the Magnet Tram, was a 2 ft gauge railway in north west Tasmania.It ran between Magnet Junction on the Guildford to Mount Bischoff railway line, and the Magnet mine.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Rae, Lou (1997). The Emu Bay Railway. Sandy Bay: Lou Rae. pp. 215, 216. ISBN   0-9592098-6-7.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Oberg, Leon (2010). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-2010. Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. p. 110. ISBN   9781921719011.
  3. 1 2 3 Anchen, Nick (2014). Railways of Tasmania's Wild West. Sierra Publishing. pp. 46–49. ISBN   9780980764079.
  4. "Railways of Tasmania in the 1960s" Australian Railway History issue 947 July 2016 page 11