Upper Darling Range railway

Upper Darling Range railway
Upper Darling Range railway
	G118 at the Kalamunda Historical Village on the site of Kalamunda station
Overview
Status	Dismantled
Termini	Midland Junction ; Karragullen ;
Service
System	Western Australian Government Railways
History
Opened	July 1891
Closed	22 July 1949
Technical
Line length	35 kilometres
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map
Route map
Upper Darling; Range railway
	Legend

Last updated October 17, 2024

The Upper Darling Range railway (also known as the Upper Darling Range branch) was a branch railway from Midland Junction, Western Australia, that rose up the southern side of the Helena Valley and on to the Darling Scarp via the Kalamunda Zig Zag. At the time of construction it was the only section of railway in Western Australia to have had a zig zag formation.

History

Completed in July 1891, the Upper Darling Range railway line was built by the Canning Jarrah Timber Company to supply railway sleepers to Perth's growing railway system. It ran from Midland Junction railway station through to the Darling Ranges and up into Kalamunda. It was later extended to Canning Mills and in 1912 to Karragullen.^[1] From Pickering Brook, a line branched off to Bartons Mill.^[2]^[3]

On 1 July 1903, the line was taken over by the Western Australian Government Railways and became known as the Upper Darling Range branch. The last service ran on 22 July 1949. The line was formally closed by the Railways (Upper Darling Range) Discontinuance Act 1950; it was dismantled in 1952.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Stopping places

Gradient profile map

Named stopping places and locations on the line included:^[6]

Name	Previous name(s)	Distance from Perth		Height above sea level
Midland Junction station	Helena Vale	15 km	9.3 mi	15 m	49 ft
Bushmead (now under Roe Highway)	Waterhall	17 km	11 mi	26 m	85 ft
Rifle Range	23 km	14 mi	104 m	341 ft
Poison Gully Creek (scene of 1904 crash)
Number 1 Points Ridge Hill (lower section of Zig Zag)	27 km	17 mi
Number 2 Points Statham's Quarry	Perth City Council siding from 1920	28 km	17 mi
Number 3 Points
Number 4 Points (upper section of Zig Zag)	Possibly known as The Knoll
Gooseberry Hill	30 km	19 mi	242 m	794 ft
Kalamunda	Stirk's Landing	32 km	20 mi	242 m	794 ft
South Kalamunda	Guppy's Siding	35 km	22 mi	283 m	928 ft
Walliston	Wallis's Crossing	37 km	23 mi	311 m	1,020 ft
Bickley	(named Heidelberg between 1904 and 1915)	38 km	24 mi	318 m	1,043 ft
Carmel	Green's Landing	40 km	25 mi	286 m	938 ft
Pickering Brook	Pickering Junction	42 km	26 mi	282 m	925 ft
Canning Mills	Canning Timber Station	48 km	30 mi	254 m	833 ft
Karragullen	50 km	31 mi	300 m	980 ft

Related Research Articles

Gooseberry Hill National Park is a national park in Western Australia, in the locality of Gooseberry Hill, 21 km east of Perth. It is at the southern side of the mouth of the Helena Valley on the Darling Scarp. Statham's Quarry is located within the park boundary.

John Forrest National Park is a national park in the Darling Scarp, 24 km (15 mi) east of Perth, Western Australia. Proclaimed as a national park in November 1900, it was the first national park in Western Australia.

The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, to the south of Pemberton. The adjacent Darling Plateau goes easterly to include Mount Bakewell near York and Mount Saddleback near Boddington. It was named after the Governor of New South Wales, Lieutenant-General Ralph Darling.

Kalamunda is a town and eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located in the Darling Scarp at the eastern limits of the Perth metropolitan area.

Mundaring is a suburb located 34 km east of Perth, Western Australia on the Great Eastern Highway. The suburb is located within the Shire of Mundaring.

The Eastern Railway is the main railway route between Fremantle and Northam in Western Australia. It opened in stages between 1881 and 1893. The line continues east to Kalgoorlie as the Eastern Goldfields Railway.

Bellevue is an eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia in the local government areas of the City of Swan and the Shire of Mundaring. It is at the foot of the slopes of Greenmount, a landmark on the Darling Scarp that is noted in the earliest of travel journals of the early Swan River Colony.

The Kalamunda Zig Zag was a zig zag rail line that was part of the Upper Darling Range Railway line in Western Australia, opening in July 1891 and closing in July 1949. Most of it was converted to a public road in 1952, part of which is now a tourist drive called Zig Zag Scenic Drive that offers views of Perth from the hills.

The Railway Reserves Heritage Trail – also on some maps as Rail Reserve Heritage Trail or Rail Reserves Historical Trail, and frequently referred to locally as the Bridle Trail or Bridle Track – is within the Shire of Mundaring in Western Australia.

Karragullen is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Armadale. Its postcode is 6111.

The Mundaring Weir branch railway was constructed from Mundaring, Western Australia to the site of the Mundaring Weir, and opened on 1 June 1898.

Mundaring Weir is a concrete gravity dam located 39 kilometres (24 mi) from Perth, Western Australia in the Darling Scarp. The dam and reservoir form the boundary between the suburbs of Reservoir and Sawyers Valley. The dam impounds the Helena River.

Gooseberry Hill is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Kalamunda. It is the site of Gooseberry Hill National Park.

The Midland Junction railway station was an important junction station on the Eastern Railway of Western Australia until its closure in 1966.

Statham's Quarry is the site of a quarry on the Darling Scarp on the southern side of the entrance of the Helena River valley on to the Swan Coastal Plain in Perth, Western Australia. It is located in Gooseberry Hill and is within the bounds of the Gooseberry Hill National Park.

Midland is a suburb and historic town of Perth, Western Australia, located 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Perth's central business district. It is the administrative seat and commercial centre of the City of Swan local government area. It is also a designated strategic metropolitan centre for the larger Perth metropolitan area.

Kalamunda railway station was a major station on the Upper Darling Range Railway in Western Australia serving the town of Kalamunda. It was known earlier as Stirk's Landing and was located at a distance 20 miles from Perth.

Darling Range Hotel was a hotel in Bellevue, Western Australia, on the end of the slope on the Great Eastern Highway at the 'bottom of' Greenmount Hill and just north of the former Bellevue railway station, and over the road from the Helena Vale Racecourse.

Bushmead is a suburb of Perth in the City of Swan located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from Perth's central business district.

References

↑ Upper Darling Range Extension Act 1911 Government of Western Australia 9 January 1912
1 2 Bromby, Robyn (1988). Australian Rail Annual 1988. Sutherland: Sherbourne Sutherland Publishing. pp. 115–120. ISBN 1 86275 004 1.
1 2 History of the Railway Pickering Brook Heritage Group
↑ Railways (Upper Darling Range) Discontinuance Act Government of Western Australia 29 December 1950
↑ Complaints About New Railway Bill The West Australian 1 December 1950 page 4
↑ Part of this table is sourced from:- Slee, John (1979) Cala Munnda pp. 55–56

External links

Kev's Workshop Kalamunda Zig-Zag Page

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Upper Darling Range Extension Act 1911 Government of Western Australia 9 January 1912

[RBromby-2] 1 2 Bromby, Robyn (1988). Australian Rail Annual 1988. Sutherland: Sherbourne Sutherland Publishing. pp. 115–120. ISBN 1 86275 004 1.

[PickeringBrookHeritage-3] 1 2 History of the Railway Pickering Brook Heritage Group

[4] Railways (Upper Darling Range) Discontinuance Act Government of Western Australia 29 December 1950

[5] Complaints About New Railway Bill The West Australian 1 December 1950 page 4

[6] Part of this table is sourced from:- Slee, John (1979) Cala Munnda pp. 55–56

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t e Railway lines in Western Australia
Main lines	Eastern Goldfields Eastern Railway Great Southern Railway South Western Railway Trans-Australian Railway
Goldfields–Esperance	Hopetoun–Ravensthorpe ^† Kalgoorlie–Esperance Kalgoorlie–Gnumballa Lake ^† Kalgoorlie–Kanowna ^† Kalgoorlie–Leonora Malcolm–Laverton ^† Kambalda–Redmine
Great Southern	Donnybrook–Katanning ^† Elleker–Nornalup ^† Katanning–Pingrup ^† Tambellup–Ongerup ^†
Mid West	Avon Yard–Mullewa ^† Cue–Big Bell ^† Dongara–Eneabba ^† Geraldton–Ajana ^† Geraldton–Mullewa Karara Meekatharra-Horseshoe ^† Meekatharra–Wiluna ^† Millendon Junction–Narngulu Mullewa–Meekatharra ^† Mount Magnet–Sandstone ^† Upper Chapman Valley ^†
Peel	Waroona–Lake Clifton Pinjarra–Narrogin ^†
Pilbara	Fortescue Goldsworthy Hamersley & Robe River Marble Bar ^† Mount Newman Roy Hill
Perth	Airport Armadale Belmont ^† Ellenbrook Fremantle Kalamunda Kwinana freight Mandurah Midland (country) Midland (suburban) Mundaring Mundaring Weir Spearwood–Armadale ^† Thornlie Upper Darling Range Yanchep
South West	Boyanup–Flinders Bay ^† Brunswick Junction–Narrogin ^† Donnybrook–Katanning ^† Picton–Northcliffe ^† Pinjarra–Narrogin ^† Wonnerup–Nannup ^†
Wheatbelt	Amery–Kalannie Avon Yard–Mullewa ^† Brookton–Corrigin ^† Brunswick Junction–Narrogin ^† Burakin–Bonnie Rock ^† Goomalling–West Merredin ^† Lake Grace–Hyden Merredin–Narrogin ^† Merredin–Yilliminning ^† Pinjarra–Narrogin ^† Toodyay West–Miling Wagin–Bowelling ^† Wagin–Newdegate Wyalkatchem–Southern Cross ^† York–Bruce Rock ^†
Tourist and heritage railways	Bennett Brook Hotham Valley Oliver Hill
Timber railway lines	Ballaarat tramline Jarrahdale–Rockingham
Trams and tramways	Baldivis tramway Broome Tramway Carnarvon tram Trams in Fremantle Trams in Kalgoorlie Trams in Perth
Approved by Parliament but not constructed	Boyup Brook–Cranbrook Brookton–Dale River Manjimup–Mount Barker Southern Cross southwards Yarramony eastward Yuna-Dartmoor
^† Denotes railway is closed, partially closed or has been removed See also: Agricultural railways ♦ Wheatbelt railways

Upper Darling Range railway

Contents

History

Stopping places

Related Research Articles

References

Further reading

External links