Brookton–Dale River railway

Brookton–Dale River railway
Brookton–Dale River railway
	Railway lines in 1926 (distances in miles): The Armadale to Brookton link is sketched in as a direct line
Overview
Status	Approved by Parliament and surveyed but not constructed
Locale	Wheatbelt, Western Australia
Termini	Brookton; Dale River;
Technical
Line length	42.7 km (26.5 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
	Brookton–Dale River railway Main locations 45km; 30miles Armadale 3 Dale River bridge (Brookton Highway) 2 Brookton 1

The Brookton–Dale River railway was an authorised but never constructed railway line in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The railway line was to head west from Brookton, where it connected to the Great Southern Railway and the Brookton to Corrigin railway, to Dale River. It was the eastern-most section of a proposed but never authorised Armadale to Brookton railway line.

History

Railway lines in 1926 (distances in miles): The Armadale to Salmon Gums link is sketched in as a direct line

The Great Southern Railway, connecting Beverley to Albany, had reached Brookton in 1889 while the railway line connecting Brookton and Corrigin had opened on 19 April 1915.^[1]^[2]

The Brookton–Dale River Railway Act 1923, an act by the Parliament of Western Australia assented to on 22 December 1923, authorised the construction of a 45-kilometre (28 mi) long railway line from Brookton west to Dale River.^[3]

The new railway line was to head north-north-westerly from Brookton for 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi), then westerly for 10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi). From there, it would head south for 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi), then westerly again for 13.8 kilometres (8.6 mi) and, finally, north-westerly for 12 kilometres (7.5 mi), for a total length of 42.7 kilometres (26.5 mi).^[3] At the time of its authorisation, it was seen as a part of a proposed Armadale to Brookton railway line.^[4]^[5]

In 1927, a trunk railway line from Fremantle via Armadale, Brookton and Corrigin and on from there to Salmon Gums on the Coolgardie to Esperance railway was proposed, of which only the Fremantle to Armadale and Brookton to Corrigin sections already existed.^[1]^[6]

Construction of the surveyed Brookton to Dale River railway line, as part of a connection to Armadale, was still seen as imminent in 1929.^[7] The railway line was not constructed because of difficult conditions during the Great Depression. By November 1932, the Western Australian government, under premier James Mitchell, admitted that it did not have the money to spare to construct the line which was estimated to cost £A 1,600 per mile of construction just for materials. For this reason, the state government had not constructed any railway lines in the previous two years.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b Gunzburg, Adrian; Austin, Jeff; Rail Heritage WA; Gunzburg, Adrian (2008), Rails through the bush : timber and firewood tramways and railway contractors of Western Australia (2nd ed.), Rail Heritage WA, ISBN 978-0-9803922-2-7
^ "Railway map of Western Australia, 1952". Trove. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Brookton–Dale River Railway Act 1923". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 22 December 1923. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
^ "Brookton–Dale River Railway". trove.nla.gov.au. The Pingelly Leader. 20 December 1923. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
^ "Brookton–Dale Railway – Early Construction Urged". trove.nla.gov.au. The West Australian. 13 August 1928. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
^ "Railway Development - Southern Cross Southwards". Great Southern Herald. Vol. XXVI, no. 2, 724. Western Australia. 23 November 1927. p. 5. Retrieved 21 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Brookton-Armadale line: Mr. McCallum's Tour". trove.nla.gov.au. The West Australian. 19 August 1929. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
^ "Brookton-Armadale line: Construction again urged". trove.nla.gov.au. The West Australian. 29 November 1932. Retrieved 21 September 2024.

[Gunzburg-1] Gunzburg, Adrian; Austin, Jeff; Rail Heritage WA; Gunzburg, Adrian (2008), Rails through the bush : timber and firewood tramways and railway contractors of Western Australia (2nd ed.), Rail Heritage WA, ISBN 978-0-9803922-2-7

[Map-2] "Railway map of Western Australia, 1952". Trove. Retrieved 14 September 2024.

[Act-3] "Brookton–Dale River Railway Act 1923". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 22 December 1923. Retrieved 21 September 2024.

[4] "Brookton–Dale River Railway". trove.nla.gov.au. The Pingelly Leader. 20 December 1923. Retrieved 21 September 2024.

[5] "Brookton–Dale Railway – Early Construction Urged". trove.nla.gov.au. The West Australian. 13 August 1928. Retrieved 21 September 2024.

[6] "Railway Development - Southern Cross Southwards". Great Southern Herald. Vol. XXVI, no. 2, 724. Western Australia. 23 November 1927. p. 5. Retrieved 21 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.

[7] "Brookton-Armadale line: Mr. McCallum's Tour". trove.nla.gov.au. The West Australian. 19 August 1929. Retrieved 21 September 2024.

[8] "Brookton-Armadale line: Construction again urged". trove.nla.gov.au. The West Australian. 29 November 1932. Retrieved 21 September 2024.

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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