Kalgoorlie to Kanowna railway line

Kalgoorlie to Kanowna railway line
Kalgoorlie to Kanowna railway line
	Railway lines in the Kalgoorlie area in 1928 (distances in miles)
Overview
Owner	Government of Western Australia
Locale	Goldfields–Esperance, Western Australia
Termini	Kalgoorlie; Kanowna;
Service
Operator(s)	Western Australian Government Railways
History
Commenced	1897
Opened	15 June 1898
Closed	1928
Technical
Line length	20 km (12 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
	Kalgoorlie to Kanowna railway line Main locations 15km; 10miles Kanowna 2 Kalgoorlie 1
Route map
Route map
	Legend

The Kalgoorlie to Kanowna railway line was a 20-kilometre (12 mi) long state government-owned and WAGR-operated railway line in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, connecting Kalgoorlie to Kanowna. At Kalgoorlie, it connected to the Eastern Goldfields Railway.^[1]

History

The Kalgoorlie-Kanowna Railway Act 1896, an act by the Parliament of Western Australia assented to on 27 October 1896, authorised the construction of a railway line from Kalgoorlie to Kanowna.^[2]

The contract to construct the railway line was awarded to Smith & Timms on 11 September 1897 and the new line was officially opened on 15 June 1898.^[3]

By 1927, the Kanowna line as well as the near-by Kamballie to Lakeside and Lakeside to White Hope lines were under threat of closure by Parliament. At this point, the Kanowna line had already languished for a number of years. A 1922 Royal Commission report had recommended its closure but the state government had not followed the advice, hoping the situation would improve. The line was in need of costly repairs but had only seen occasional use in its final years and the lack of future mining prospects in the Kanowna area meant that investment in the line could not be justified.^[4]

The Kanowna line had cost £A 54,000 to construct as well as a further £A 6,900 in interest repayments. In the three years leading up to 1927, it had cost £A 630 in working expenses to run the line but only earned £A 201. In 1927, just eight trains had operated on the line, which were run once 100 tons of freight had accumulated, which was predominantly sandalwood.^[4]

The following year, in 1928, it was announced that refurbishing the Kanowna line would cost £A 8,000, an unjustifiable expenditure. Opposition to the removal of line had declined at this point as its usage had not been reviewed and the assets of the line could be used on other agricultural railways in the state. Local officials from the Kalgoorlie Road Board however objected to the pulling up of the railway line, preferring to leave the line dormant until conditions improved, with no immediate investment into it.^[5]

The Railways Discontinuance Act 1928, assented to on 10 December 1928, authorised the closure of the railway line as well as the Kamballie to Lakeside section of railway line.^[6]

References

^ "Railway map of Western Australia 1928". purl.slwa.wa.gov.au. State Library of Western Australia. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
^ "Kalgoorlie-Kanowna Railway Act 1896". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 27 October 1896. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
^ 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
^ ^a ^b "Goldfields Railway Lines - Kanowna, Kamballie and White Hope - Proposal to pull up", Western Argus, 1 November 1927, retrieved 1 September 2024
^ "Busting Bogeys - Railway Officers on the Kanowna and Loop lines", The Sun (Kalgoorlie), 10 June 1928, retrieved 1 September 2024
^ "Railways Discontinuance Act 1928". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 10 December 1928. Retrieved 1 September 2024.

[Map28-1] "Railway map of Western Australia 1928". purl.slwa.wa.gov.au. State Library of Western Australia. Retrieved 1 September 2024.

[2] "Kalgoorlie-Kanowna Railway Act 1896". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 27 October 1896. Retrieved 1 September 2024.

[Gunzburg-3] 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

[Argus-4] "Goldfields Railway Lines - Kanowna, Kamballie and White Hope - Proposal to pull up", Western Argus, 1 November 1927, retrieved 1 September 2024

[5] "Busting Bogeys - Railway Officers on the Kanowna and Loop lines", The Sun (Kalgoorlie), 10 June 1928, retrieved 1 September 2024

[6] "Railways Discontinuance Act 1928". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 10 December 1928. Retrieved 1 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