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Elleker to Nornalup railway line

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Elleker to Nornalup railway line
The railway bridge over the Denmark River in Denmark
Overview
OwnerGovernment of Western Australia
LocaleGreat Southern, Western Australia
Termini
Service
Operator(s)Western Australian Government Railways
History
Commenced1889
Opened11 June 1929 (1929-06-11)
Closed30 September 1957 (1957-09-30)
Technical
Line length97 km (60 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Elleker to Nornalup railway line
Main locations
Map
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
45km
30miles
Nornalup
4
Nornalup
Denmark
3
Denmark
Elleker
2
Elleker
Albany
1
Albany
Route map

Legend
Great Southern Railway
0
 Elleker
8
 Torbay
11
 Kronkup
15
 Bornholm
23
 Youngs Siding
31
 Hay
36
 Rudgyard
39
 Springdale
Denmark River
42
 Denmark
51
 Hallowell
54
 Mount McLeod
59
 William Bay
65
 Kordabup
70
 Owingup
78
 Kent River
82
 Quarram
91
 Marks
97
 Nornalup
This diagram:

The Elleker to Nornalup railway line was a state government-owned and WAGR-operated railway line in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, connecting Elleker to Nornalup via Denmark. The line was 97 kilometres (60 mi) long and, at Elleker, connected to the Great Southern Railway.[1]

The railway was constructed during two distinct time periods, as the Albany to Denmark railway line by the Millars Karri and Jarrah Forests Limited, which opened in 1889 and was sold to the Western Australian government in 1907, and the Denmark to Nornalup extension, which opened in 1929. The railway line was closed in 1957.

History

[edit]
The railway line from Elleker to Nornalup in 1934 (distances in miles)

The construction of the Beverley to Albany railway, the Great Southern Railway, was authorised in 1886 and completed in June 1889, constructed by C&E Millar.[2] Following this, Charles and Edwin Millar received permission to build a railway line from Elleker to Denmark, where they operated a timber mill. Construction of this line began in November 1889 and was completed a year later, in November 1890.[3][4] This railway line became known as the Albany to Denmark railway line or Denmark branch railway.[5][6]

Elleker, the eastern terminus of the line and junction to the Great Southern Railway, was originally named Lakeside. In 1908, Lakeside was changed to Torbay Junction to prevent confusion with another place of the same name near Kalgoorlie. Additionally, the railway station was already known as Torbay Junction. The name Ualungup was also considered for the location but, in 1921, the name Elleker was chosen.[7] In 1904, the closure of the line from Torbay Junction to Denmark, then still in private hands, was a real possibility and government intervention was called for.[8] The Western Australian government purchased the railway line from the Millars Karri and Jarrah Company (1902) Limited by resolution of the Legislative Assembly No. 25 on 29 November 1907 and the Legislative Council No. 28 on 19 December 1907. The government declared the railway opened as a Government Railway in Government Gazette No. 18 on 3 April 1908.[9]

The Albany-Denmark Railway Extension Act 1923, an act by the Parliament of Western Australia assented to on 22 February 1923, authorised the construction of the extension of the railway line from Denmark to Nornalup, a 56 kilometres (35 mi) extension.[10]

The construction of the expansion was awarded to the Western Australian Public Works Department on 5 July 1926 and the line was opened on 11 June 1929.[3][11]

By 1938, the closure of the railway line was already contemplated but not carried out, with the argument presented for the railway line being that the necessary upgrades to the roads in the region would be more expensive than the operation of the line.[12] In 1953 the Minister for Railways stated that the railway was not due for closure, and the potential extension between Northcliffe and Nornalup was not considered.[13]

In 1954, the state government of Western Australia had compiled a list of loss-making railway operations, of which the Elleker to Nornalup line was one, having had a total expenditure of almost eight times its earnings in the financial year to June 1953, £A 64,387 expenditure versus earnings of £A 8,515.[14] By 1957, the closure of the railway line had become imminent,[15] and the line closed on 30 September 1957.[16]

The Railways (Cue-Big Bell and other Railways) Discontinuance Act 1960, assented to on 12 December 1960, authorised the official closure of 13 railway lines in Western Australia, among them the Elleker to Nornalup one.[9]

Legacy

[edit]

The Denmark to Nornalup section of the former railway line is now on the Shire of Denmark's heritage list, which also includes the railway bridge over the Denmark River, the ashpit and the turntable in Denmark.[4] The former Denmark railway station and the site of the Hay River railway bridge are also on the shire's heritage list.[17]

The Denmark to Nornalup section of the former railway is now a 61-kilometre (38 mi) long rail heritage trail,[18] as is the shorter 8-kilometre (5.0 mi) section from Torbay to Elleker.[19]

Further reading

[edit]
  • McGuinness, Ross (2007). Elleker Denmark Nornalup : the railway extended west but never met ... Denmark: Cinnamon Coloureds. ISBN 9780975205129.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Railway map of Western Australia, 1952". Trove. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  2. ^ Millar, C; Millar, E (1889), Letter from Messrs. C. & E. Millar making proposals for the construction of a short line of railway on the land grant principle : from a point on the Great Southern Railway, about 10 or 12 miles distant from Albany, and to run in the direction of Torbay, with a view to the further settlement of lands in the neighbourhood of Albany, Govt. Printer, retrieved 16 August 2024
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b "Denmark-Nornalup Railway". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Western Australian railways passenger stations & stops" (PDF). www.branchline.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Back along the line: An historical gazetteer of railway stations, sidings and related facilities along Western Australian railway lines" (PDF). www.geoproject.com.au. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  7. ^ "History of country town names – T". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  8. ^ "The Denmark-Torbay Junction Railway", The West Australian, 12 October 1904, retrieved 17 August 2024
  9. ^ a b "Railways (Cue-Big Bell and other Railways) Discontinuance Act 1960". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 12 December 1960. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Albany-Denmark Railway Extension Act 1923". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 22 February 1923. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  11. ^ "A Lovely Route: Albany to Denmark Railway". Western Mail (Western Australia). Vol. XLIV, no. 2, 284. Western Australia. 21 November 1929. p. 6 (Pictorial Section). Retrieved 15 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "The Nornalup Line: Arguments against closure", The West Australian, 11 March 1938, retrieved 16 August 2024
  13. ^ "Nornalup Railway". The Albany Advertiser. Vol. 26, no. 2745. Western Australia. 4 September 1953. p. 1. Retrieved 15 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Minister Says Many Railway Sections Show Big Losses", The Farmers' Weekly, 11 February 1954, retrieved 15 August 2024
  15. ^ "Closures bitter pill to farmers", The Beverley Times, 9 May 1957, retrieved 16 August 2024
  16. ^ "Nornalup Railway Siding". monumentaustralia.org.au. Monument Australia. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  17. ^ "Shire of Denmark Heritage Places". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  18. ^ "Denmark – Nornalup Heritage Rail Trail". www.railtrails.org.au. Rail Trails Australia. 12 December 1960. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  19. ^ "Torbay to Elleker Rail Trail". www.railtrails.org.au. Rail Trails Australia. 12 December 1960. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
[edit]
  • Elleker Signalling Interest Group of W. A. (SIGWA)
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