Melba Line

Not to be confused with Emu Bay Railway, the company that ran the railway line for 101 years.
Melba Line

The Melba Line at Rosebery
Overview
Type Heavy rail
Status Open
Locale West Coast, Tasmania
Termini Burnie
Melba Flats (current)
Zeehan (original)
Stations 3
Operation
Opened 1 February 1878 (1st stage)
21 December 1900 (in full)
Owner Government of Tasmania
Operator(s) TasRail
Technical
Line length 130 km (81 mi)
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) (after relaying)
Highest elevation 670 m (2,200 ft)
Route map
Legend
Left arrow Western Line Right arrow

Old Surrey Road 
Cascade Road
Metaira Road
Metaira Road
Circular Road
Ridgley Highway
Oonah Road
Tena Road
Ridgley Highway
Sugarloaf Road
Upper Natone Road
Silvermine Road
North Goderich Road
Hellyer River
Bunkers Road
Guildford Road
Wey River
Left arrow
Waratah Line
to Waratah
Muddy Creek
Clipper Road
Hellyer River
Hellyer Line
to Hellyer Mine
Right arrow
Murchison Highway
Huskisson Road
Hatfield
Hatfield River
Suprise Creek
Que River
Que River
Sawmill Creek
Boco
Boco Creek
Pieman Road
Lake Rosebery
Pieman River
Chasm Creek
Rosebery Mine
Primrose 
Baillieu Street
Barker Creek
Max Fitzallen Drive
Nicholas Street
Belstead Street
Rosebery
Chamberlain Creek
Natone Creek
Josephine Creek
-41.775072,145.444586
Argent River
Murchison Highway
Argent River
Murchison Highway
Melba Creek
Melba Flats
Nevada Creek 
Argent Tunnel
Parting Creek
Little Henty River
Mount Dundas Line
to Mount Dundas
Right arrow
Zeehan
Strahan Line
to Strahan
Down arrow

The Melba Line is a 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) 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.

History

In the 1870s, the Van Diemen's Land Company engaged John C Climie to undertake a survey of a line from near Burnie to Mount Bischoff.[1] On 1 February 1878 a 71 kilometres (44 mi), horse drawn wooden tramway opened from Emu Bay (Burnie) to Rouse’s Camp, near Waratah to serve the Mount Bischoff tin mines.[2] In 1887, the line was taken over by the Emu Bay to Mount Bischoff Railway Company and relaid with steel rails as 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge railway line to allow steam locomotives to operate.[3] In 1897 the Emu Bay Railway Company took over the line, extending it 60 kilometres to Zeehan on 21 December 1900.[4][5]

Following the opening of the Murchison Highway, the line was closed between Rosebery and Zeehan in August 1965.[6] After being sold in 1967 to EZ Industries, the line was upgraded to carry heavier trains and in January 1970 reopened from Rosebery to Melba Flats.[7] During the construction of the Pieman River hydro electric scheme in the late 1970s the line was diverted in places and new bridges were built.

The Melba Line was included in the October 1984 sale of EZ Industries to North Broken Hill Peko, which in 1988 merged with CRA Limited to form Pasminco. In 1989 an 11 kilometre branch opened from Moorey Junction to serve Aberfoyle’s Hellyer Mine. On 22 May 1998, the line was sold by Pasminco to the Australian Transport Network and integrated into its Tasrail business.[5][8][9][10] In February 2004 it was included in the sale of Tasrail to Pacific National and in September 2009 to the government owned TasRail.[11]

Stopping places

Map of the original route

At its peak as a steam operation the railway had approximately 23 stopping or named places (including names for watering locations and other passenger operation related points) on its line and adjacent lines:

Beyond Zeehan the Tasmanian Government Railways line continued to Regatta Point to connect with the Mount Lyell line to Queenstown.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ TASMANIA. HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. TRAMWAY : (No. 90.) Report on Survey of proposed by Mr. J. C. Climie, CE. laid upon the Table by the Minister of Lands, and ordered by the House to be printed, 16 August 1882
  2. ↑ James Fenton (1884). The History of Tasmania From its Discovery in 1642 to the Present Time. p. 391.
  3. ↑ Railway from Emu Bay to Mount Bischoff Sydney Morning Herald 1 August 1887
  4. ↑ Emu Bay Railway Company Annual Meeting The Age 30 March 1901
  5. 1 2 Oberg, Leon (2010). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-2010. Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 109, 330. ISBN 9781921719011.
  6. ↑ Emu Bay Railway Act 1965 Government of Tasmania 22 June 1965
  7. ↑ Emu Bay The Age 23 August 1968
  8. ↑ ATN grabs Emu Bay The Examiner 7 April 1998
  9. ↑ "Tasrail to take over Emu Bay Railway" Railway Digest May 1998 page 16
  10. ↑ ATN Officially Adds Emu Bay Rail Operation to Its Tasrail Business Tranz Rail Holdings 22 May 1998
  11. ↑ Emu Bay Railway (Operations & Acquisition Act) 2009 Government of Tasmania 27 October 2009

References

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Further reading

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