York–Bruce Rock railway line

The York–Bruce Rock railway line is a closed railway line in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia running from York to Bruce Rock.

York-Bruce Rock
Bridge over the Avon River at York
Overview
OwnerPublic Transport Authority
Termini
Service
Operator(s)Brookfield Rail
History
Opened1 September 1898 (York-Greenhills)
24 April 1908 (Greenhills-Quairading)
28 March 1913 (Quairading-Bruce Rock)
Technical
Track length152
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map

0
York
12
Mount Hardy
19
Marley Pool
23
Greenhills
29
Kauring
34
Rickey’s
42
Balkuling
46
Mawson
53
Jacob’s Well
58
Dulbelling
66
Dangin
74
Quairading
84
Badjaling
93
Yoting
101
Pantapin
112
Kwolyin
119
Shackleton
125
Erikin
133
Yarding
141
Eujinyn
152
Bruce Rock

History

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On 29 June 1885, the Eastern Railway opened from Chidlow's Well to York. Another line opened south to Beverley on 5 August 1886 and ultimately Albany via the Great Southern Railway.[1][2]

On 9 September 1897, construction commenced on a line to Greenhills, with the line opening on 1 September 1898. On 24 April 1908, it was extended to Quairading, and to Bruce Rock on 4 July 1913.[2] In Bruce Rock, it intersected the Merredin to Narrogin railway line.[3][4]

The line was initially served by a thrice weekly mixed train; this was later reduced to twice weekly. Once the line from Bruce Rock to Merredin was opened in December 1913, a through service was introduced. In 1938, a thrice weekly through service from Perth to Merredin was introduced with ADE railcars. This reduced the travel time from 17 hours to eight.[2]

In August 1949, a road bus service was introduced. By January 1951, the railcar service had been reduced to once weekly and was withdrawn entirely in March 1952. Diesel locomotives were introduced to the line in 1955, working in parallel with steam locomotives until 1970.[2]

In 1985, the line was closed between Yoting and Shackleton, the line now operating as two separate lines from York to Yoting and Bruce Rock to Shackleton. In October 1990, the haulage of superphosphate ceased, with the line exclusively used by grain trains.[2] It was cut back to Quairading in the 1990s and closed entirely in October 2013.[5][6][7]

References

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  1. ^ Gunzburg, Adrian (1984). A History of WAGR Steam Locomotives. Perth: Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 14. ISBN 0-9599690-3-9.
  2. ^ a b c d e Tilley, Allan (1998). To Greenhills and Beyond. Greenwood: Rail Heritage Publications. pp. 4, 33, 35, 50, 58, 66, 68. ISBN 0-646-36007-8.
  3. ^ "Public Transport Authority: Railway System: April 2019" (PDF). Public Transport Authority. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Railway map of Western Australia, 1952". Trove. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  5. ^ Tilley, Allan (1998). To Greenhills and Beyond. Greenwood: Rail Heritage Publications. pp. 4, 35, 50, 58. ISBN 0-646-36007-8.
  6. ^ Newland, Andrew; Quinlan, Howard (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 67. ISBN 0-909650-49-7.
  7. ^ Tier three rail lines to close Merredin Mercury 8 October 2013
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