Pinjarra to Narrogin railway

Pinjarra to Narrogin railway
Pinjarra to Narrogin railway
	Remnants of a bridge of the former line at Congelin, Dryandra Woodland
Overview
Owner	Western Australian Government Railways
Termini	Pinjarra; Narrogin;
Service
Operator(s)	Western Australian Government Railways
History
Opened	in stages between 1910 & 1927
Technical
Line length	153 km (95 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
	Pinjarra to Narrogin railway Main locations 45km; 30miles Narrogin 5 Dwarda 4 Boddington 3 Dwellingup 2 Pinjarra 1
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	South Western
	Railway
	Alumina
	Junction
	Alcoa
	Refinery
Isandra
	Hotham
	Valley Rwy.
	Railway Department
	Tramway (Banksiadale)
	State Saw
	Mills Tramway
Etmilyn
	Public Works
	Department Tramway
	Railway Department
	Tramway
	Millars Tullis
	Mill Tramway
Boddington
Dwarda
Dwarda
	Narrogin-Wickepin-Merredin
	Narrogin-Yilliminning-Merredin
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

The Pinjarra to Narrogin railway was a 153 kilometre cross-country railway line built between the towns of Pinjarra and Narrogin in Western Australia.^[1]

History

The line was opened in stages between 1910 and 1927 (with construction being delayed by the onset of the First World War) to service the booming timber industry as well as rural and fruit-growing establishments between the two termini. Pinjarra and Narrogin are located on the Western Australian Government Railways' South Western and Great Southern main lines respectively, and as such the Pinjarra to Narrogin railway provided an important link between the two, providing a rail transport link to towns and mills along the way, such as Dwellingup and Boddington, both of which continue to be significant settlements in the region.

The Pinjarra-Marrinup Railway Act 1907, an act by the Parliament of Western Australia assented to on 20 December 1907, authorised the construction of the railway line from Pinjarra to Marrinup.^[2] The Pinjarra to Dwellingup and Dwellingup to Holyoake sections of the rail the railway were both approved for construction in December 1908, with the former officially opened on 28 February and the latter on 1 July 1910. Both sections were constructed by the Public Works Department (PWD).^[3]

The Dwellingup–Hotham Railway Act 1911, assented to on 16 February 1911, authorised construction of the railway line from Dwellingup to Hotham.^[4]

Construction of the Holyoake to Dwarda section of the railway line was awarded to the PWD on 12 February 1910 and the line was opened on 8 August 1913.^[3]

In 1912, two more acts concerning this railway were passed, the Hotham–Crossman Railway Act 1911 and the Hotham–Crossman Railway Extension Act 1912, assented to 9 January and 24 December 1912.^[5]^[6]

The Pinjarra-Dwarda Railway Extension Act 1914 was assented to on 18 February 1915 and authorised the construction of the railway line extension from Dwarda to Narrogin.^[7] The final section Dwarda to Narrogin was not awarded for construction to the PWD until 24 July 1925, and officially opened on 18 September 1926.^[3]

In 1954, the state government of Western Australia had compiled a list of loss-making railway operations, of which the Pinjarra to Narrogin line was one. Figures were reported for two separate sections of the line, split at Dwarda. The section from Pinjarra to Dwards had a total expenditure of almost five times its earnings in the financial year to June 1953, £A 58,436 expenditure versus earnings of £A 12,316. Figures for the Dwarda to narrogin section were far worse, with and expenditure of £A 12,198 while earning just £A 915.^[8]

The Railways (Cue-Big Bell and other Railways) Discontinuance Act 1960 officially closed the Boddington to Narrogin section of the line, which was assented to to on 12 December 1960. This act affected a number of Western Australian railways, officially closing 13 lines in the state.^[9]

The Railways Discontinuance and Land Revestment Act 1975, assented to on 18 September 1975, closed the Dwellingup to Boddington section of the railway line.^[10]

The closing of many of the local timber mills led to a gradual decline in traffic on the line and, accordingly, commercial services were withdrawn progressively until cessation of the last remaining service in 1984. However, the Hotham Valley Railway has operated a heritage railway over a thirty-two kilometre section of the line as far as Etmilyn from 1974 onwards and continues to do so.^[11]^[12]

Legacy

Only the section of the railway line from Pinjarra to Dwellingup is still shown as operated by third parties on contemporary railway maps.^[13]^[14]

At the western terminus of the former line, the Pinjarra Railway Yards is on the Western Australian State Register of Heritage Places,^[15] as is the Narrogin Railway Station at the eastern end of the line, also both predate the establishment of the Pinjarra to Narrogin railway.^[16]

The Pinjarra to Boddington railway route was assessed for heritage value but found to be not significant enough to warrant inclusion in the Shire of Murray's heritage list.^[17] However, in the neighbouring Shire of Boddington, the railway line precinct from Boddington to Dwellingup is on the shire's heritage list.^[18]

At Congelin, in the Shire of Williams, the site of the former railway siding is on the shire's heritage list but only earthworks now remain for the former siding.^[19]

References

^ "Locations or Stopping Places - Pinjarra to Narrogin". Hotham Valley Railway. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
^ "Pinjarra-Marrinup Railway Act 1907". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 20 December 1907. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c Opening dates for sections from 12. Construction of the W.A. Government Railways network, 1879 - 1931, pages 208-210 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
^ "Dwellingup–Hotham Railway Act 1911". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 16 February 1911. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
^ "Hotham–Crossman Railway Act 1911". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 9 January 1912. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
^ "Hotham–Crossman Railway Extension Act 1912". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 24 December 1912. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
^ "Pinjarra-Dwarda Railway Extension Act 1914". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 18 February 1915. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
^ "Minister Says Many Railway Sections Show Big Losses", The Farmers' Weekly, 11 February 1954, retrieved 30 July 2024
^ "Railways (Cue-Big Bell and other Railways) Discontinuance Act 1960". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 12 December 1960. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
^ "Railways Discontinuance and Land Revestment Act 1975". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 18 September 1975. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
^ "History of HVTR". Hotham Valley Railway. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
^ Hotham Valley Tourist Railway State Heritage Office of WA
^ "Arc Map Network" (PDF). Retrieved 31 July 2024.
^ "Public Transport Authority: Railway System: April 2019" (PDF). Public Transport Authority. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
^ "Pinjarra Railway Yards". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
^ "Narrogin Railway Station". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
^ "Pinjarra to Boddington Railway Route". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
^ "Railway Line Precinct - Boddington to Dwellingup". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
^ "Congelin Railway Siding, Narrogin/Dwarda Railway". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 31 July 2024.

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

History

Legacy

References

Further reading