BHP Whyalla Tramway
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railway transport |
| Founded | 1901 |
| Founder | BHP |
| Headquarters | Whyalla , Australia |
Area served | Eyre Peninsula, South Australia |
| Owner | Liberty Steel Group |
| Parent | BHP (until 2000) |
The BHP Whyalla Tramway is a heavy-duty railway with a gauge of , extending over 57 kilometers on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. This line links the haematite extraction sites at Iron Monarch, Iron Baron, and Iron Duke within the Middleback Range, situated roughly west of Whyalla, to the company's steel manufacturing facility in Whyalla. Commissioned in 1901, the tramway was constructed and managed by BHP until the year 2000. As of , ownership belongs to Liberty Steel Group, while rail operations are handled by One Rail Australia, which was acquired by Aurizon in 2022.
History
In 1899, BHP obtained mining rights for iron ore deposits in the Middleback Ranges. The Hummock Hill to Iron Knob Tramways and Jetties Act 1900 enabled the building of a 54-kilometer railway stretching from Hummock Hill, Whyalla to Iron Knob, officially opening on 28 August 1901.
A spur line from Middleton Junction to Iron Baron commenced service in 1930; although Iron Baron ceased operations in 1947, it resumed mining activities in 1958. In 1990, the railway was extended by an additional 32 kilometers reaching Iron Duke. Following the halt of iron ore extraction at Iron Baron (1991) and Iron Duke (1998), the Middleton Junction branch was closed but later reopened up to Iron Baron when mining restarted there around mid-2012.
During the 1960s, internal tracks at Whyalla Steelworks were converted to standard gauge to support large torpedo ladles with a capacity of 200 tons and to facilitate access for standard gauge interstate trains after the Whyalla railway line became operational in October 1972.
Rail operations were outsourced to Australian Southern Railroad (ASR) starting in 2000; locomotive servicing was managed by Clyde Engineering, while track maintenance was conducted by Transfield. Following Aurizon’s acquisition of One Rail Australia (previously ASR) in July 2022, operational responsibilities were transferred accordingly.
Rolling stock
Numerous steam locomotives employed on this tramway were relocated from BHP’s facilities at Broken Hill. By the year 1941, the locomotive fleet had grown to include twelve units.
In 1928, a petrol-electric locomotive was procured from Davenport Locomotive Works, located in Iowa, specifically for operations at Iron Knob.
The steam locomotives were phased out during the 1950s and replaced by BHP Whyalla DH and DE class diesel engines. With the reopening of the Iron Baron branch, five GWNs were introduced into service in 2013. Later, in July 2019, five former Queensland Railways 2250 class locomotives were brought back from South Africa to succeed the GWNs.