Emu Bay Railway
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railway transport |
| Founded | 1897 |
| Defunct | 1998 |
| Headquarters | Burnie , Australia |
Area served | Tasmania, Australia |
| Products | Rail transport services |
| Parent | Pasminco (until 1998), then Australian Transport Network |
The Emu Bay Railway was a Tasmanian rail operator that connected the Tasmanian Government Railways network at Burnie with Zeehan, providing further links to the Mount Lyell railway and Queenstown. It was listed on the Melbourne Stock Exchange. After the Tasmanian government discontinued the Zeehan route in 1960, the Emu Bay Railway continued to manage the Melba Line on Tasmania's West Coast until it ceased operations in 1998.
History
The Emu Bay Railway traces its origins back to February 1878 when the Van Diemen's Land Company launched a 71-kilometre horse-drawn wooden tramway stretching from Emu Bay (Burnie) to Rouse's Camp near Waratah, primarily serving the Mount Bischoff tin mines. The route was surveyed by John C Climie. In 1887, the line was acquired by the Emu Bay to Mount Bischoff Railway Company, which upgraded it into a steel-railed steam locomotive railway. By 1897, ownership transferred to the Emu Bay Railway Company, which extended the track an additional 60 kilometres reaching Zeehan by December 1900.
Plans for further extensions towards Gormanston or Queenstown during the late 1890s never came to fruition. Additionally, maps from 1898 indicated a proposed Great Western Railway intersecting at Leslie Junction.
Following the inauguration of the Murchison Highway, the segment between Rosebery and Zeehan was closed in August 1965. In October 1966, EZ Industries—accounting for 90% of traffic—initiated a takeover attempt of Emu Bay Railway. Although initially rejected by the board, shareholders endorsed the acquisition in early 1967. The line underwent upgrades in the late 1960s to accommodate heavier freight trains and reopened from Rosebery to Melba Flats in January 1970.
In December 1976, Emu Bay Railway was released from its common carrier duties, shifting its operations primarily toward freight transport; passenger services were discontinued by 1977. During the late 1970s, construction related to the Pieman River hydroelectric project necessitated rerouting sections of the line and building new bridges.
After EZ Industries sold out in October 1984, Emu Bay Railway became part of North Broken Hill Peko; this company later merged with CRA Limited in 1988 to form Pasminco. In 1989, an additional branch line of 11 kilometres was constructed from Moorey Junction to serve Aberfoyle’s Hellyer Mine. On 22 May 1998, Australian Transport Network acquired Emu Bay Railway from Pasminco and incorporated it into its Tasrail operations.
Passenger services
Initially designed for employee transport and later expanded for tourism purposes, Emu Bay Railway introduced two railmotors in 1921: a 12-seat Berliet and a 16-seat Argyle operating between Guildford and Waratah. In 1940, Walker Brothers of Wigan delivered a double bogie railcar.
Growing tourist interest led to the launch of The West Coaster service between Burnie and Rosebery in October 1960. This service utilized two stored Dübs and Company-built 4-8-0 steam locomotives named Murchison and Heemskirk, which were converted to oil burners and repainted in a distinctive two-tone blue scheme alongside three former Tasmanian Government Railways passenger carriages. The service concluded on 2 January 1964 following the opening of the Murchison Highway.
Rolling stock
The Emu Bay Railway's locomotive collection featured steam engines manufactured in Britain, including three Garratt models from Beyer, Peacock and Company delivered in 1930. During the 1950s, this lineup was expanded with the addition of five Australian Standard Garratts obtained from Queensland Railways and the Tasmanian Government Railways.
In 1953, the company introduced a diesel-hydraulic locomotive with a 0-8-0 wheel arrangement built by the North British Locomotive Company. The steam fleet was phased out by 1963 following the arrival of three 10 class diesel-hydraulics produced by Walkers Limited, with a fourth unit later assembled at the Launceston workshops operated by Tasmanian Government Railways. To accommodate anticipated traffic growth, seven 11 class diesel-hydraulic locomotives were commissioned between 1970 and 1971. Both the 10 and 11 class locomotives were capable of multiple-unit operation, with up to eight units working together.
In preservation
Two steam engines from The West Coaster have been conserved: no.6 Murchison, displayed at the West Coast Pioneers Museum in Zeehan, and no.8 Heemskirk, which was restored to operational condition in October 1997 and is housed at the Don River Railway.
The diesel locomotive built by the North British Locomotive Company is preserved by the Derwent Valley Railway. The 10 class locomotives are maintained at Don River, Walhalla Goldfields in Victoria, and Zig Zag Railways in New South Wales. All units of the 11 class were sold to operators in Far North Queensland.
See also
References
- Manny, L.B. (1961) The Emu Bay Railway. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, November 1961
External links
- Listen to Michael Cannon's track 100 Miles (Emu Bay) about the Emu Bay Railway on the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia's YouTube Channel
- Flickr gallery
- Articles with short description
- Emu Bay Railway
- Companies based in Tasmania
- Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange
- Defunct railway companies of Australia
- Railway companies established in 1897
- Railway companies disestablished in 1998
- Zeehan
- Australian companies established in 1897
- Australian companies disestablished in 1998