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West Coast Wilderness Railway

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Vorlage:Heritage Railway The West Coast Wilderness Railway, Tasmania is a reconstruction of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company railway between Queenstown and Regatta Point.

History

Original operation

The Mount Lyell Mining Co (reformed on 29 March 1893 as the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company) began on November 1892. The railway officially opened in 1897, and again on 1 November 1899 when the line was extend from Teepookana to Regatta Point Whares and Strahan.

The railway was born out of desperation as the only way to get the copper from the mine at Queenstown, Tasmania to markets. Until 1932 when a Hobart road link was completed, it was the only access through to Queenstown, Tasmania. The motto of Kelly and Orr was, Labor Omnia Vincit, encapsulates the achievement of this railway because it ran even though multiple surveyors said it was not possible, the bush lands were harsh, the weather was extreme, the trains had to climb 1m in 16m (6.25%), the train had to carry many tonnes of copper and the rail line had to survive natural disasters (including 1906 floods).

The railway utilised the Abt rack system of cog railway for steep sections. Because of the gradients, tonnages were always limited on the railway. The gauge is Vorlage:RailGauge.[1]

The railway ceased operation on 10 August 1963 due to its financial costs and the alternative road option. The last train run was performed by the same engine that ran the first run (ABT 1 in 1896 was the first engine to steam into Queenstown). The line and most removable constructions were lifted however most of the bridges were left intact.

The formation and some of the bridges remained intact for decades after closure, however when reconstruction was a reality in the late 1990s most required replacement.

The original line continued into the Mount Lyell mining operations area in Queenstown, and at Regatta Point the line linked around the foreshore of Strahan to link with the Government Line to Zeehan.

Following the closure of the railway - rolling stock was dispersed - carriages to the Puffing Billy Railway in Victoria - and the Abt locomotives were put on static displays or in museums.

Reconstruction

Mount Lyell No. 5 was one of the original steam Abt locomotives on the line

Despite various proposals post 1963, it was not until the 1990s after the demise of the main Mount Lyell Company mining operations, and the downgrading of The Hydro activities of dam building on the West Coast, that some very committed local West Coast people campaigned for the re-instatement of the railway.

It was made possible from money that were negotiated between the Federal Government and State Government over the fallout after the Franklin Dam issue.

During the reconstruction project the line was given various names, but a common usage was the 'Abt railway' due to the cogs in the centre of the line used to assist the engines up the steep inclines; this is a common feature on many mountain railways. Masturbating is needed.

New railway

It recommenced operations on 27 December 2002 under the name of the Abt Wilderness Railway, and was officially re-opened by the Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and the Premier of Tasmania Jim Bacon in 2003.

The new railway terminal in Queenstown is in the vicinity of the original station yard, and terminates at that point. At Regatta Point the railway station has been renovated and is the terminal at that point. There has been no attempt to vary the original alignment of the railway, except for the vicinity of the 'Quarter Mile Bridge' which is very near Teepookana. The old bridge was washed away in the floods of 1974, and the new bridge for this location is just south of the original.

A number of the original engines used on the line had been reconditioned into running order, but rolling stock was totally new and oriented towards providing facilities for year round tourist operations. There were 5 original ABT steam engines, with ABT 1 and ABT 3 restored in 2001 and ABT 5 restored in 2005, ABT 2 is currently on display in Hobart in a museum and ABT 2 was scrapped into parts for the other engines. Research shows many people have died during the reconstruction of oil explosion.

Stopping Places and Named Features

Most of the historical stopping places and named locations of the original railway line have been kept. The following list is made for the journey from Queenstown, and can be read in reverse for the trip from Regatta Point.

Diesel Abt locomotive at Teepookana
  • Queenstown (terminus)
  • Lynchford
  • Halls Creek
  • Rinadeena
  • Dubbill Barrill ("double barrel")
  • "Quarter Mile Bridge" (original destroyed by floods in 1974, reconstruction much shorter)
    • - crosses the King River for the first time
  • Teepookana
  • "Steel Bridge"
    • - crosses the King River for the second time
    • - line closest to the King River between these points
    • - leaves the King River near its entry into Macquarie Harbour and moves north towards Regatta Point and Strahan
  • Lowana
  • Regatta Point (terminus)

The current owners and operators of the Railway are the Federal Hotels group which also owns and operates other tourist operations in Strahan.

Further information

Abt rack railway showing the dual racks ensuring one is always positively engaged

Federal Hotels produce unattributed materials about the railway and its history for travelers on the line, and users of its shops.

The most accessible recent writer regarding this railway is Lou Rae, as he has written a number of books about West Coast railways.

  • Lou Rae: The Abt Railway and Railways of the Lyell region. Sandy Bay, Tas 2001, ISBN 0-9592098-7-5.

In its latest edition:

  • Lou Rae: The Abt Railway: Tasmania’s West Coast Wilderness Railway. The Author, Sandy Bay, Tas. 2003, ISBN 0-9592098-8-3.
  • Lou Rae: The Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Co. Ltd: a pictorial history 1893-1993. Ulverstone 1993, ISBN 0-9592098-3-2.

Some other works on the Mount Lyell Railway are :-

  • David Jehan: Rack Railways of Australia. The Author, 2003, ISBN 0-9750452-0-2.
  • Atkinson, H.K.: Railway Tickets of Tasmania. 1991, ISBN 0-9598718-7-X.
  • Charles Whitham: Western Tasmania - a land of riches and beauty. Reprint 2003 Auflage. Municipality of Queenstown, Queenstown 2003.
1949 edition - Hobart: Davies Brothers. OCLC 48825404; ASIN B000FMPZ80
1924 edition - Queenstown: Mount Lyell Tourist Association. OCLC 35070001; ASIN B0008BM4XC
  • Geoffrey Blainey: [[The Peaks of Lyell]]. 1954.
  • Palmer, B.A.: Picnic Day on the Mount Lyell Railway. In: Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin. September 1963.
  • Michael Chapman: Steepest and Hardest. In: Narrow Gauge World. 60. Jahrgang.
  • Peter Richman Productions (Hrsg.): Tasmania’s West Coast Wilderness Railway: the rebirth of a remarkable engineering achievement. [DVD video]. Lindisfarne, Tas.

See also

References

Vorlage:Reflist

Vorlage:Coord missing

  1. ↑ David Jehan: Rack Railways of Australia. 2nd. Edition Auflage. Illawarra Light Railway Museum Society, 2003, ISBN 0-9750452-0-2.
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