RAILWAYS

 

Railways

 

 

 

 

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT.

Find us on Youtube     Find us on Facebook     Find us on Pinterest     Find us on Instagram     Support us on Patreon

 

 

 

In 1900 Charles O'Coonnor began investigating the joining of the rail network in W.A. to the one in South Australia. The estimated cost was 4.6 million pounds and nothing further was done until 1911.

The federal government allocated 4 million pounds to get the project started but the 1800 kilometre gap between Kalgoorlie and Port Augusta was still very daunting.

Work from the eastern side commenced in September 1912 and six months later work began in Kalgoorlie.

3,500 men worked on the construction with most being paid just 8 shillings a day. Track laying machines helped to some extent but much of the work was done by hand and camels were initially used to get supplies out to the rail camps.

Despite WWI occurring during the project, there were remarkably few delays. The rail lines were joined on October 17th 1917. It had taken just 61 months with one section of 780 kilometres being laid in just 3 months.

Among the passengers on the first train was Sir John Forrest. He had travelled across the country on foot and horseback in 1870 and his dream of connecting west to east had finally been realised. His first trip had taken 5 months, the rail journey was just 3 days!

The only unfortunate aspect of the project was the different gauges of rail in W.A. and South Australia and the trans-continental line being a different width to both. This led to delays as trains had to swap passengers and re-load freight.

This is a very broad subject and covers all areas of the state. As there is no point in 're-inventing the wheel' we recommend that you visit Don Copley's excellent website all about the rail network in W.A.

History of W.A. Railways and Stations (site currently offline) also see the Railway Museum.

 


Check out our other VIDEOS

NEW **** CLICKABLE VIDEO MAPS **** NEW

 

 

 

 

Become a supporter of this website for just $5 a month

 

 

Go to the Home Page Go to the Help Page Go to the Help Page

Western Australia Now and Then website - Copyright (c) 2019 - Marc Glasby. All rights reserved.