59-474: The Gulflander is a passenger train operated by Queensland Rail on the isolated Normanton to Croydon line in the Gulf Country of northern Queensland , Australia. Steam locomotives were used until 1929. By that stage railmotors had been introduced since 1922. By 1974 the line was under the threat of closure, earning just $ 3,000 in revenue but costing $ 64,000 to maintain. Today the line exists as
118-406: A line from Townsville to Charters Towers under construction. The pattern of early Queensland railway development was focused upon providing transport from inland areas to ports at the lowest possible cost. Coastal shipping provided adequate connections between the coastal communities and so priority given to building railways which would facilitate development and immigration to the interior of
177-456: A Board of three Commissioners was appointed to reduce political influence. This was reduced back to a single Commissioner in September 1895. Note: from 1 July 1991 the position of Commissioner for Railways ceased to exist, replaced by a Chief Executive Officer, reporting to a board of Directors. QR operates urban and interurban rail services throughout South East Queensland as part of
236-514: A Queensland Rail group. Under the revised arrangements Queensland Rail Limited retained assets and liabilities and staff were transferred to the QRTA. As a result of transferring the staff to the QRTA, the government moved those employees from the federal industrial relations system to the state-based industrial relations system, giving the state more control over industrial arrangements. In November 2013, five labour unions commenced legal proceedings in
295-526: A contract from Duralie Colliery to Stratford Mine. Another coal contract was won in late 2003 for the haulage of coal from Newstan Colliery, Fassifern to Vales Point Power Station . In 2004, Interail began running Brisbane to Melbourne and Sydney to Melbourne intermodal services. In June 2005, Queensland Rail acquired the CRT Group . In June 2006, the Western Australian business of
354-598: A line was constructed to serve the mine, opening in 1883. The line was extended to Bundaberg in 1888 so coal could be shipped there as well. The opening of the isolated Bowen section of railway in 1890 (see below) had resulted in there being 11 separate railway systems operating in Queensland, including the Brisbane, Maryborough and North Bundaberg lines. This was reduced to nine once the Burnett Bridge and
413-589: A minimum radius curve. This section features the only two tunnels on the entire NCL, one being 191 m, the other 160 m. An example of the benefits of a connected system was the decision by the CSR sugar company in 1895 to rail sugar from Childers to Brisbane instead of using coastal shipping from Maryborough. Parliament approved the Bundaberg to Gladstone line whilst the Brisbane-Gympie competing survey work
472-513: A road corridor. The ATJB secured loan funds from the State, and the line opened in 1901. Under the same provisions, Cairns Shire Council built a 23 km line south to Gordonvale in 1897, and extended it 37 km to Babinda in 1910. A further financial crisis following the Federation drought in 1903 resulted in the line being closed and leased to the local abattoir for two years, until
531-408: A sinuous alignment and 17.4 kg/m (35 lb/yd) lightweight rails. However, difficulties were encountered with some of the creek crossings with the crossing at Grahams Creek ( 25°33′42″S 152°36′33″E / 25.5616°S 152.6091°E / -25.5616; 152.6091 ( Graham's Creek Bridge (Yengarie Bridge) ) ) requiring considerable ingenuity to construct. The line
590-554: A tourist attraction and is said to be more an adventure than a train ride. The crews are qualified guides and will stop the train and talk about points of interest. The present three-car railmotor set of RM93 Gardner diesel railmotor and carriages TP1809 and TP1811 is known as "the old Tin Hare". The service runs once per week to Croydon on Wednesdays, returning to Normanton on Thursdays. Shorter charter services on most other days are also available. Thirteen power units have been used on
649-633: Is electrified between Brisbane and Rockhampton . Along the way, the 1680 km railway passes through the numerous towns and cities of eastern Queensland including Nambour , Bundaberg , Gladstone , Rockhampton , Mackay and Townsville . The line though the centre of Rockhampton runs down the middle of Denison Street. The first section of the North Coast Line was opened in 1881 and the final section in 1924, with over 60 sections opened during that period. It incorporates sections of lines built by local governments and subsequently taken over by
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#1732779880076708-507: The 1893 Brisbane flood , and the subsequent financial downturn resulted in a 2-year halt in construction. The line to Gladstone finally opened in 1897. Gladstone has the best port in central Queensland, and except for the Canoona gold rush near Rockhampton it may have become the main regional city. Rockhampton business interests were very successful in resisting the construction of a railway south of their city in order to prevent freight from
767-834: The Australian Railroad Group was purchased. QR was responsible for all Queensland freight services, and from 2002 operated interstate services under the Australian Railroad Group , Interail and QR National brands. These were all spun out into a separate entity in July 2010, and later privatised as Aurizon . In June 2009, the Queensland Government announced the privatisation of Queensland Rail's freight business. This resulted in Queensland Rail's freight assets being transferred to QR National (now Aurizon ) from 1 July 2010. In April 2013,
826-482: The Central West line travelling to Gladstone and its deep water port, and continued to resist that proposal even after the Brisbane – Gladstone link was opened. Therefore, in 1898 the government established an overnight steamer service between Gladstone and Rockhampton, initially with the 'Miner'. The Gladstone Boat Mail departed Brisbane at 9 pm three days per week, arriving at Gladstone at 12:20 pm
885-715: The High Court of Australia alleging that the QRTA was subject to the federal industrial jurisdiction rather than the state system. In April 2015, the court ruled the QRTA was subject to the Fair Work Act 2009 and the federal industrial relations jurisdiction. The Commissioners of the Queensland Railways were: Note: from 29 April 1869 to 15 July 1870, the Secretary for Public Works was appointed Commissioner for Railways. Note: from 29 July 1889
944-569: The Queensland Parliament passed the Queensland Rail Transit Authority Bill 2013 that restructured Queensland Rail. The explanatory notes published for the bill outlined that the existing Queensland Rail Limited entity would remain although no longer be a government-owned corporation and that entity would become a subsidiary of a new Queensland Rail Transit Authority (QRTA), in effect creating
1003-517: The Queensland Railways , one isolated section was closed for two years following a financial crisis and another isolated section was initially built as a 610 mm ( 2 ft ) gauge line. Progress was hampered by several financial setbacks, debate over competing routes and parliamentary approval to connect Cairns to Rockhampton and Brisbane was not given until 1910. Construction standards varied significantly depending upon
1062-658: The Translink network. Rail services operate on twelve lines, Beenleigh , Caboolture , Cleveland , Doomben , Exhibition , Ferny Grove , Gold Coast , Ipswich-Rosewood , Redcliffe Peninsula , Shorncliffe , Springfield and Sunshine Coast . QR operate these with the Electric Multiple Units (EMU) , Suburban Multiple Units (SMU) , Interurban Multiple Units (IMU) and New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) class electric multiple units . Queensland Rail operate five long-distance passenger rail services, under
1121-524: The 1.85 km section of line travelling along the middle of Deniston Street), the train terminated at North Rockhampton. A steamer service from Gladstone to Mackay and Townsville was also introduced, with the weekly Boat Mail running onto the Gladstone wharf right beside the ship from 1908, and operated until the NCL connection to Townsville was opened in 1923. In an attempt to reduce the tidal influence on
1180-486: The 111 km to Ingham was opened in seven sections between 1914 and 1919, the shortest being 8 km. The highest point on the entire NCL is situated north of Rockhampton, at 136 metres above sea level, whilst the Burdekin River crossing was built as a low level bridge, designed to allow flood waters to flow over it with minimal damage, leading to frequent disruptions to traffic during the wet season. However,
1239-555: The 192 km of tramways that would become part of the route. As in the case of the GWR Act passed on the same day, regional rivalries required construction to commence as simultaneously as possible, spreading resources and slowing down overall progress. Priority was subsequently given to sections that would serve cane country, as despite situations such as the Childers-Brisbane sugar traffic, long-distance freight traffic
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#17327798800761298-569: The Brisbane network with the coal networks via the North Coast line . The project was to be carried out in four stages: In September 1999, Queensland Rail was rebranded as QR. In March 2002, Queensland Rail purchased Northern Rivers Railroad and rebranded it Interail , fulfilling a long-held ambition of expanding beyond its state borders. In March 2003, Queensland Rail entered the Hunter Valley coal market when Interail commenced
1357-469: The Gladstone - Rockhampton line just one year later, the entire 101 km line opening in 1903. Bowen was the first settlement in north Queensland, and had the best harbour in the region. Once again gold resulted in a less desirable port being utilised when the Northern line to Charters Towers was constructed from Townsville . To make political amends, a line was opened from Bowen 39 km towards
1416-528: The Northern line, and extended another 30 km in 1891. Construction then halted due to debate over the junction point, Bowen business interests wanting it as close to the goldfields as possible whilst Townsville wanted a coastal route that would serve good sugar cane growing areas, north Queensland's main agricultural crop. The 1893 financial crisis stymied further progress, and as the Bowen line's main customer
1475-542: The State government to build, resulted in some regional communities believing they were paying for railways built to a standard more costly than necessary. Local governments could utilise the provisions of the Tramway Act 1880 to build local railways more cheaply. Whilst the gauge matched QR's lines, in other respects the tramways were more akin to the pioneer lines built 30 years earlier, with low maximum axle load, minimum earthworks and in some cases an alignment sharing
1534-1125: The United Kingdom, Baldwin Locomotive Works of the United States, as well as Australian manufacturers Clyde Engineering , Evans, Anderson, Phelan & Co , Islington Railway Workshops , Newport Workshops , Phoenix Engine Company, Toowoomba Foundry and Walkers Limited . It also built some in-house at North Ipswich Railway Workshops . In 1936, the company owned 750 locomotives, 67 railcars, 998 coaches, 94 mail cars , 177 brake vans and 18.699 goods wagons. Dieselisation commenced in 1952 with early purchases being imported from GE Transportation and English Electric , before standardising on locally made products from A Goninan & Co , Clyde Engineering, English Electric and Walkers Limited. Electric locomotives were purchased from Clyde Engineering, Walkers Limited and Siemens . Electric multiple units have been purchased from Walkers Limited, Downer Rail and Bombardier Transportation ,
1593-804: The brand name Queensland Rail Traveltrain: Connecting road coach services are operated. Annual patronage all travel and tourism servies in 2022-23 was 690,000. In 2007/08, the subsidy for the Brisbane-Cairns route (NCL) was $ 130 million, or $ 900 per passenger. In 2001/02 it was $ 270 million. Queensland Rail also operate two tourist services: Queensland Rail operated many named trains including: QR sourced steam locomotives from many manufacturers including Armstrong Whitworth , Avonside Engine Company , Beyer, Peacock & Company , Dübs & Co , Kitson & Co , Nasmyth, Wilson & Co , Neilson and Company , North British Locomotive Company , Vulcan Foundry and Yorkshire Engine Company all of
1652-493: The bridge suffered major washaways in 1917, 1918, 1925, 1940 and 1945, leading to its replacement by a high level bridge in 1957. Construction was slowed by the impacts of World War I , though the Don-Proserpine tramway was purchased in 1917 when construction north from Mackay commenced. Another financial crisis halted construction on that section in 1920 for 2 years. However construction continued south of Mackay, and it
1711-489: The colony. The first section of what is now the NCL opened on 6 August 1881. It was built to connect the mining town of Gympie to a river port at Maryborough , and followed the Mary River valley. The Queensland Government was under constant pressure to reduce expenditure, and so despite the potential for the line to be part of a future main line, the line was constructed to pioneer standards with minimal earthworks ,
1770-582: The decision was made, it is understandable. The network evolved as a series of isolated networks. It wasn't until the completion of the North Coast line in December 1924 that all were joined. The exception was the Normanton to Croydon line which always remained isolated. At its peak in 1932, the network totaled 10,500 kilometres (6,524 mi). Changing transport patterns resulted in the closure of many development branch lines from 1948 onwards, but at
1829-615: The era and initial purpose of the section built. There have been five major and numerous minor deviations to improve the alignment of the original line, and three sections of it are duplicated. Queensland was the first jurisdiction in the world to adopt narrow gauge ( 1,067 mm or 3 ft 6 in ) for its main lines, with the Main Line opening between Ipswich and Toowoomba between 1865 and 1867. By 1880 over 1,000 km of line had been opened, connecting Brisbane to Roma and Warwick and Rockhampton to Emerald , with
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1888-468: The expensive bridging required to connect to Innisfail. Construction north from Rockhampton also commenced in 1911, and the Bowen line, with a gap of only 35 km to Ayr, was connected to Townsville in 1913, including the 760 m Burdekin River bridge. Construction north of Townsville commenced that year, and all sections were opened progressively to provide access for the local communities. For example,
1947-706: The fleet and retiring of the remaining EMU and ICE units. 4 Stored 1 Under overhaul QR owned locomotives include 1724, 1725 (stored), 1732, 1734 (overhaul)*, 1738, 1744*, 1746, 1751 (stored)*, 1752 (stored), 1754 (stored), 1764*, 1771* and 1774* *Locomotives in Kuranda Scenic Railway livery 2 Rebuilt 1 Rebuilt 1 Stored 1 Under construction 1 Planned 1263 donated by ARHS(QLD). Stored in Townsville pending transport. SXV from Set 38 stored in bogie shop. 1650 donated by ARHS(QLD). Stored in good condition after partial restoration initiated by
2006-498: The following day, where the steamer would be waiting, but not depart until the tide was suitable. This gave a minimum journey time of 22 hours between Brisbane and Rockhampton, but if the train arrived just after a suitable tide, the transit time could be up to 11 hours longer. The steamer docked at Broadmount jetty and passengers transferred to the awaiting train. Until the 244-metre Alexandra Bridge opened in November 1899 (including
2065-597: The forefront for the repairs and maintenance of the fleet. Notable incidents involving Queensland Rail include: North Coast railway line, Queensland Download coordinates as: The North Coast railway line ( NCL ) is a 1,681-kilometre (1,045 mi) 1067 mm gauge railway line in Queensland , Australia. It commences at Roma Street station , Brisbane , and largely parallels the Queensland coast to Cairns in Far North Queensland . The line
2124-774: The government resumed public operations when improved finances allowed. The residents of Proserpine , 61 km south of Bowen, unsuccessfully lobbied for a rail connection and so the local governments followed the ATJB model and constituted the Bowen Proserpine Joint Tramway Board and opened a line in 1910. The passing of the North Coast Railway Act 1910 finally committed the government to linking Cairns, Townsville and Mackay to Rockhampton and Brisbane. It authorised Queensland Railways to construct 731 km of new line and purchase
2183-413: The government's desire for the fastest possible construction timeframe at the least cost. This resulted in the adoption of sharper curves and a lower axle load than was considered possible using the standard gauge, and an assessment at the time put the cost of a narrow gauge line from Ipswich to Toowoomba at 25% of the cost of a standard gauge line. In a colony with a non-indigenous population of 30,000 when
2242-641: The latter of two which are still present in Queensland to this day. With the closure of many rural branch lines in the 1990s there was excess motive power on the QR and it was chosen to standardise by using Clyde based diesel locomotives. Most, if not all of the English Electric locomotives were withdrawn by 2000. In June 2021 QR announced that it had shortlisted 3 applicants ( Alstom , CAF and Downer Rail ) to manufacture 20 (later expanded to 65) new electric multiple units . These will allow for expansion of
2301-494: The line largely followed the alignment surveyed by a private company, the Moreton Bay Tramway Company , which had proposed to build a 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) standard gauge horse-drawn tramway but had been unable to raise funds to do so beyond an initial start on earthworks. The adoption of a narrow gauge was controversial at the time and was largely predicated by
2360-813: The line. It is unusual that of the 13 units, 12 survive in one form or another and most are still in the region due mainly to its remoteness. They are as follows: Queensland Rail Queensland Rail ( QR ) is a railway operator in Queensland , Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government , and operates both suburban and interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well as long-distance passenger train services connecting Brisbane to regional Queensland. QR also owns and maintains rolling stock, in addition to approximately 6,600 kilometres (4,101 mi) of track and related infrastructure. Queensland Railways
2419-546: The linking of the Brisbane and Maryborough systems occurred, and the number of isolated systems gradually reduced as the NCL progressed, though two lines were never connected to the remainder of the system. The coastal route was approved in 1889, with construction starting from both Caboolture and Gympie , and the linking section opened in 1891. It was built to main line standard with 29.8 kg/m (60 lb/yd) rail, 8 chains (160.9 m) minimum radius curves and 1 in 50 (2%) maximum grades , equivalent to 1 in 48 (~2.1%) on
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2478-449: The networks, an ageing diesel-electric locomotive fleet and the increase in diesel fuel costs. By early 1983, a decision had been made to electrify the networks and by early 1984, contracts were already starting to be let for the new locomotives and other works for the project. The decision was made to electrify with the 25 kV AC railway electrification system as used on the Brisbane suburban network. This would allow future connection of
2537-564: The previous custodian. 1651 donated by ARHS(QLD). Stored pending restoration. This table only includes locomotives owned by Queensland Rail. QR also hires locomotives from Aurizon as required. From its inception, QR's primary workshops were the North Ipswich Railway Workshops . It was replaced by the Redbank Railway Workshops in the 1960s. The Mayne Yard rail precinct is now
2596-457: The rails to 610 mm ( 2 ft ) gauge temporarily to facilitate delivery of construction materials via the local sugar cane tramway. The sugar mill agreed to carry passengers, and Innisfail residents could then reach Cairns by train, changing to the wider gauge at Garradunga . The final 94 km section, including major bridges at Daradgee , opened on 10 December 1924, enabling a 52-hour journey time from Cairns to Brisbane. A list of
2655-506: The same time the main lines were upgraded to provide contemporary services, and from the 1970s an extensive network of new lines was developed, particularly to service export coal mines. Commencing in November 1979, the Brisbane suburban network was electrified . In 1978, discussions were commenced on the possible electrification of the Blackwater and Goonyella coal networks. This was due to an expected increase in coal traffic across
2714-402: The section opening dates is here . This list shows the original opening date for each section, ignoring any subsequent deviations etc. A list of the opening dates in chronological order is here . This list shows the known opening dates for all line construction, including deviations, plus the known dates of other significant NCL related events etc. The sections built to main line standard had
2773-416: The shortage of surveyors and the terrain involved. By the time the surveys were finished it was apparent the inland route would be prohibitively expensive, and the coastal route was approved. The first section of line formally known as the NCL was opened from North Coast Junction (now Northgate ) to Petrie and Caboolture in 1888. Coal had been discovered at Burrum, 25 km north of Maryborough , and
2832-422: The tramway to Cairns The Cairns to Babinda and Stuart (Townsville) to Ayr tramways were purchased in 1911, and southern extensions commenced that year, together with a line south from Mackay, with the new junction station being called Paget in honour of the local politician who was Minister for Railways. An 8 km extension south of Babinda was opened in 1912, with further work then suspended for 8 years due to
2891-413: The voyage timing, the government purchased a stern paddle wheel steamer called the 'Premier' in 1899, but that didn't solve the problem. It is an indication of the strength of resistance to a southern rail connection from Rockhampton that this vessel was purchased. An indication of how quickly the advantages of a rail connection over coastal shipping then diluted that resistance can be seen by the approval of
2950-441: Was a demand for the southern connecting line to be from Esk to Kilkivan . Whilst that route may have served areas of fertile land, it was very hilly terrain, and the cost of earthworks would have been substantial. The coastal route would serve less promising agricultural land, but would be less expensive to build. As the Queensland parliament was dominated by rural members, both routes were surveyed in detail, taking six years due to
3009-477: Was an abattoir, there was little interest in further expenditure on the government's behalf. As a result, the local governments in the Townsville and Ayr districts formed the Ayr Tramway Joint Board ( ATJB ) to construct a 69 km line south to the cane lands. The Railway Guarantee Act 1895 , which required local governments to guarantee any losses incurred by railways they had requested
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#17327798800763068-590: Was divided into five regions, described as sections A - E, being: Section A – Rockhampton to St Lawrence Section B - St Lawrence to Mackay Section C - Mackay to Proserpine , Bobawaba (end of the Bowen line) to the Burdekin River and upgrading the Proserpine tramway. Section D - Burdekin River to Ayr , Townsville to Cardwell and upgrading the Ayr tramway Section E - Cardwell to Babinda and upgrading
3127-524: Was linked to Rockhampton and beyond in 1921. Although upgrading works were not completed, the connection to Townsville was opened on the centenary of John Oxley 's landing at the site of Brisbane in 1823, and once works were finished in 1924 the Mail train took 38 hours from Brisbane, and express fruit specials did the journey in 40 hours. Work north of Ingham commenced in 1919, halted in 1920 and recommenced in 1922, whilst work towards Innisfail included laying
3186-428: Was not expected to grow once lines were connected. The NCL was seen as mainly benefiting passengers, especially as bad weather could frequently disrupt coastal shipping during the cyclone season. The main works were bridges over the numerous, and often wide coastal river systems, and a 12-long ton axle load was established for all new construction, requiring the tramways to be raised to the same standard. Construction
3245-462: Was officially opened in August 1881. Further south a suburban railway was opened between Roma Street and Northgate (and Sandgate ) on 11 May 1882, via Normanby. A direct line from Roma Street to Bowen Hills via Central station was opened in 1890, including a 770-metre tunnel, still the longest on the system. The government formally decided to link Brisbane to Gladstone in 1883, but there
3304-518: Was seen as a priority. As adequate river transport was already established between the capital Brisbane and the then separate settlement of Ipswich , the railway commenced from the latter locality and the initial section, built over the relatively flat, easy country opened to Bigge's Camp , at the eastern base of the Little Liverpool Range , on 31 July 1865. Called the Main Line , the only significant engineering work on that section
3363-541: Was still underway, and contracts were let in 1888. A railway had opened from North Bundaberg to Mount Perry in 1884, that line starting from the opposite side of the Burnett River from the main part of Bundaberg in order to save the cost of constructing a bridge. The 534-metre bridge over the river connecting the two lines opened in 1891. Construction continued north, and the next section to Rosedale opened in 1892. The largest bank in Queensland collapsed following
3422-624: Was the bridge over the Bremer River to North Ipswich. Tunneling excavation through the Little Liverpool Range delayed the opening of the next section to Gatton by 10 months, but the line was opened to Toowoomba in 1867, the ascent of the Main Range being the reason for the adoption of narrow gauge. Built by the Queensland Government to the unusual (for the time) gauge of 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ),
3481-427: Was the first operator in the world to adopt a narrow gauge (in this case 1,067 mm or 3 ft 6 in ) for a main line, and this remains the system-wide gauge in Queensland. The colony of Queensland separated from New South Wales in 1859, and the new government was keen to facilitate development and immigration. Improved transport to the fertile Darling Downs region situated west of Toowoomba
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