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50-717: The Mary Valley railway line was a branch line of the North Coast railway line , which branched west at Monkland (just south of Gympie ) and continued to Brooloo in the upper Mary Valley. It was constructed between 1911 and April 1915 to facilitate closer settlement of the Mary River valley. The line reached Kandanga railway station in February 1914 and the terminus of Brooloo in April 1915. In March 1920, an extension of 10 miles 20 chains (16.5 km) to Kenilworth

100-473: A C17 steam locomotive run on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, departing from Gympie Railway Station , travelling to Dagun and Amamoor . On Thursdays, a railmotor dining and tasting tour is operated by RM76. The railway also runs various events throughout the year. The Mary Valley Rattler has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: North Coast railway line, Queensland Download coordinates as: The North Coast railway line ( NCL )

150-406: 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

200-584: A class of 4-8-0 steam locomotives operated by the Queensland Railways . The C17 class was introduced as an improved version of the C16 class . Per Queensland Railway 's classification system they were designated the C17 class, C representing they had four driving axles , and 17 representing the cylinder diameter in inches. The design was so successful that 227 locomotives were built from 1920 when

250-529: A fully restored C17 class locomotive from the early 1920s, departed Gympie station at 10 am. The Gympie Station itself dates back to pre-1880. As the train travels south, it passes through the southern end of the city of Gympie. After crossing the Mary River, the railway line enters the Mary Valley. The line wanders away from the river to negotiate the valleys of some of its main tributaries, including

300-598: 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

350-589: 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

400-513: 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

450-408: 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

500-441: A speed limit of 64 km/h, and the tramways were gradually brought to this standard in the years following their purchase. The maximum axle load from Brisbane as far as Gympie was 8 tons in 1914, and that was extended to Bundaberg by 1918, and Rockhampton by 1924. The axle load was increased in the 1930s to 12 tons as far as Townsville. Queensland C17 class locomotive The Queensland Railways C17 class locomotive are

550-629: 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 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

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600-507: 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

650-482: 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

700-524: 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

750-486: 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,

800-555: 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

850-469: 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

900-483: The Mary Valley Heritage Railway (MVHR) every Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday from the historic Gympie Railway Station . This historic 40 km (25 mi) journey commences at Gympie, and after crossing the Mary River, negotiates an abundance of curves, gradients and bridges to pass through the small country villages of Dagun , Amamoor and Kandanga to Imbil . The steam train, pulled by

950-528: 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

1000-542: 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

1050-502: The Yabba, Kandanga and Amamoor Creeks. In this area, there are a number of curves, gradients and bridges as the train heads towards the station of Kandanga. The country village of Kandanga was established in 1910 to service patrons travelling on the proposed Mary Valley line which became operational as far as Kandanga in 1914. The original Kandanga railway station , now restored to its former glory, contains an interesting pictorial record of

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1100-476: The air-conditioned Inlander , Midlander and Westlander trains for parts of their respective journeys. First engines had large steam domes, open cabs and C16 style tenders. Those built from 1938 onwards, commencing with N°858, had small steam domes, sedan cabs with welded tenders and also larger diameter ( 9 + 1 ⁄ 2  in or 241 mm) piston valves. The two types of boilers were occasionally interchanged at overhauls and by later years most of

1150-497: 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

1200-493: 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

1250-500: 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 the Queensland Railways , one isolated section was closed for two years following a financial crisis and another isolated section

1300-431: 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 ,

1350-468: 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,

1400-514: The first engine Nº 15 entering service through until 1953 when Nº 1000 was delivered. The Commonwealth Railways NM class were of the same design. They were used to haul Mail trains on lines could not accommodate heavier B18¼ class , also suburban passenger, mixed, goods and branch line trains. Until 1948 they were the heaviest engines that could work north of Mackay . Prior to the introduction of 60 long tons (67 short tons; 61 t) diesel electric locomotives, they were responsible for hauling

1450-498: 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

1500-774: 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

1550-417: The history of the Mary Valley line. Travelling through to Imbil, the line traverses an interesting gorge section through mainly timbered country, before reaching a short tunnel that pierces a ridge of coastal ranges. The track then descends quickly to the line's largest town, Imbil. The Imbil Railway Bridge over Yabba Creek was constructed between 1911 and 1915. As of March 2021, heritage journeys operated by

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1600-709: The limitations and state of the railway company's finances became known. It was shut down indefinitely by the Department Transport & Main Roads, as it was declared unsafe to convey passengers. Following flood damage in 2013, the railway disbanded. In June 2016, the Gympie Regional Council allocated $ 250,000 for operational start-up costs and $ 3.8 million for capital funds to restart the Rattler. "Ride The Rattler" scenic tours were operated by

1650-470: The line operational until 1995. The Mary Valley Heritage Railway Board proposed to operate a tourist train on the line in 1996 using volunteers and trainees. The tourist train service commenced on 23 May 1998. In 2010, the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation conducted a review of the operations of the railway. It found the railway was operating at a significant economic loss and

1700-546: 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

1750-608: The old style ones had been replaced. The last 40 engines, Nº961 to Nº1000, were fitted with Timken roller bearings and painted brown. They acquired the nickname of Brown Bombers after American boxer Joe Louis . Those overhauled in the last years of steam operations were repainted black. A number of modifications were carried out over their life including the fitting of large mushroom air snifting valves. Several had additional sandboxes and/or rear headlights fitted at various times for working lines where no turning facilities were available. On 5 May 1947, C17 class locomotive 824 left

1800-457: 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

1850-402: 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

1900-416: 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

1950-422: 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

2000-413: 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

2050-441: 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

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2100-536: 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

2150-1004: Was approved at an estimated cost of £175,000. However, the extension was never constructed. By the 1970s, the line became increasingly unprofitable due to the economic impact on the dairying industry of lower butter consumption due to competition of margarine and the loss of the British export market when the UK entered the European Economic Community . The Wide Bay Co-Operative Butter Factory in Gympie (Australia's largest butter factory in 1925) closed in May 1978 after nearly 80 years of operation. In 1988, staff were withdrawn from Imbil , Amamoor and Dagun stations, with some railway buildings such as goods sheds and residences sold for removal. The pineapple industry lobbied successfully to keep

2200-427: Was dependent on grant income. In 2011, concerns were raised about the safety of the line, but government inspectors found no significant safety issues. When 2010-11 Queensland floods closed roads in the area, the railway was used as a shuttle service. Some of the line crossings had a five km/h speed limit with the top speed limited to 25 km/h. After two very serious derailments during August and September 2012,

2250-590: 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

2300-434: 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 the era and initial purpose of the section built. There have been five major and numerous minor deviations to improve

2350-524: 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

2400-428: 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

2450-462: 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

2500-541: 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

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