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Queensland Rail

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Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at 25 kilovolts (kV) are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail . It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60   Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The development of 25   kV AC electrification is closely connected with that of successfully using utility frequency.

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88-678: 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

176-406: A self-governing Crown colony with responsible government . Brisbane was selected as the capital city. On 10 December 1859, a proclamation was read by George Bowen , the first Governor of Queensland , formally establishing Queensland as a separate colony from New South Wales. On 22 May 1860 the first Queensland election was held and Robert Herbert , Bowen's private secretary, was appointed as

264-440: A variable voltage, variable frequency inverter using IGBTs with pulse-width modulation ) to run the motors. The system works in reverse for regenerative braking . The choice of 25 kV was related to the efficiency of power transmission as a function of voltage and cost, not based on a neat and tidy ratio of the supply voltage. For a given power level, a higher voltage allows for a lower current and usually better efficiency at

352-783: 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 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

440-511: 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

528-525: 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

616-597: A force of settlers and native police at Battle Mountain near modern Cloncurry . The subsequent battle of Battle Mountain ended in disaster for the Kalkadoon, who suffered heavy losses. Fighting continued in North Queensland , however, with First Nations raiders attacking sheep and cattle while Native Police mounted heavy retaliatory massacres. Tens of thousands of South Sea Islanders were kidnapped from islands nearby to Australia and sold as slaves to work on

704-569: A great rush to take up the surrounding land in the Darling Downs , Logan and Brisbane Valley and South Burnett onwards from 1840, in many cases leading to widespread fighting and heavy loss of life. The conflict later spread north to the Wide Bay and Burnett River and Hervey Bay region, and at one stage the settlement of Maryborough was virtually under siege. The largest reasonably well-documented massacres in southeast Queensland were

792-652: A population of half a million people. Since then, Queensland has remained a federated state within Australia, and its population has significantly grown. In 1905 women voted in state elections for the first time. The state's first university, the University of Queensland , was established in Brisbane in 1909. In 1911, the first alternative treatments for polio were pioneered in Queensland and remain in use across

880-478: A process known as blackbirding or press-ganging, and their employment conditions constituted an allegedly exploitative form of indentured labour. Italian immigrants entered the sugar cane industry from the 1890s. During the 1890s, the six Australian colonies, including Queensland, held a series of referendums which culminated in the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901. During this time, Queensland had

968-534: A utility frequency system dates back to 1931, tests having run since 1922. It was developed by Kálmán Kandó in Hungary, who used 16 kV AC at 50 Hz , asynchronous traction, and an adjustable number of (motor) poles. The first electrified line for testing was Budapest–Dunakeszi–Alag. The first fully electrified line was Budapest–Győr–Hegyeshalom (part of the Budapest–Vienna line). Although Kandó's solution showed

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1056-599: A way for the future, railway operators outside of Hungary showed a lack of interest in the design. The first railway to use this system was completed in 1936 by the Deutsche Reichsbahn who electrified part of the Höllentalbahn between Freiburg and Neustadt installing a 20   kV   50 Hz AC system. This part of Germany was in the French zone of occupation after 1945. As a result of examining

1144-479: Is corrected by connecting each feeder station to a different combination of phases. To avoid the train pantograph bridging together two feeder stations which may be out-of-phase with each other, neutral sections are provided at feeder stations and track sectioning cabins. SVCs are used for load balancing and voltage control. In some cases dedicated single-phase AC power lines were built to substations with single phase AC transformers. Such lines were built to supply

1232-427: Is doubled to 50 kV to obtain greater power and increase the distance between substations. Such lines are usually isolated from other lines to avoid complications from interrunning. Examples are: The 2 × 25   kV autotransformer system is a split-phase electric power system which supplies 25   kV power to the trains, but transmits power at 50   kV to reduce energy losses. It should not be confused with

1320-487: Is home to the Torres Strait Islander peoples . Torres Strait Islanders are ethnically and culturally distinct from mainland Aboriginal peoples. They have a long history of interaction with both Aboriginal peoples of what is now Australia and the peoples of New Guinea . In February 1606, Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon landed near the site of what is now Weipa , on the western shore of Cape York . This

1408-446: Is larger than all but 16 countries . Due to its size, Queensland's geographical features and climates are diverse, and include tropical rainforests , rivers , coral reefs , mountain ranges and white sandy beaches in its tropical and sub-tropical coastal regions, as well as deserts and savanna in the semi-arid and desert climatic regions of its interior . Queensland has a population of over 5.5 million, concentrated along

1496-400: Is then fed, sometimes several kilometres away, to a railway feeder station located beside the tracks. Switchgear at feeder stations, and at track sectioning cabins located halfway between feeder stations, provides switching to feed the overhead line from adjacent feeder stations if one feeder station loses grid supply. Since only two phases of the high-voltage supply are used, phase imbalance

1584-582: The 138th meridian east , and to the southwest by northeastern South Australia . The state's southern border with New South Wales is constituted in the east by the watershed from Point Danger to the Dumaresq River , and the Dumaresq, Macintyre and Barwon rivers. The west of the southern border is defined by the 29th parallel south (including some minor historical encroachments ) until it reaches South Australia. Like much of eastern Australia,

1672-829: 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,

1760-471: The Bjelke-Petersen era of the late 20th century, Queensland has received a high level of internal migration from the other states and territories of Australia and remains a popular destination for interstate migration. Queensland has the third-largest economy among Australian states, with strengths in mining, agriculture, transportation, international education , insurance, and banking. Nicknamed

1848-524: The Brisbane River . He returned in 1824 and established a penal settlement at what is now Redcliffe . The settlement, initially known as Edenglassie , was then transferred to the current location of the Brisbane city centre . Edmund Lockyer discovered outcrops of coal along the banks of the upper Brisbane River in 1825. In 1839 transportation of convicts was ceased, culminating in the closure of

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1936-479: 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 the brand name Queensland Rail Traveltrain: Connecting road coach services are operated. Annual patronage all travel and tourism servies in 2022-23

2024-630: The Gayiri Aboriginal people in response. Frontier violence peaked on the northern mining frontier during the 1870s, most notably in Cook district and on the Palmer and Hodgkinson River goldfields, with heavy loss of Aboriginal lives and several well-known massacres. Raids conducted by the Kalkadoon held settlers out of Western Queensland for ten years until September 1884 when they attacked

2112-672: The Great Dividing Range runs roughly parallel with, and inland from, the coast, and areas west of the range are more arid than the humid coastal regions. The Great Barrier Reef , which is the world's largest coral reef system, runs parallel to the state's Coral Sea coast between the Torres Strait and K'gari (Fraser Island) . Queensland's coastline includes the world's three largest sand islands: K'gari (Fraser Island) , Moreton , and North Stradbroke . The state contains six World Heritage -listed preservation areas:

2200-711: 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

2288-579: The Kilcoy and Whiteside poisonings, each of which was said to have taken up to 70 Aboriginal lives by use of a gift of flour laced with strychnine . At the Battle of One Tree Hill in September 1843, Multuggerah and his group of warriors ambushed one group of settlers, routing them and subsequently others in the skirmishes which followed, starting in retaliation for the Kilcoy poisoning. Central Queensland

2376-657: The Kingdom of Great Britain on 22 August 1770 at Possession Island , naming eastern Australia, including Queensland, New South Wales . The Aboriginal population declined significantly after a smallpox epidemic during the late 18th century and massacres by the European settlers. In 1823, John Oxley , a British explorer, sailed north from what is now Sydney to scout possible penal colony sites in Gladstone (then Port Curtis ) and Moreton Bay . At Moreton Bay, he found

2464-568: 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

2552-601: The Sunshine State for its tropical and sub-tropical climates, Great Barrier Reef , and numerous beaches, tourism is also important to the state's economy. Queensland was one of the largest regions of pre-colonial Aboriginal population in Australia. The Aboriginal occupation of Queensland is thought to predate 50,000 BC, and early migrants are believed to have arrived via boat or land bridge across Torres Strait . Through time, their descendants developed into more than 90 different language and cultural groups. During

2640-532: The Torres Strait to the north, with Boigu Island off the coast of New Guinea representing the northern extreme of its territory. The triangular Cape York Peninsula , which points toward New Guinea, is the northernmost part of the state's mainland. West of the peninsula's tip, northern Queensland is bordered by the Gulf of Carpentaria . To the west, Queensland is bordered by the Northern Territory , at

2728-643: The White Australia policy came into effect, which saw most foreign workers in Australia deported under the Pacific Island Labourers Act 1901 , which saw the Pacific Islander population of the state decrease rapidly. A public meeting was held in 1851 to consider the proposed separation of Queensland from New South Wales. On 6 June 1859, Queen Victoria signed letters patent to form the separate colony of Queensland as

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2816-482: The White Australia policy in 1973 saw the beginning of a wave of immigration from around the world, and most prominently from Asia, which continues to the present. In 1981 the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland's northeast coast, one of the world's largest coral reef systems, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site . In 2003 Queensland adopted maroon as the state's official colour. The announcement

2904-520: The 1960s. The main reason why electrification using utility frequency had not been widely adopted before was the lack of reliability of Mercury arc rectifiers that could fit on the train. This in turn related to the requirement to use DC series motors , which required the current to be converted from AC to DC and for that a rectifier is needed. Until the early 1950s, mercury-arc rectifiers were difficult to operate even in ideal conditions and were therefore unsuitable for use in railway locomotives. It

2992-438: The 1990s, as they can be controlled by voltage, and have an almost ideal torque vs speed characteristic. In the 1990s, high-speed trains began to use lighter, lower-maintenance three-phase AC induction motors. The N700 Shinkansen uses a three-level converter to convert 25 kV single-phase AC to 1,520 V AC (via transformer) to 3 kV DC (via phase-controlled rectifier with thyristor) to a maximum 2,300 V three-phase AC (via

3080-413: The 50   kV system. In this system, the current is mainly carried between the overhead line and a feeder transmission line instead of the rail. The overhead line (3) and feeder (5) are on opposite phases so the voltage between them is 50   kV, while the voltage between the overhead line (3) and the running rails (4) remains at 25   kV. Periodic autotransformers (9) divert the return current from

3168-565: 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

3256-653: The Brisbane penal settlement. In 1842 free settlement, which had already commenced, was officially permitted. In 1847, the Port of Maryborough was opened as a wool port. While most early immigrants came from New South Wales, the first free immigrant ship to arrive in Moreton Bay from Europe was the Artemisia , in 1848. Earlier than this immigrant ship was the arrival of the Irish famine orphan girls to Queensland. Devised by

3344-604: The Feisty Colleens, never set foot on Sydney soil, and instead sailed up to Brisbane (then Moreton Bay) on 21 October 1848 on board the Ann Mary . This scheme continued until 1852. In 1857, Queensland's first lighthouse was built at Cape Moreton . The frontier wars fought between European settlers and Aboriginal tribes in Queensland were the bloodiest and most brutal in colonial Australia. Many of these conflicts are now seen as acts of genocide. The wars featured

3432-613: The French TGV . Railway electrification using 25 kV , 50 Hz AC has become an international standard. There are two main standards that define the voltages of the system: The permissible range of voltages allowed are as stated in the above standards and take into account the number of trains drawing current and their distance from the substation. This system is now part of the European Union's Trans-European railway interoperability standards (1996/48/EC "Interoperability of

3520-641: The German system in 1951 the SNCF electrified the line between Aix-les-Bains and La Roche-sur-Foron in southern France, initially at the same 20   kV but converted to 25   kV in 1953. The 25   kV system was then adopted as standard in France, but since substantial amounts of mileage south of Paris had already been electrified at 1.5   kV DC , SNCF also continued some major new DC electrification projects, until dual-voltage locomotives were developed in

3608-1076: The Great Barrier Reef along the Coral Sea coast, K'gari (Fraser Island) on the Wide Bay–Burnett region's coastline, the wet tropics in Far North Queensland including the Daintree Rainforest , Lamington National Park in South East Queensland , the Riversleigh fossil sites in North West Queensland , and the Gondwana Rainforests in South East Queensland. The state is divided into several unofficial regions which are commonly used to refer to large areas of

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3696-593: The Native Police between 1859 and 1897. The military force of the Queensland Government in this war was the Native Police , who operated from 1849 to the 1920s. The Native Police was a body of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander troopers that operated under the command of white officers. The Native Police were often recruited forcefully from far-away communities. Conflict spread quickly with free settlement in 1838, with settlement rapidly expanding in

3784-714: The Trans-European high-speed rail system" and 2001/16/EC "Interoperability of the Trans-European Conventional rail system"). Systems based on this standard but with some variations have been used. In countries where 60 Hz is the normal grid power frequency, 25 kV at 60 Hz is used for the railway electrification. In Japan, this is used on existing railway lines in Tohoku Region , Hokuriku Region , Hokkaido and Kyushu , of which Hokuriku and Kyushu are at 60   Hz . Some lines in

3872-1123: 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 ,

3960-417: The United States have been electrified at 12.5 kV 60 Hz or converted from 11 kV 25 Hz to 12.5 kV 60 Hz . Use of 60 Hz allows direct supply from the 60   Hz utility grid yet does not require the larger wire clearance for 25 kV 60 Hz or require dual-voltage capability for trains also operating on 11 kV 25 Hz lines. Examples are: Early 50   Hz AC railway electrification in the United Kingdom

4048-408: The age of sixteen. In total, approximately 15,000 South Sea Islander slaves died while working in Queensland, a figure which does not include those who died in transit or who were killed in the recruitment process. This represents a mortality rate of at least 30%, which is high considering most were only on three year contracts. It is also similar to the estimated 33% death rate of enslaved Africans in

4136-519: The closure of the state borders. With a total area of 1,729,742 square kilometres (715,309 square miles), Queensland is an expansive state with a highly diverse range of climates and geographical features. If Queensland were an independent nation, it would be the world's 16th largest. Queensland's eastern coastline borders the Coral Sea , an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The state is bordered by

4224-619: The colony of New South Wales, which included all of what is now Queensland. Queensland was explored in subsequent decades, and the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement was established at Brisbane in 1824 by John Oxley . During the Australian frontier wars of the 19th century, colonists killed tens of thousands of Aboriginal people in Queensland while consolidating their control over the territory. On 6 June 1859 (now commemorated as Queensland Day ), Queen Victoria signed

4312-660: The colony's agricultural plantations through a process known as blackbirding . This trade in what were then known as Kanakas was in operation from 1863 to 1908, a period of 45 years. Some 55,000 to 62,500 were brought to Australia, most being recruited or blackbirded from islands in Melanesia , such as the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu ), the Solomon Islands and the islands around New Guinea . The majority of those taken were male and around one quarter were under

4400-581: 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

4488-571: The development of solid-state rectifiers and related technology. Another reason was the increased clearance required under bridges and in tunnels, which would have required major civil engineering in order to provide the increased clearance to live parts. Where existing loading gauges were more generous, this was less of an issue. Railways using older, lower-capacity direct-current systems have introduced or are introducing 25 kV AC instead of 3 kV DC/ 1.5 kV DC for their new high-speed lines. The first successful operational and regular use of

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4576-532: The east coast, particularly in South East Queensland . The capital and largest city in the state is Brisbane , Australia's third-largest city . Ten of Australia's thirty largest cities are located in Queensland, the largest outside Brisbane being the Gold Coast , the Sunshine Coast , Townsville , Cairns , Ipswich , and Toowoomba . 24.2% of the state's population were born overseas . The state has

4664-517: The first Premier of Queensland . In 1865, the first rail line in the state opened between Ipswich and Grandchester . Queensland's economy expanded rapidly in 1867 after James Nash discovered gold on the Mary River near the town of Gympie , sparking a gold rush and saving the State of Freddy-Mercury-land from near economic collapse. While still significant, they were on a much smaller scale than

4752-414: The first commercial production of oil in Queensland and Australia began at Moonie . During World War II Brisbane became central to the Allied campaign when the AMP Building (now called MacArthur Central ) was used as the South West Pacific headquarters for General Douglas MacArthur , chief of the Allied Pacific forces, until his headquarters were moved to Hollandia in August 1944. In 1942, during

4840-458: The first three years of being taken to America. The trade was legally sanctioned and regulated under Queensland law, and prominent men such as Robert Towns made massive fortunes off of exploitation of slave labour, helping to establish some of the major cities in Queensland today. Towns' agent claimed that blackbirded labourers were "savages who did not know the use of money" and therefore did not deserve cash wages. Following Federation in 1901,

4928-572: 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

5016-458: The forefront for the repairs and maintenance of the fleet. Notable incidents involving Queensland Rail include: Queensland Queensland ( locally / ˈ k w iː n z l æ n d / KWEENZ -land , commonly abbreviated as Qld ) is a state in northeastern Australia , and is the second-largest and third-most populous of the Australian states. It is bordered by the Northern Territory , South Australia and New South Wales to

5104-422: The gold rushes of Victoria and New South Wales. Immigration to Australia and Queensland, in particular, began in the 1850s to support the state economy. During the period from the 1860s until the early 20th century, many labourers, known at the time as Kanakas , were brought to Queensland from neighbouring Pacific Island nations to work in the state's sugar cane fields. Some of these people had been kidnapped under

5192-412: 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

5280-447: The greater cost for high-voltage equipment. It was found that 25 kV was an optimal point, where a higher voltage would still improve efficiency but not by a significant amount in relation to the higher costs incurred by the need for larger insulators and greater clearance from structures. To avoid short circuits , the high voltage must be protected from moisture. Weather events, such as " the wrong type of snow ", have caused failures in

5368-456: The highest inter-state net migration in Australia. Queensland was first inhabited by Aboriginal Australians , with the Torres Strait Islands inhabited by Torres Strait Islanders . Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon , the first European to land in Australia, explored the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula in 1606. In 1770, James Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for the Kingdom of Great Britain . In 1788, Arthur Phillip founded

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5456-424: The last ice age , Queensland's landscape became more arid and largely desolate, making food and other supplies scarce. The people developed the world's first seed-grinding technology. The end of the glacial period brought about a warming climate, making the land more hospitable. It brought high rainfall along the eastern coast, stimulating the growth of the state's tropical rainforests. The Torres Strait Islands

5544-490: The later decades of the 20th century, the humid subtropical climate —regulated by the availability of air conditioning—saw Queensland become a popular destination for migrants from interstate. Since that time, Queensland has continuously seen high levels of migration from the other states and territories of Australia. In 1966, Lyndon B. Johnson became the first U.S. president to visit Queensland. During his visit, he met with Australia prime minister Harold Holt . The end of

5632-525: 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

5720-426: The letters patent to establish the colony of Queensland, separating it from New South Wales and thereby establishing Queensland as a self-governing Crown colony with responsible government . A large part of colonial Queensland's economy relied on blackbirded South Sea Islander slavery. Queensland was among the six colonies which became the founding states of Australia with Federation on 1 January 1901. Since

5808-414: 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

5896-452: The most frequent massacres of First Nations people, the three deadliest massacres on white settlers, the most disreputable frontier police force, and the highest number of white victims to frontier violence on record in any Australian colony. Across at least 644 collisions at least 66,680 were killed — with Aboriginal fatalities alone comprising no less than 65,180. Of these deaths, around 24,000 Aboriginal men, women and children were killed by

5984-449: 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

6072-535: The neutral rail, step it up, and send it along the feeder line. This system was initially deployed on France's then new Paris-Lyon High speed rail line in 1981, and has gone on to be used by New Zealand Railways in 1988, Indian Railways , Russian Railways , Italian High Speed Railways, UK High Speed 1 , most of the West Coast Main Line and Crossrail , with some parts of older lines being gradually converted, French lines (LGV lines and some other lines ), most Spanish high-speed rail lines, Amtrak and some of

6160-399: The only Australian state with a unicameral parliament . In 1935 cane toads were deliberately introduced to Queensland from Hawaii in an unsuccessful attempt to reduce the number of French's cane and greyback cane beetles that were destroying the roots of sugar cane plants, which are integral to Queensland's economy. The toads have remained an environmental pest since that time. In 1962,

6248-422: The past. An example of atmospheric causes occurred in December 2009, when four Eurostar trains broke down inside the Channel Tunnel . Electric power for 25 kV AC electrification is usually taken directly from the three-phase transmission system . At the transmission substation, a step-down transformer is connected across two of the three phases of the high-voltage supply and lowers the voltage to 25 kV . This

6336-563: 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

6424-562: 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

6512-632: The state's vast geography. These include: 25 kV AC railway electrification This electrification is ideal for railways that cover long distances or carry heavy traffic. After some experimentation before World War II in Hungary and in the Black Forest in Germany , it came into widespread use in the 1950s. One of the reasons it was not introduced earlier was the lack of suitable small and lightweight control and rectification equipment before

6600-556: The then British Secretary of State for the Colonies, The Earl Grey Scheme established a special emigration scheme which was designed to resettle destitute girls from the workhouses of Ireland during the Great Famine. The first ship, the "Earl Grey", departed Ireland for a 124-day sail to Sydney. After controversy developed upon their arrival in Australia, a small group of 37 young orphans, sometimes referred to as The Belfast Girls or

6688-428: The war, Brisbane was the site of a violent clash between visiting US military personnel and Australian servicemen and civilians, which resulted in one death and hundreds of injuries. This incident became known colloquially as the Battle of Brisbane . The end of World War II saw a wave of immigration from across Europe, with many more immigrants coming from southern and eastern Europe than in previous decades. In

6776-536: The west, south-west and south, respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and the Pacific Ocean ; to the state's north is the Torres Strait , separating the Australian mainland from Papua New Guinea , and the Gulf of Carpentaria to the north-west. With an area of 1,723,030 square kilometres (665,270 sq mi), Queensland is the world's sixth-largest subnational entity ; it

6864-603: The world today. World War I had a major impact on Queensland . Over 58,000 Queenslanders fought in World War I and over 10,000 of them died. Australia's first major airline, Qantas (originally standing for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services"), was founded in Winton in 1920 to serve outback Queensland. In 1922 Queensland abolished the Queensland Legislative Council , becoming

6952-646: 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

7040-415: Was done using a steam engine beneath a bridge at Crewe . A section of 25 kV overhead line was gradually brought closer to the earthed metalwork of the bridge whilst being subjected to steam from the locomotive's chimney. The distance at which a flashover occurred was measured and this was used as a basis from which new clearances between overhead equipment and structures were derived. Occasionally 25 kV

7128-575: Was made as a result of an informal tradition to use maroon to represent the state in association with sporting events. After three decades of record population growth, Queensland was impacted by major floods between late 2010 and early 2011 , causing extensive damage and disruption across the state. In 2020 Queensland was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic . Despite a low number and abrupt decline in cases from April 2020 onward, social distancing requirements were implemented from March 2020 including

7216-565: Was particularly hard hit during the 1860s and 1870s, several contemporary writers mention the Skull Hole, Bladensburg, or Mistake Creek massacre on Bladensburg Station near Winton , which in 1901 was said to have taken up to 200 Aboriginal lives. First Nations warriors killed 19 settlers during the Cullin-La-Ringo massacre on 17 October 1861. In the weeks afterwards, police, native police and civilians killed up to 370 members of

7304-425: Was planned to use sections at 6.25 kV AC where there was limited clearance under bridges and in tunnels. Rolling stock was dual-voltage with automatic switching between 25 kV and 6.25 kV . The 6.25 kV sections were converted to 25 kV AC as a result of research work that demonstrated that the distance between live and earthed equipment could be reduced from that originally thought to be necessary. The research

7392-404: Was possible to use AC motors (and some railways did, with varying success), but they have had less than ideal characteristics for traction purposes. This is because control of speed is difficult without varying the frequency and reliance on voltage to control speed gives a torque at any given speed that is not ideal. This is why DC series motors were the most common choice for traction purposes until

7480-574: 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

7568-624: 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 ),

7656-426: 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

7744-556: Was the first recorded landing of a European in Australia , and it also marked the first reported contact between Europeans and the Aboriginal people of Australia . The region was also explored by French and Spanish explorers (commanded by Louis Antoine de Bougainville and Luís Vaez de Torres , respectively) before the arrival of Lieutenant James Cook in 1770. Cook claimed the east coast under instruction from King George III of

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