Emu Bay Railway
Encyclopedia
The Melba Line is a narrow gauge railway on the west coast
of Tasmania
. The line was originally constructed as a private railway line named the Emu Bay Railway
and was one of the longest lasting and successful private railway companies in Australia
. While at present the Line travels from Burnie
to Melba Flats, it initially ran through to Zeehan
carrying minerals and passengers as an essential service for the West Coast
community.
for the larger list of known stopping places
At its peak as a steam operation the railway had approximately 23 stopping or named places on its line and adjacent lines. Current operations, and modifications for dieselisation, and the Pieman Hydro Electric Scheme, and other modifications by the EBR following its change to a freight only operation has seen many of the structures at the locations identified demolished or disused.
West Coast, Tasmania
The West Coast of Tasmania is the part of the state that is strongly associated with wilderness, mining and tourism, rough country and isolation...
of Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. The line was originally constructed as a private railway line named the Emu Bay Railway
Emu Bay Railway
The Melba Line is a narrow gauge railway on the west coast of Tasmania. The line was originally constructed as a private railway line named the Emu Bay Railway and was one of the longest lasting and successful private railway companies in Australia...
and was one of the longest lasting and successful private railway companies in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. While at present the Line travels from Burnie
Burnie, Tasmania
- Sport :Australian rules football is popular in Burnie. The city's team is the Burnie Dockers Football Club in the Tasmanian State League.Rugby union is also played in Burnie. The local club is the Burnie Rugby Union Club. They are the current Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide Division Two Premiers...
to Melba Flats, it initially ran through to Zeehan
Zeehan railway station, Tasmania
Zeehan railway station, Tasmania was a major junction and railway yard for numerous different railway and tramway systems in western Tasmania in the town of Zeehan...
carrying minerals and passengers as an essential service for the West Coast
West Coast, Tasmania
The West Coast of Tasmania is the part of the state that is strongly associated with wilderness, mining and tourism, rough country and isolation...
community.
Stopping Places
See : Emu Bay RailwayEmu Bay Railway
The Melba Line is a narrow gauge railway on the west coast of Tasmania. The line was originally constructed as a private railway line named the Emu Bay Railway and was one of the longest lasting and successful private railway companies in Australia...
for the larger list of known stopping places
At its peak as a steam operation the railway had approximately 23 stopping or named places on its line and adjacent lines. Current operations, and modifications for dieselisation, and the Pieman Hydro Electric Scheme, and other modifications by the EBR following its change to a freight only operation has seen many of the structures at the locations identified demolished or disused.
- Burnie
- Guildford - junction to the Mount Bischoff tin Mine (no sign of this junction or station remains)
- Farrell Junction with the North Mount Farrell Tramway to TullahTullah, TasmaniaTullah is a town in the northern part of the West Coast Range, on the west coast of Tasmania, about 111 km south of Burnie. The town has a population of roughly 270 people. At the 2006 census, Tullah had a population of 195....
, now known as the Wee Georgie Wood RailwayWee Georgie Wood RailwayThe Wee Georgie Wood Railway is a narrow gauge tourist tramway that runs from Tullah to near the Melba Line on the West Coast of Tasmania. It is named after its narrow gauge steam engine, which was named the Wee Georgie Wood due to its diminutive size...
. - Primrose
- Barkers Crossing
- RoseberyRosebery, TasmaniaRosebery is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is situated at the northern end of the West Coast Range, in the shadow of Mount Black and adjacent to the Pieman River now Lake Pieman....
- Renison BellRenison BellRenison Bell is an underground tin mine and locality on the West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.-History:In 1890 tin-bearing gossan was found near Argent River by George Renison Bell...
- Argent Tunnel
- Melba Siding (also known as Melba FlatsMelba Flats, TasmaniaMelba Flats is a railway siding on the Emu Bay Railway east of Zeehan that served as a terminus for trains carrying copper ore from the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company in west coast Tasmania, once the Emu Bay Railway ceased services into the Zeehan townsite.The section of line near Melba...
)
Further reading
- Manny, L.B. (1961) The Emu Bay Railway Australian Railway Historical Society BulletinAustralian Railway HistoryAustralian Railway History , is the premier magazine covering railway history in Australia...
, November, 1961