Mount Dundas- Zeehan Railway
Encyclopedia
Mount Dundas- Zeehan Railway
(Also known as the Maestris Tram)
The Dundas to Zeehan
railway line was a seven mile (11 km) long railway line on the West Coast
of Tasmania
.
[TGR] operated the line.
On 28 June, 1899, the Emu Bay Railway [EBR] agreed to purchase the Dundas railway, however the TGR continued to operate it.
The closure of the Silver Bell smelters in 1913 virtually ended mining in the Dundas district, leaving the railway with only a small amount of passenger and timber traffic. By 1921, Dundas had only 55 people. Between 1922 and 1924, the line carried no revenue passengers and only very small amounts of freight. By 1926, timetables merely listed stations on the line and noted that trains ran 'as required'. After a derailment in August, 1931, the TGR refused to work the line. The EBR provided a locomotive to work whatever trips ran thereafter, until a stop block was placed at the junction in June, 1932. The official closure date is given as 5 July, 1932, after which contractors were permitted to work timber over the line by horse-power. The rails were lifted in 1940.
(Also known as the Maestris Tram)
The Dundas 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...
railway line was a seven mile (11 km) long railway line on 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...
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...
.
Operation
It was built by the Mount Dundas and Zeehan Railway Company and opened on the 25th April 1892. Under an agreement signed on 4 February, 1891, the Tasmanian Government RailwaysTasmanian Government Railways
The Tasmanian Government Railways was the former Government of Tasmania managed operator of mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia...
[TGR] operated the line.
On 28 June, 1899, the Emu Bay Railway [EBR] agreed to purchase the Dundas railway, however the TGR continued to operate it.
The closure of the Silver Bell smelters in 1913 virtually ended mining in the Dundas district, leaving the railway with only a small amount of passenger and timber traffic. By 1921, Dundas had only 55 people. Between 1922 and 1924, the line carried no revenue passengers and only very small amounts of freight. By 1926, timetables merely listed stations on the line and noted that trains ran 'as required'. After a derailment in August, 1931, the TGR refused to work the line. The EBR provided a locomotive to work whatever trips ran thereafter, until a stop block was placed at the junction in June, 1932. The official closure date is given as 5 July, 1932, after which contractors were permitted to work timber over the line by horse-power. The rails were lifted in 1940.
Stopping Places
- Zeehan
- Rayna Junction (junction with Emu Bay Railway from 21.12.1900.
- Brickworks -- Also known as Brickfield's Siding from 1905
- Mather's
- Leslie
- Nobby's -- also known as Nobby's Cutting Siding
- Brewery Junction
- Dundas -- also known as Mount Dundas
- Maestris (station for the Comet Mine)
See also
- Emu Bay RailwayEmu Bay RailwayThe 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...
- North East Dundas TramwayNorth East Dundas TramwayThe North East Dundas Tramway was a gauge tramway on West Coast Tasmania that ran between Zeehan and Deep Lead . It was part of Tasmanian Government Railways...
- Railways on the West Coast of TasmaniaRailways on the West Coast of TasmaniaThe history of the Railways on the West Coast of Tasmania has fascinated enthusiasts from around the world, because of the combination of the harsh terrain in which the railways were created, and the unique nature of most of the lines...