Nannup branch railway

Nannup branch
Overview
OwnerPublic Transport Authority
Termini
Service
TypeHeavy rail
History
OpenedJune 1871 (as Ballaarat tramway)
then in stages until
31 March 1909 (Jarrahwood–Nannup)
Technical
Line length62 km (39 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map

Legend
mi-ch
km
Ballaarat tramline
 0-00
0.0
 Wonnerup
Flinders
Bay branch
 4-22
6.9
 Ruabon
 7-62
12.5
 Tutunup
10- 5
16.2
 Cartis
10-45
17.0
 Yoganup
15-20
24.5
 Maryvale
Ballaarat
tramline
(end)
16-35
26.5
Claymore
Public Works Department /
State Saw Mills Tramway
19-36
31.3
 Quilergup
21-72
35.2
Jarrahwood
 
Millars Karri and Jarrah
Forests Limited Tramways
 
28-32
45.7
Cambray
Kauri Timber
Company Tramway
30-34
49.0
Dellerton
Sussex Timber
Company Tramway
33-31
53.7
Bibilup
Blackwood River
38- 8
61.3
 Nannup Township
62.4
Nannup
38-64
62.4
Nannup
Kauri Timber
Company Tramway
This diagram:

The Nannup branch railway, also known as the Wonnerup to Nannup railway, was a branch line of the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) between Wonnerup and Nannup.

History

In 1897 the Jarrah Wood and Saw Mills Company leased the W.A. Timber Company's former timber concession in the South West of Western Australia. The section of the W.A. Timber Company's Ballaarat tramway route south of the Bunbury–Busselton railway was reused by the Jarrah Wood and Saw Mills Company for the construction of a railway between Wonnerup and Jarrahwood[1] in 1898–99.

The line operated until 1903, and was bought by the WAGR in 1907.[2] Residents in the Nannup region were advocating for the extension to the railway in 1905[3][4][5] and in 1909 the Jarrahwood to Nannup line was completed and opened.[6] Construction of this extension was authorised through the Wonnerup-Nannup Railway Act 1907, assented to on 20 December 1907.[7]

As operated by the WAGR, the line was 38 miles 64 chains (38.80 miles, 62.44 km) from Wonnerup to Nannup and saw three trains per week in each direction during the 1940s.[8]

The line was closed in 1984.[9] A re-commissioning study was conducted in 1989[10] but did not result in the reinstatement of the railway.

Rail Trail

While the rails have been lifted, the rail corridor is still owned by the Government, through the Public Transport Authority.[11]
The section between Jarrahwood and Nannup has been converted to the Sidings Rail Trail and forms part of the Munda Biddi Trail.[12][13]

Notes

  1. ^ "Ballaarat Tramline". Monument Australia. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  2. ^ page 66 – Quinlan, Howard; Newland, John R; Australian Railway Historical Society. New South Wales Division (2000), Australian railway routes 1854 to 2000, Australian Railway Historical Society – New South Wales Division, ISBN 978-0-909650-49-0
  3. ^ Even earlier (1900) for the first section [Petition to the Hon. the Premier from the residents of the Sussex district re the construction of the Wonnerup – Jarrahwood Railway southwards to the Lower Blackwood], [19--], 1900, retrieved 8 February 2014
  4. ^ In 1905 – "THE PREMIER IN THE SUSSEX ELECTORATE". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 13 June 1905. p. 5. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  5. ^ "THE PREMIER IN THE SUSSEX ELECTORATE". Western Mail. Perth: National Library of Australia. 17 June 1905. p. 18. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  6. ^ "THE NANNUP RAILWAY". Western Mail. Perth: National Library of Australia. 1 May 1909. p. 28. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  7. ^ "Wonnerup-Nannup Railway Act 1907". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 20 December 1907. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  8. ^ Western Australian Government Railways (1946). Time Table for passenger, mixed, and goods trains over all lines. Perth: Western Australian Government Railways.
  9. ^ McNess, Archibald E. J (2005), Original railways of the southwest (Western Australia) : Busselton – Margaret River, Flinders Bay railway construction and Busselton – Wonnerup, Nannup railway line, A.E.J. McNess, retrieved 8 February 2014
  10. ^ MacFarlane, Helen (Helen Mary); Busselton (W.A. : Shire); Western Australia. South West Development Authority; Nannup (W.A. : Shire) (1989), Feasibility study into the recommissioning of the Capel-Busselton and Wonnerup-Nannup railway lines, MacFarlane Research, retrieved 8 February 2014
  11. ^ Public Transport Authority Network Map Public Transport Authority
  12. ^ Western Australia Dept. of Environment and Conservation (2007), Sidings rail trail : Jarrahwood to Nannup, Dept. of Environment & Conservation, retrieved 17 July 2024
  13. ^ "Sidings Rail Trail". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 28 August 2020.