South Western railway line, Queensland

The South Western line is a narrow gauge railway line in the southern part of the state of Queensland, Australia. It junctions from the Southern line immediately south of Warwick station and proceeded westwards for a distance of 413 km to the town of Dirranbandi.[1] A western extension to Boomie, approved by the Queensland Parliament in 1914, was never constructed. The Thallon-to-Dirranbandi section was closed on 2 September 2010.[2]

Dirranbandi station with 1721 on the Dirranbandi Mail bound for Toowoomba in November 1987
South Western railway line
413km
 Dirranbandi
403km
 Bonathorne
393km
 Noondoo
383km
 Hawkston
376km
 Noondale
371km
 Dunwinne
350km
 Thallon
338km
 Daymar
315km
 Gradule
289km
 Talwood
267km
 Bungunya
247km
 Toobeah
230km
 Gooray
208km
 Hunter
202km
 Goondiwindi
188km
 Carrington
174km
 Kurumbul
154km
 Yelarbon
134km
 Whetstone
118km
 Junction of Texas branch
117km
 Inglewood
103km
 Cobba-Da-Mana
71km
 Gore
58km
 Karara
40km
 Thane
19km
 Wheatvale
0km
 From Warwick
 on the Southern Line
Regal visit to Goondiwindi including the first official train at Inglewood, 1907

It services the small towns of Inglewood (junction of the now closed Texas branch) and Goondiwindi as well as the villages of Yelarbon and Thallon among others.

History

The South Western line opened as far as Thane on 1 July 1904 and was completed to Dirranbandi on 21 May 1913.[3] A further extension of the line west of Dirranbandi was approved by Parliament in 1914 but never constructed.[4]

Services

The South Western Mail was introduced as a twice weekly service in 1910. Upon the opening of the line to Dirranbandi, the train departed Brisbane at 20:45, arrived at Warwick 04:00, Goondiwindi 10:00 and Dirranbandi 16:30. The return service departed 11.30, arrived Goondiwindi 17.35, Warwick 23.35 and Brisbane 07.10 the following morning.

The South Western line was the last railway in Australia to be serviced by mail trains.[5] The last Dirranbandi Mail ran on 11 February 1993.[6]

Passenger services no longer service the South Western line though it is still used for freight as far as Thallon. The line beyond there was extensively damaged in the 2011 floods and was closed on 2 September 2010. Long-distance bus operators Crisps Coaches and Greyhound Australia now serve towns along the route.

Current line standards

The section from Warwick to Goodiwindi is laid with 30, 41 & 47 kg/m rail, 25-50% steel sleepers, a maximum axle load of 15.75 tonnes and a line speed of 80 km/h. The steepest grade on the section is 1 in 44 (~2.3%), and the minimum radius curve is 200m.

The next section to Thallon has similar rail, a 70 km/h line speed to Toobeah, 60 km/h beyond, a maximum grade of 1 in 50 (2%) and minimum 400m radius curves.

The last section to Dirranbandi had 20 kg/m rail, a 10 tonne axle load and 40 km/h line speed.

Consistent with the rest of the Queensland regional railways, the line is narrow gauge (3 ft 6 in or 1,067 mm).

  • 1721 turns the Dirranbandi Mail on the triangle on 13 November 1987
  • The Dirranbandi Mail at Talwood station on 13 November 1987
  • The westbound Dirranbandi Mail at Goondiwindi on 13 November 1987

References
  1. QR Limited (Network Access division) (September 2005). "South Western System: Information Pack (Issue 2)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  2. "End of an era at Thallon". Balonne Beacon. 22 July 2010. p. 1 – via Back on Track.
  3. QR Limited. "QR Corporate - A vision splendid". Archived from the original on 30 June 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2008.
  4. Kerr, J. 'Triumph of Narrow Gauge' Boolarong Publications 1990
  5. "The Last of the Mail Trains" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin" July 1990 pages 155-166
  6. QR Limited. "QR Corporate - Modern competitive railway". Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
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