Oakey-Cooyar railway line, Queensland

The Oakey-Cooyar railway line was a branch line in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. It was opened on 29 April 1913 and was partially closed beyond Acland on 1 May 1964, with the last segment closed on 8 December 1969 ["The Cooyar Branch Line" Milne, Rod Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, July, 1996 pp195-205] .

ervices

The line connected the small towns of Acland, Kulpi, Peranga, Narko, Nutgrove, Wutul and Cooyar to the Queensland Rail western line at Oakey until 1964. This provided passenger and farm produce services not only to these towns but also to the surrounding townships of Quinalow, Maclagan and Evergreen.

Coal was transported between Acland and Oakey, this portion of the branch line remained in service until 1969. A similar parallel branch line existed connected Haden to the Western Line at Kingsthorpe from 1910 to 1964. As the competing service of bullock carts gave way to motor vehicles rail patronage declined resulting both services becoming uneconomical to maintain.

With negligible track remaining the Oakey-Cooyar branch line could all but be overlooked as a fading scar on the landscape, it retains its significance however through the still intact Muntapa Tunnel. A feat of early Queensland Railways engineering achievement, the Muntapa Tunnel remains the only tunnel in Queensland to pass under the summit of Eastern Australia's Great Dividing Range. This tunnel was constructed with manual labour.

The Oakey-Cooyer branch line is also of early surveying significance. The climate mindset of the period was adverse to constructing tunnels, significant surveying activities were undertaken to avoid tunnelling and minimise locomotive rating requirements due to unsavoury rail gradients. The largest gradient of a line mandates a larger, more expensive loco or a de-rating of carrying capacity, both of which resulted in a less economical service for the line as a whole. The Oakey-Cooyar branch line was repetitively surveyed with it's built location affording negligible gradient across its length, but mandating the 300m tunnel. Routing through the landscape to minimise gradient is best demonstrated by examining the line's less than direct route at Narko and adjacent the tunnel.

References

* cite web
url=http://www.railtrails.org.au/states/trails.php3?action=trail&trail=86
title=Muntapa Tunnel - Trail Description
accessdate=2008-09-14
*cite web
url=http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/chims/placeDetail.html?siteId=22212
title=Queensland Heritage Register: Muntapa Tunnel
publisher=www.epa.qld.gov.au
accessdate=2008-09-14
* [http://ozcase.library.qut.edu.au/qhlc/documents/qr_rail_great_1910_1_GeoV_No11.pdf Queensland Historical Legal Collection]

External links

* [http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&ll=-27.076504,151.747085&spn=0.003372,0.006974&z=18 Tunnel location on Google Maps]
* [http://www.rosalie.qld.gov.au/touristmap.php Route map]