Trans-Australian Railway

The Trans-Australian Railway is a railway line that crosses the Nullarbor Plain of Australia from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. It includes the world's longest stretch of dead-straight railway track: the 478 km from kilometre post 797 west of Ooldea to kilometre post 1275 west of Loongana.

The line forms an important freight route between Western Australia and the eastern states. Currently two passenger services also use the line: the Indian Pacific for its entire length and The Ghan between Port Augusta and Tarcoola. Earlier passenger services on the route were known as the Trans Australian or, commonly, just The Trans.

History

In 1901 the six Australian colonies federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia. At that period, Perth the capital of Western Australia, was isolated from the remaining Australian States by thousands of kilometres of desert terrain and the only practicable method of transport was by sea, a time-consuming, inconvenient and often uncomfortable voyage across the Great Australian Bight, a stretch of water famed for rough seas.

One of the inducements held out to Western Australians to join the new federation was the promise of a federally funded railway line linking Western Australia with the rest of the continent.

In 1907 legislation was passed, allowing for the route to be surveyed. The survey was completed in 1909 and provided for a route from Port Augusta (the existing railhead at the head of Spencer Gulf in South Australia's wheatfields) via Tarcoola to the gold mining centre of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, a distance of 1063 miles (1711 km). The line was costed at £4,045,000 for a gauge of convert|56.5|in|m. Legislation authorising the construction was passed in December 1911 by the Andrew Fisher Labor government and Commonwealth Railways was established in 1912 to build the line. Work commenced in September 1912 in Port Augusta. The line was built to this standard gauge, even though at the time the state railway systems at both ends were narrow gauge. The entire intercity route was not converted to standard gauge until 1970.

Work proceeded eastwards from Kalgoorlie and westwards from Port Augusta through the years of the First World War. Construction progressed steadily as the line was extended through dry and desolate regions until the two halves of the line met on 17 October 1917 ["The Golden Jubilee of the Trans Australian Railway" Chambers, T.F. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin November, 1968 pp267-275] .

Terrain along the route

The final distance was 1051.73 miles (1692.60 km), a small saving on the original survey. At no point along the route does the line cross a permanent fresh watercourse. Bores and reservoirs were established at intervals, but the water was often brackish and unsuitable for steam locomotive use, let alone human consumption, so water supplies had to be carried on the train. In steam days, about half the total load was water for the engine.

During the crossing of the Nullarbor Plain, between Nurina/Loongana in Western Australia and Ooldea/Watson in South Australia, the line runs for 309 miles (497 km) without a curve. This is the longest straight railway anywhere in the world from 1917 .

Diesel power

Because of the inevitable problems of finding suitable water for steam locomotives in a desert, the original engineer, Henry Deane envisaged diesel locomotives for the line. He got as far as making enquiries with potential manufacturers. Unfortunately, a scandal involving the supply of sleepers led to Deane's resignation, before the diesel locomotive proposal had advanced beyond the point of no return.Fact|date=July 2007

It was not until 1951 that regular diesel hauled passenger services worked on the Trans Australia Railway [ "New Train Service Across Australia" The West Australian !2 November 1951 ]

Crossing Loops

The Trans-Australian Railway originally had Crossing loops 400 m long every 100 km or so. As traffic increased the number of crossing loops increased also. To handle longer trains, crossing loops were lengthened so that in 2008 they are all at least 1800 m long and spaced about 30km to 60km apart. Most crossing loops are unattended and train crew operate the points as required. Crossing loops now have self restoring points, so that points are reset to the straight route when a train departs from a crossing loop. The loops are now being fitted with radio controls so that traincrew can set the points as they approach.

The safeworking is Train Orders.

See also

* Transcontinental railroad

Notes

External links

* [http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/3ddce9d66e30df18ca2569de0028b415?OpenDocument Australian Bureau of Statistics article on federal railways] .

Further reading

* Adam-Smith, Patsy (1974) "The desert railway" Adelaide : Rigby ISBN 0851796753
* Burke, David, (1991) "Road through the wilderness : the story of the transcontinental railway, the first great work of Australia’s federation" Kensington, N.S.W. : New South Wales University Press. ISBN 0868401404
* Spear, R. Clarke (1917) "The Golden west : Trans-Australian Christmas number"Perth, Western Australia "The Golden west, Vol. 13, December 1917."
* "Overland to Perth in 1928" Henshaw, C.H. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, April, 1964
* "Canadian and American Locomotives in Wartime Service on the Trans-Australian Railway" Buckland, J.L. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, September, 1965