The Callide Valley railway line ran from

Rannes Rannes is a rural town in the west of the locality of Goovigen in the Shire of Banana, Queensland, Australia. Geography Rannes is in Central Queensland between Wowan and Banana on the Leichhardt Highway and the Don River. History Rannes was ...

to Lawgi in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. The Callide Valley lies to the south-west of

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an imprecisely-defined geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Cap ...

History

There were grand plans to link

Monto Monto was the nickname for the one-time red light district in the northeast of Dublin, Ireland. The Monto was roughly the area bounded by Talbot Street, Amiens Street, Gardiner Street and Seán McDermott Street (formerly Gloucester Street) in ...

by railway with the south, east and north. Links with Maryborough to the south and

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

to the east materialised but the northern link terminated at Lawgi some 70 kilometres away. Rannes was already linked by rail to Rockhampton by the Dawson Valley railway line via Mount Morgan and a branch line from

to Lawgi provided access to the rich Callide Valley and justified its construction.

Opening

The first stage commenced from Rannes, heading south-east to Callide (originally called Callidi) and opened on 3 May 1924. Stops en route were Jooro,

Goovigen Goovigen is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Banana, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Goovigen had a population of 349 people. A second town, Rannes, Queensland, Rannes (), is also wit ...

, Jambin and Argoon. A

mixed train A mixed train or mixed consist is a train that contains both passenger and freight cars or wagons. In some countries, the term refers to a freight train carrying various different types of freight rather a single commodity. Although common in the ...

ran twice a week from Baralaba, west of Rannes on the

Dawson Valley Dawson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Dawson (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Dawson (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places Antarctica ...

branch, to Callide and connected at Rannes with a service northeast to Rockhampton. A 22 kilometre extension was opened on 24 August 1925 south from Callide via

Biloela Biloela ( ) is a rural town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the shire. In the , the locality of Biloela had a population of 5,692. The loc ...

Thangool Thangool is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Banana, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Thangool had a population of 685 people. Geography Thangool is north west of the state capital, ...

which at the time was the main township between Rannes and Monto.

Train services

A mixed service took 7½ hours for the journey from Thangool to Mount Morgan and a later passenger service took 6 hours from Thangool to Rockhampton. The

terminus Terminus may refer to: Ancient Rome *Terminus (god), a Roman deity who protected boundary markers Transport *Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination *Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end des ...

at Thangool was intended to be temporary and trucking yards were not constructed. However, facilities were provided at Biloela siding and it quickly became the major centre of the district.

Later stages

Construction beyond Thangool was halted in August 1926 and resumed during the depression as an employment creation measure. The third and final stage took the line a further 14 kilometres via Mount Scoria to Lawgi. Proposed construction to Monto did not eventuate and isolated Lawgi became the terminus on 19 September 1932. The Lawgi station mistress was withdrawn in 1952 and the section to Thangool was closed on 1 July 1955. The Thangool to Biloela section closed on 31 January 1988 and Biloela became the railhead. The line between Biloela and Lawgi was taken up. It remains in place between Rannes and Biloela, though only the section between Dakenba and Earlsfield is in service. A 1939 map shows the proposed railway beyond Lawgi with the following planned railway stations: * Mount Lookerbie * Yaparaba * Dawes

Timeline

* Rannes-Callide, 46 km, opened 3 May 1924 * Callide-Biloela-Thangool, 22 km, opened 24 August 1925 * Thangool-Lawgi, 14 km, opened 19 September 1932 * Dakenba-Callide Coalfields branch, 15 km, opened 9 November 1953 * Lawgi-Thangool closed 1 July 1955 * Thangool-Biloela, 11 km, closed 31 January 1988 * Biloela-Dakenba currently out of service * Callide Coalfields-Dakenba-Earlsfield (junction with the Moura Short Line) in active service for coal traffic * Koorngoo-Rannes, 24 km, closed ~1999 * Earlsfield-Koorngoo available for seasonal grain haulage

Moura Short Line

In 1968 the Moura Short Line was opened to transport coal from the Callide and Moura mines to Gladstone port.Moura Line
The line crosses the Callide branch line between Jambin and Callide at Earlsfield Junction and thus links Biloela with Gladstone in lieu of its previous link to Rockhampton.

Route

References

Works cited * "Triumph of Narrow Gauge: A History of Queensland Railways" by John Kerr 1990 Boolarong Press, Brisbane

External links

YouTube video "Four locos into the Callide Valley"

YouTube video "Callide Valley Down Hill"
{{Railway lines in Queensland , state=expanded Railway lines in Queensland Railway lines opened in 1924 1924 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in Central Queensland