The Commonwealth Railways were established in 1917 by the Government of Australia with the Commonwealth Railways Act to administer the Trans-Australia and Port Augusta to Darwin railways. It was absorbed into Australian National in 1975.

Operated railways

Trans-Australian Railway

Construction of the

standard-gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...

Trans-Australian Railway between

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a seaport, it is now a road traffic and railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about north of the state c ...

and

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area inclu ...

commenced in 1912. Despite the inhospitable nature of the terrain and wartime supply problems, satisfactory progress was made, and the two tracklaying machines, one working from each end, met near Ooldea on 17 October 1917. The promise to construct the Trans-Australian Railway had been one of the principal inducements to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

to join the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

during

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

, and it was for the purpose of surveying and constructing this railway that the Commonwealth Railways Department was initially formed. It was a matter of misfortune that its two termini were

break-of-gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...

stations connecting with narrow-gauge lines that formed part of the transcontinental link. In 1937 the eastern end was extended south to

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South ...

, enabling one less break of gauge in the trip across Australia, but at the same time establishing a three-gauge junction at Port Pirie with the broad gauge

South Australian Railways South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...

line to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

. The Trans-Australian Railway remained an isolated stretch of standard-gauge track between two narrow-gauge railways until 1968, when the Kalgoorlie to

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

standard-gauge line replaced the line at the western end, and 1970 when a standard-gauge line from Port Pirie to

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. I ...

replaced a narrow-gauge line, completing the long-delayed project to connect Perth to Sydney with one standard gauge. The Trans-Australian Railway remained fundamentally a single-track main line, the only branch line being a short section from

Pimba Pimba is a Portuguese type of music with an uptempo style and folk song features, corny romantic or saucy and vulgar lyrics, which is often associated with a poorly educated public from rural areas or suburban poor neighbourhoods. References ...

to Woomera (officially known as a stores siding, though a passenger service operated when Woomera was the base of a large rocket testing range). There are two junctions: one on the outskirts of Port Augusta is the line to

Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...

, which opened for traffic in 1972; and one at Tarcoola is the

Central Australia Railway The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and closed in 1980, was a 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta and Alice Springs. A standard gauge line duplicated the southern section from Port Au ...

, which opened in 1980.

North Australia Railway

The North Australia Railway was the name given to the Northern Territory narrow-gauge railway that extended south from

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

to Birdum. Construction of this line was commenced by the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

, being known then as the Palmerston & Pine Creek Railway, it opened in 1889. When the administration of the Northern Territory passed from South Australia to the Commonwealth Government on 1 January 1911 the railway was transferred to Commonwealth ownership. The railway was initially placed under the control of the Administrator of the Northern Territory. At this time it was known as the Northern Territory Railway, but was transferred to the control of the Commonwealth Railways Commissioner in 1918. It was renamed the North Australia Railway in 1926. Extensions to Birdum were completed in 1929, but during and following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the effective railhead was Larrimah, a few miles north. The railway gained increased importance in the 1960s and early 1970s through the mining of iron ore from the

Frances Creek Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "French ...

deposits, about 230 kilometres south of Darwin. Ore traffic exceeded one million tons per annum, but after the mine closed, other traffic was not enough to justify keeping the railway open and it closed in 1976.

Australian Capital Territory Railway

In March 1913 work began on an 8.5 kilometre

line from Canberra to

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...

on the Bombala line. The line was constructed by the New South Wales Public Works Department on behalf of the Federal Government. Canberra station along with the line to Queanbeyan was owned and staffed by Commonwealth Railways even though all services on the line were operated by the

New South Wales Government Railways The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of diffe ...

Central Australia Railway

The Central Australia Railway extended from

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

. Work on the first section of this railway was commenced by the

in 1878. Under South Australian ownership the railway, known as the Great Northern Railway, was extended in stages and reached

Oodnadatta Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta Track, an outback roa ...

in 1891. The South Australian Government subsequently made offers to several syndicates to construct a line north from Oodnadatta to Pine Creek on the land grant system, however negotiations were unsuccessful and Oodnadatta remained the railhead. Like the

North Australia Railway The North Australia Railway was a narrow gauge railway in the Northern Territory of Australia which ran from the territory capital of Darwin, once known as Palmerston, to Birdum, just south of Larrimah. Initially its name was the ''Palmerst ...

, this railway passed to Commonwealth ownership on 1 January 1911, but continued to be operated by the South Australian Railways until the Commonwealth Railways took over operations on 1 January 1926. An extension of the railway to Alice Springs was completed in 1929. In the years following

large tonnages of coal were railed from Leigh Creek and heavy demands were placed on the railway. In many ways the original line was inadequate; sharp curves and heavy gradients limited train loads, whilst light track and bridges restricted speeds and axle loads. Consequently, a new

Stirling North to Marree line was constructed and extended from Stirling North, via Telford to Marree. During the construction stages, and after washaways on the old line, but with the new standard-gauge line available to that point, complete trains of narrow-gauge wagons were carried (

Piggyback Piggyback, piggy-back, or piggybacking may mean: Transport * Piggyback (transportation), something that is riding on the back of something else Art, entertainment, and media * Splash cymbal piggybacking, mounting a cymbal on top of an already ...

) style to Brachina, 140 kilometres from Stirling North. Completed in 1957, the new line enabled much larger quantities of coal to be carried. The old narrow-gauge line between Marree and Hawker was closed, but between Stirling North and Hawker it was retained and used to a limited extent for some years. The line between Stirling North and Hawker was closed in 1972 and the section between Stirling North and

Quorn Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products, or the company that makes them. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 14 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin. Quorn is sold as b ...

handed over to the operations of the

Pichi Richi Railway The Pichi Richi Railway is a narrow-gauge heritage railway in the southern Flinders Ranges of South Australia between Quorn and Port Augusta. For much of its length the line lies in the picturesque Pichi Richi Pass, where the line was complete ...

Gauges

Narrow gauge

The Commonwealth Railways owned and operated

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

lines on the

(

via

and Marree to

); and the

Standard gauge

The Commonwealth Railways owned and operated

lines on the

Trans-Australian Railway The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the easter ...

; the Central Australia Railway (both Tarcoola to Alice Springs and Port Augusta via Leigh Creek to Marree); and Whyalla to Port Augusta.

Named trains

The Ghan

The Ghan train commenced operation for the Commonwealth Railways when they took over the narrow-gauge

from the

in 1926. It ran between

and

initially, being extended to

in 1929. When the new standard gauge to Marree line opened in 1957 the journey was broken into two. A standard-gauge run from Port Pirie Junction to Marree, with the rest of the journey remaining on narrow gauge.

Indian Pacific

The Indian Pacific commenced operating in February 1970 between Sydney and

following completion of the standard gauge line. Commonwealth Railways were responsible for the train from

Tea & Sugar

The Tea & Sugar was a train that serviced isolated Australian towns between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie. The train provided all the supplies for remote towns in

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and

that were mainly inhabited by railway workers who maintained the line.

Trans-Australian

The Trans-Australian Passenger train ran between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie that commenced in 1917 and was still being operated by Australian National when it ceased in 1991.

Fleet

For its standard gauge operations, Commonwealth Railways purchased G, K, KA, C, CA, CN and L class steam locomotives. From 1951 it purchased

Clyde Engineering Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products. It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...

built GM and CL class diesel locomotives. It also purchased three CB railcars. For its narrow gauge operations, NC, NSU, NT and NJ diesels were purchased to replace steam locomotives inherited from the South Australian Railways in 1911. In 1936, the company owned 105 locomotives, 2 railcars, 67 coaches, 14 brake vans and over 1000 freight wagons.

Commissioners

*1917–1929 – Norris Garrett Bell *1929–1948 – George A. Gahan *1948–1960 – P. J. Hannaberry *1960–1975 – Keith Smith

Demise

Australian National Railways was established by the Whitlam Federal Government following a commitment made in the 1972 election to invite the states to hand over their railway systems to the federal government. In July 1975 Australian National Railways was formed taking over the operations of Commonwealth Railways. During the next two years discussions between the state governments of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and the federal government resulted in all

services (except the

metropolitan passenger network) and all

Tasmanian Government Railways The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the Rail transport in Tasmania, mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorp ...

services transferring to Australian National Railway in March 1978, the latter being rebranded

AN Tasrail AN Tasrail was an Australian railway operator that operated the Tasmanian rail network from March 1978 until November 2004. Originally a subsidiary of the Federal Government's Australian National, it was sold to Australian Transport Network (A ...

References

External links

Commonwealth Railways Act 1917National Railway Museum
{{Authority control Former government railways of Australia Trans-Australian Railway Australian companies established in 1917 Railway companies established in 1917 Australian companies disestablished in 1975 Railway companies disestablished in 1975