The Ida Bay Railway is a ,

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...

. Located south of

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, it is the most southerly railway in Australia.

Early history of the area

Aboriginal Tasmanians The Aboriginal Tasmanians (palawa kani: ''Palawa'' or ''Pakana'') are the Aboriginal people of the Australian island of Tasmania, located south of the mainland. At the time of European contact, Aboriginal Tasmanians were divided into a numb ...

have occupied the island for a time still not precisely measured but confirmed as tens of thousands of years. The

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

of the land through which the railway runs were the Lyluequonny people. This clan of the South East nation occupied an area centred on what is now called

Recherche Bay Recherche Bay ( ) is an oceanic embayment, part of which is listed on the Australian National Heritage List, National Heritage Register, located on the extreme south-eastern corner of Tasmania, Australia. It was a landing place of the Bruni d'En ...

. In 1793 French scientists on the d’Entrecasteaux expedition encountered the Lyluequonny. For a period in January 1793, with apparent goodwill and mutual respect, the two groups interacted and bemused each other. Because of the French journals kept at the time more is known about the Lyluequonny clan than any other in pre-European Tasmania. Following on from the arrival of the British in Tasmania in 1803, whalers, sealers and convicts were the first non-aboriginal inhabitants of the Far South. By 1822 the first land grant was made at

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a hamlet in Canada England *The ...

. The area south of

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

was reserved for timber. Convict probation stations were established at Dover and Hythe in the 1840s. By the early 1850s timber leases were made available and mill towns emerged, including at Lune River,

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

and Leprena. This was the start of tramways in the area initially with timber rails and horse power.

Ida Bay Railway

Around 1919 an abandoned timber tramway built to serve the Huon Timber Co's Lune River mill was upgraded and extended by the Hydro Electric Power and Metallurgic Company. The purpose was to transport

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

from a quarry at Marble Hill just south of Hastings Cave to a jetty at Brick Point, Ida Bay. The limestone was then loaded onto river ships, taken to Electrona in

North-West Bay North-West Bay refers to a body of water in south eastern Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Aust ...

south of

and used in the preparation of

calcium carbide Calcium carbide, also known as calcium acetylide, is a chemical compound with the chemical formula of . Its main use industrially is in the production of acetylene and calcium cyanamide. The pure material is colorless, while pieces of technica ...

. This was mainly used for the production of

acetylene Acetylene (Chemical nomenclature, systematic name: ethyne) is a chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is u ...

gas.The Ida Bay Railway and its Locomotives ''

Light Railways A light railway is a Rail transport, railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more Grade (slope), steep gradients and Minimum railway curve radius, tight curves to ...

'' issue 157 February 2001 pages 3-8

Heritage railway

In June 1975, freight operations ceased. Following strong community action in support of keeping the railway operating it was purchased by the

Tasmanian Government The Tasmanian Government is the executive branch of the Australian state of Tasmania. The leader of the party or coalition with the Confidence and supply, confidence of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, House of Assembly, the lower house of the ...

in 1977 and leased to private operators as a tourist attraction. Various lease holders ran the railway for years struggling to make a profit. After a two-year closure, the line re-opened in December 2005. In September 2018 a train derailment highlighted the poor state of repair of the track, and the Ida Bay train has not run since. The lease held by the operator was terminated with

Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service is the government body responsible for managing protected areas of Tasmania on public land, such as national parks, historic sites and regional reserves. Historically it has also had responsibility for manag ...

appointed caretaker owner. Little has been done to prevent further deterioration of the line, rolling stock and buildings and urgent maintenance and restoration of this heritage listed railway is needed. The Ida Bay Railway Preservation Society Inc was formed and in December 2020 reached an agreement with the government to restore the line.Ida Bay Railway Confirms Licence
''

Tasmanian Times ''Tasmanian Times'' is an online news service in Hobart in Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, A ...

'' 7 December 2020

References

External links

{{Southern Tasmania, state=collapsed Railway lines in Tasmania Southern Tasmania 2 ft gauge railways in Australia 1919 establishments in Australia Tourist railways in Tasmania