The Injune Branch Railway was a railway 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. After the Western Line reached

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

in south-western Queensland in September 1880, there was a plan to foster land settlement as far as

Mount Hutton Mount Hutton is a suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district on the eastern side of Lake Macquarie. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie The City of Lake Macqu ...

about to the north. A branch line from

about to Orallo was approved in 1911 and construction began in 1914. Roma Town Council met one third of the construction cost and it opened on 19 September 1916. Sidings were established en route at Ona Ona, Tineen,

Minka are Vernacular architecture, vernacular houses constructed in any one of several traditional Japanese architecture, Japanese building styles. In the context of the four divisions of society, were the dwellings of farmers, artisans, and merchan ...

, Euthulla, Nullawurt, Yingerbay, Kingull, Nareeten, Oogara, Eumina and Moorta. Three trains a week serviced the line, which followed a path to the west of the present day

Carnarvon Highway Carnarvon Highway is a state highway in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, linking the township of Rolleston in Queensland's Central Highlands Region, via the town of St George, eventually to Moree in northern New South Wales. It is ...

. Approval for a extension to Injune Creek was granted in November 1916. There are various theories on the origin of the name

Injune Injune is a rural town and locality in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Injune had a population of 429 people. Geography Injune is a small town in South West Queensland. It located on the Carnarvon Highway, ...

, but perhaps the most plausible is that it derives from Ingon a possible aboriginal name for the flying squirrel or sugar glider common to the area. In any event, when the railway reached the region the railhead was called Injune. Intervening sidings beyond Orallo were named Hunteton, Alicker, Bymount, Gunnewin, Okoro, Komine, Bongwara, Kooragan and Blue Lagoon. There were then 53 bridges along its entire path. Services opened on 30 June 1920 and a thrice-weekly mixed train took over 5 hours to cover the journey. The slow trip is not surprising, as there were six road crossings to negotiate that a fireman was required to open and a guard to close. Livestock, timber and cream provided much of the business until replaced by road transport. Coal and grain were also ferried. The last train left Injune on 31 December 1966 and the line closed from 1 January 1967. Although there was still considerable grain traffic, maintenance costs for its many bridges made the line unviable. The line and facilities were completely dismantled by mid 1968. A reminder of Queensland's worst rail disaster can be seen at Injune near the site of the old railway station. On 5 May 1947, C17 class locomotive 824 left the rails near

Camp Mountain Camp Mountain is a rural Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. In the , Camp Mountain had a population of 1,447 people. Geography Camp Mountain is near Samford, Queensland, Samford, ...

on the

Dayboro railway line The Ferny Grove railway line is a suburban railway line in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Queensland Rail Citytrain network. History Based on initial surveys, in 1885 the Queensland Government ...

claiming the lives of 16 people with another 38 injured. The Commonwealth Department of Trade & Customs Recreation and Social Club had chartered the train for a picnic at Closeburn. Negotiating a sharp curve at excessive speed caused the tragedy. The locomotive was repaired and continued in service until May 1967 when it was transferred to Injune along the recently closed line.

References

External links

1925 map of the Queensland railway system
* {{coord missing, Queensland Closed railway lines in Queensland Railway lines opened in 1920 Railway lines closed in 1967 South West Queensland

See also

References

External links