The Bell Branch Railway was a railway line from Dalby, on the Western line, to

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

History

In 1889

Queensland Parliament The Parliament of Queensland is the unicameral legislative body of the Australian state of Queensland. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Queensland, and the ...

approved the construction of a line to run northeast from the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...

town of Dalby to the

Bunya Mountains The Bunya Mountains are a distinctive set of peaks forming an isolated section of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland. The mountain range forms the northern edge of the Darling Downs in the locality also called Bunya Mountains, Quee ...

but financial hardship prevented the commencement of work. In 1904 further approval enabled construction of a 39 km line to Cattle Creek, later renamed Bell after Lands Minister Sir

Joshua Peter Bell Sir Joshua Peter Bell K.C.M.G. (19 January 1827 – 20 December 1881) was an Australian politician and pastoral farming, pastoralist. He was Treasurer of Queensland from 1864 to 1866 and from 1871 to 1874, and Queensland Legislative Council, Pr ...

. The branch opened for business on 10 April 1906 and stops were established at Bonyumba, Sanatorium, Mocatta's Corner, Moffatt, Kaimkillenbun, Squaretop, Warmga and Koondai-i. A daily service was initially provided, a thrice-weekly service sufficed by 1923 and a rail motor service prevailed between 1928 and 1956. During its time, goods transport was prolific. Farm produce was the initial mainstay but later cream traffic increased as did the carriage of wheat and timber from the Bunya Mountains. The line was mothballed on 1 January 1994. The Bell station precinct has been restored and houses an historical display.

References

External links

1925 map of the Queensland railway system
{{Railway lines in Queensland , state=expanded Closed railway lines in Queensland Railway lines opened in 1906 Railway lines closed in 1994 Darling Downs 1906 establishments in Australia 1994 disestablishments in Australia