The Dugandan railway line was a

branch railway A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a Main line (railway), main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city ...

in the

Scenic Rim The Scenic Rim is a group of forested mountain ranges of the Great Dividing Range, located south of Brisbane agglomeration, straddling the border between south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. In 2021, the Sce ...

region of

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a Bioregion, bio-geographical, Megalopolis, metropolitan and Statistics, statistical Regions of Queensland, region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of ...

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 ...

. It was also known as the Fassifern railway line. It operated from 1882 to 1964.

Geography

The line began west of Ipswich station on the Main Line 39 km west of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and proceeded generally southward for approximately 50 km to the locality of Dugandan now part of the urban settlement of

Boonah Boonah is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Boonah had a population of 2,557 people. Geography The town is positioned near the Fassifern Valley, McPherson Range and Main Ra ...

History

Residents in the

Fassifern Valley Fassifern Valley is a valley of the Scenic Rim in South East Queensland. Towns found in the valley include Harrisville, Queensland, Harrisville, Kalbar, Queensland, Kalbar, Roadvale, Queensland, Roadvale, Warrill View, Queensland, Warril View ...

petitioned the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

to build a railway line to their district, and the first section was opened on 10 July 1882 as far as Harrisville. This is considered to be Queensland's first branch railway. The branch was extended to Dugandan on 12 September 1887. The Mount Edwards branch line branched off the Dugandan line at Munbilla. The Mount Edwards line opened to Kalbar on 17 April 1916 and to Mount Edwards on 7 October 1922. The Mount Edwards line closed in 1960. During its life, the Dugandan branch carried mixed traffic, including goods trains,

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 ...

s and

rail motor A railcar (not to be confused with the generic term railroad car or railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coa ...

s. The Dugandan branch was closed beyond the Churchill railway station on 30 June 1964 due to increasing competition from road transport. The small remaining section was known as the Churchill branch railway.

Route

Legacy

There is a memorial to the railway line in Yeates Street, Boonah at the back of the Commercial Hotel (). The memorial is on the site of the former Boonah railway station. Some evidence of the line's existence remains today. An embankment which carried the railway over a floodplain immediately north of Boonah is still readily visible from the Boonah-Fassifern Road. The station building at Harrisville is still intact, as is a small cutting immediately south of Harrisville station. Part of the alignment between Boonah and Dugandan along a cut-and-fill embankment is now a paved footpath through an urban park. As of 2009, the

Scenic Rim Region The Scenic Rim Region is a local government areas of Queensland, local government area (LGA) in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, South East Queensland, Australia, and is located approximately 80 kilometres due south of Brisban ...

is developing a

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

in partnership with the Queensland state government. The trail for the use of bushwalkers, cyclists and horse riders will follow some of the former alignment between Ipswich and Boonah.

Gallery

File:Harrisville railway station.jpg, Harrisville railway station File:Dugandan railway line cutting at Harrisville.jpg, Shallow railway cutting in Harrisville File:Former railway alignment between Boonah and Dugandan.jpg, Former track formation between Boonah and Dugandan with a cutting on the right, now a footpath through a park

References

External links

1925 map of the Queensland railway system
{{Railway lines in Queensland , state=expanded Railway lines opened in 1882 Closed railway lines in Queensland South East Queensland 1964 disestablishments in Australia 1882 establishments in Australia Railway lines closed in 1964