Byellee to Monto Branch Railway was a branch railway that branched off the

Boyne Valley The River Boyne ( or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows north-east through County Meath to reach the ...

west of

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

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.The Boyne Valley region was predominantly a dairying region and a railway had little justification. However a branch was justified in 1906 on the basis of large traffic in timber, fuel, limestone and flexing ores. Progressively opened between 1910 and 1931 the line branched from the North Coast line at Byellee a short distance west of Gladstone and struck a south-westerly route via Many Peaks and Mungungo to

Monto Monto was the nickname for the one-time red light district in the northeast of Dublin, Ireland. The Monto was roughly the area bounded by Talbot Street, Amiens Street, Gardiner Street and Seán McDermott Street (formerly Gloucester Street) in ...

. The last regular train ran in 2002, and the final train on the line was a steam special run from Monto to Maryborough in 2005. From 2012, conversion of the corridor to a multi-use rail trail was discussed, and

Boyne Burnett Inland Rail Trail The Boyne Burnett Inland Rail Trail is a recreational route for walkers, cyclists and horse riders from Taragoola (near Calliope, Queensland, Calliope) to Gayndah. It uses the closed Byellee to Monto railway line, Gladstone to Monto and Mungar J ...

Inc. was formed in July 2018.

Route

Byellee to Many Peaks

The first section from Byellee (previously known as Boyne Valley Junction) to Many Peaks was opened on 25 July 1910 and sidings were established at

Beecher Beecher may refer to:__NOTOC__ People *Beecher (surname) Places United States *Beecher, Illinois * Beecher, Michigan, a census-designated place and unincorporated community near Flint * Beecher, Wisconsin, a town * Beecher (community), Wisconsin, ...

, Burua, Talaba, Calliope River (now

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses". Mythology Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...

), Taragoola, Barmundu, Boynedale, Wietalaba, Nagoorin,

Ubobo Ubobo is a rural town in the locality of Boyne Valley in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. Geography Ubobo is located south of Gladstone and Calliope along Highway 69 in Central Queensland, Australia. It is one of four small towns ...

, Hellens,

Littlemore Littlemore is a district and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxford, England. The civil parish includes part of Rose Hill, Oxfordshire, Rose Hill. It is about southeast of the city centre of Oxford, between Rose Hill, Blackbird Ley ...

and Builyan. Governor Fitzroy named Calliope after HMS Calliope which was anchored in

Port Curtis Port Curtis is a suburb of Rockhampton in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Port Curtis had a population of 309 people. Geography The Fitzroy River bounds the suburb to the north-east. Gavial Creek, a tributary of the ...

(now Gladstone) harbour in 1854. The line was built to transport low grade ore from Many Peaks to Mount Morgan for processing. A train of copper flexing ore ran to Mount Morgan daily and a mixed train to Gladstone and return ran four days a week. Cream and agricultural goods provided the major source of revenue when the Many Peaks mine closed in 1918.

To Barrimoon

The next stage took the line via Golembil to Barrimoon on 17 August 1926. Although there was a sixteen-year gap in building, the route traverses steep mountainous country. A section beyond Golembil required the construction of six

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

s totalling to negotiate a climb of the Dawes Range.

To Mungungo

On 7 July 1930, the line was opened via Kalpowar, Dakiel, Bancroft and

Crana Crana is a village and former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. In 1995 the municipality was merged with the other, neighboring municipalities Comologno and Russo to form a new and larger municipality On ...

to Mungungo (then known as "Waratah" ) only from Monto. It was announced that Waratah would be the terminus, but settlers insisted that Monto must be linked with Gladstone. Kalpowar was a timber milling settlement en route to Monto.

To Monto

On 6 July 1931 the line finally reached Monto via Bukali thus completing a semi circular inland link between Maryborough and Gladstone via the already completed line running north west from Mungar Junction through

Biggenden Biggenden is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Biggenden had a population of 788 people. Geography Biggenden is on the Isis Highway north ...

Gayndah Gayndah () is a town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre for the North Burnett Region. In the , the locality of Gayndah had a population of 1,949 p ...

Mundubbera Mundubbera ( ) is a rural town and a locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mundubbera had a population of 1,120 people. Mundubbera is the self-proclaimed "Citrus Capital of Queensland", although ...

and Eidsvold. The line was suspended from use in 2002. It awaits the possibility of coal transport from the Monto region to Gladstone port.

Tourism

The Dawes Range Tunnel section of the

was opened on 11 September 2021. The section starts at Barrimoon Siding,

Kalpowar Kalpowar is a town in the North Burnett Region and a locality split between the North Burnett Region and the Bundaberg Region, in Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Kalpowar had a population of 53 people. Geography The Gladstone ...

and finishes at Builyan,

. This section contains 6 tunnels between Barrimoon Siding and Golembil Siding. Tunnel Six is the only place 100 year old rail and hogback sleepers are preserved on any of the disused rail corridors in the state. Hogback sleepers have a round top. They are hand hewn from the hard dense iron bark trees growing adjacent to the track. The trail also passes the historic township of Many Peaks with its Local Heritage listed attractions. While not on the rail trail, the Heritage listed Many Peaks Railway Dam is accessed by getting on to the (very low traffic) bitumen road at Many Peaks and riding back less than a kilometer. There is a new shelter shed, history information signage, toilet block and elevated lookout over the old weir. There is no drinking water available.

Heritage listing

The Local Heritage Register of

Gladstone Regional Council Gladstone Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Queensland, Australia. The council covers an area of , and has an estimated operating budget of Australian dollar, A$84 million. In the , the Gladstone Region had a ...

lists * Many Peaks / Barrimoon Railway Tunnels * Many Peaks Railway Complex * Many Peaks Road Bridge * Many Peaks Railway Dam.

References

*''Triumph of Narrow Gauge: A History of Queensland Railways'' by John Kerr, 1990 Boolarong Press, Brisbane *"History of Monto & Upper Burnett" by H N C Bandidt 28 July 1988

External links

1925 map of the Queensland railway system
{{Railway lines in Queensland , state=expanded Railway lines opened in 1931 Gladstone Region Buildings and structures in Central Queensland Closed railway lines in Queensland Railway tunnels in Queensland