The Moura railway line is a railway in central

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 ...

, connecting several coal mines to the port 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 ...

. It connects the remnants of several lines that previously connected to

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

, originally by a

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...

History

The Dawson Valley railway line was built from near Rockhampton, opening in 1898, and the

Callide Valley railway line The Callide Valley railway line ran from Rannes, Queensland, Rannes to Lawgi in Queensland, Australia. The Callide Valley lies to the south-west of Rockhampton, Queensland, Rockhampton in Central Queensland. History There were grand plans to ...

opened in 1917, both having a north–south alignment. In 1953, a spur line opened to serve the Callide Mine, and another to serve the Moura coal mine opened in 1963, both mines shipping coal to Gladstone via Rockhampton, a ~270 km distance. As coal volumes grew a direct line to Gladstone was proposed, and the 151 km Moura Short Line opened in 1968, being the first 'S' (Special) class line in Queensland, with an 18 tonne axle load at the time. It commenced at Graham railway station (in

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 ...

) on the Monto line, connecting to the Callide Valley line (and the Callide Coalfields) at Earlsfield railway station (in Jambin), and connecting to the Dawson Valley line at Moura Mine Junction, 12 km east of the town of Moura. Before the Moura Short Line opened, the largest QR steam locomotive, known as a

Garratt A Garratt locomotive is a type of articulated steam locomotive invented by the engineer Herbert William Garratt that is articulated into three parts. Its boiler, firebox, and cab are mounted on a centre frame or "bridge". The two other ...

, could haul a 750-ton coal load to Gladstone via Rockhampton. After the line opened, triple headed diesel hauled trains took 4000 ton coal loads direct to Gladstone.

System realignment

Additional coal mines were developed in the area, and a 5.6 km line from Annandale to Boundary Hill Mine opened in 1983. A balloon loop and 5.6 km connecting line was opened at Moura Mine in 1994. As Gladstone is the major port for central Queensland, the majority of freight began to be railed via the new direct line, and the 69 km Kabra-Wowan and 47 km Baralaba-Moura sections of the Dawson Valley line closed in 1987, effectively shifting the network to an east–west alignment. Further sections subsequently closed such as Thangool-Biloela (11 km) in 1988, Goolara-Theodore (5 km) in 1993, Wowan-Rannes (25 km) and Kooemba-Baralaba (12 km) in 1995, Rannes-Kooemba (25 km) in 1997 and Rannes - Koorngoo (24 km) in 1999. On 26 June 2013 the Earlsfield-Koorngoo, Dakenba-Biloela and Moura-Goolara sections were closed, leaving the system as a 192 km line from Graham to Moura, with a 29 km branch to Callide Coalfields and ~3 km balloon loops at the Boundary Hill and Moura mines.

Present system

Today coal is the main freight hauled on the Moura line, with grain from the silos at Moura being significant, if seasonal, traffic. The line from Dakenbah to Biloela has been removed. The Moura line as far as the Moura balloon loop features 60 kg/m rail on concrete sleepers, a 26.5 tonne axle load, maximum grade of 1 in 63 (~1.6%) eastbound (1 in 50 (2%) westbound), 300m minimum radius curves and a line speed of 80 km/h except for the 10 km section crossing the Calliope Range, which has a 40 km/h speed limit. Beyond that the line has 30 kg/m rail, a 15.75 tonne axle load and a 40 km/h speed limit. The section from Earlsfield to Callide Coalfields via Dakenba features 53 kg/m rail, a 26.5 tonne axle load and curves with a minimum radius of 160m.

Proposed southern connection

A major coal mine is proposed at Wandoan, with coal to be shipped from Gladstone via the proposed Surat Basin railway, which would connect to the Moura line south of the town of

Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

. This proposed line would be well east of

Taroom Taroom is a town in the Shire of Banana and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality split between the Shire of Banana and the Western Downs Region in Queensland, Australia. In the , Taroom had a population of 885 people. Geography The t ...

, and pass close to the gold mining town of Cracow.

References

External links