The Texas railway line is a disused

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 ...

of the South Western railway line in the south of 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 ...

region of

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, and was the last traditional branch line railway constructed in Queensland. The McDougall brothers settled land in the

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

region in about 1840. They later had to prove their claim to the property after another settler moved in during their absence. At the time, the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

in North America was in the midst of a land war with neighbouring

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and thus they called their property Texas station. Deposits of silver, lead and copper were mined at Silver Spur about east of Texas. Tobacco was grown in the Texas region along with a busy trade in rabbit meat and skins. Between October 1910 and March 1912, a road train serviced the area between

Inglewood Inglewood may refer to: Places Australia *Inglewood, Queensland * Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area *Inglewood, South Australia *Inglewood, Victoria *Inglewood, Western Australia Canada * Inglewood, Ontario *Inglewoo ...

(a railhead on the South Western line), Texas and Silver Spur. In 1914, following an inefficient and unreliable service, a branch line was approved linking the three centres. Construction did not begin until February 1929 with the jobs created being sought by many hundreds of men out of work due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. The section between

and Texas was officially opened on Monday 10 November 1930 by

Godfrey Morgan ''Godfrey Morgan: A Californian Mystery'' (, literally ''The School for Robinsons''), also published as ''School for Crusoes'', is an 1882 adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. The novel tells of a wealthy young man, Godfrey Morgan, who, ...

, the Queensland Minister for Railways. Two small sidings appeared en route at Magee and Mundoey. Grain, tobacco, dairy products and livestock were its main cargo but the line faced stiff competition with motor transport in the ascendancy. Closure of the Silver Spur mine sounded the death knell of an extension beyond Texas. Two trains a week connected with services at Inglewood. Although special trains ran during busy times, branch traffic was always sparse. Short branch lines ran from Texas station to livestock pens and past the Texas Freezing Works where rabbits were processed. By 1963, passenger services had disappeared from the timetable. Regular services were withdrawn in 1985 and services were replaced by motor truck. The line closed on 1 January 1994 and is retained by

Queensland Rail Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both Commuter rail, suburban and Regional rail, interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well ...

as a non-operational corridor. The track was left in place but other facilities were removed. As at 2025, there is a proposal to reopen the line as a heritage tourist experience.

References

External links

1925 map of the Queensland railway system
{{Railway lines in Queensland , state=expanded Railway lines opened in 1930 Closed railway lines in Queensland Railway lines closed in 1994 Darling Downs

See also

References

External links