Callide Valley railway line

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

History

There were grand plans to link Monto by railway with the south, east and north. Links with Maryborough to the south and Gladstone to the east materialised but the northern link terminated at Lawgi some 70 kilometres away. Rannes was already linked by rail to Rockhampton by the Dawson Valley railway line via Mount Morgan and a branch line from Rannes to Lawgi provided access to the rich Callide Valley and justified its construction.

Opening

The first stage commenced from Rannes, heading south-east to Callide (originally called Callidi) and opened on 3 May 1924. Stops en route were Jooro, Goovigen, Jambin and Argoon. A mixed train ran twice a week from Baralaba, west of Rannes on the Dawson Valley branch, to Callide and connected at Rannes with a service northeast to Rockhampton. A 22 kilometre extension was opened on 24 August 1925 south from Callide via Biloela to Thangool which at the time was the main township between Rannes and Monto.

Train services

A mixed service took 7½ hours for the journey from Thangool to Mount Morgan and a later passenger service took 6 hours from Thangool to Rockhampton. The terminus at Thangool was intended to be temporary and trucking yards were not constructed. However, facilities were provided at Biloela siding and it quickly became the major centre of the district.

Later stages

Construction beyond Thangool was halted in August 1926 and resumed during the depression as an employment creation measure. The third and final stage took the line a further 14 kilometres via Mount Scoria to Lawgi. Proposed construction to Monto did not eventuate and isolated Lawgi became the terminus on 19 September 1932. The Lawgi station mistress was withdrawn in 1952 and the section to Thangool was closed on 1 July 1955. The Thangool to Biloela section closed on 31 January 1988 and Biloela became the railhead. The line between Biloela and Lawgi was taken up. It remains in place between Rannes and Biloela, though only the section between Dakenba and Earlsfield is in service.

A 1939 map shows the proposed railway beyond Lawgi with the following planned railway stations:^[1]

Mount Lookerbie
Yaparaba
Dawes

Timeline

Rannes-Callide, 46 km, opened 3 May 1924
Callide-Biloela-Thangool, 22 km, opened 24 August 1925
Thangool-Lawgi, 14 km, opened 19 September 1932
Dakenba-Callide Coalfields branch, 15 km, opened 9 November 1953
Lawgi-Thangool closed 1 July 1955^[2]
Thangool-Biloela, 11 km, closed 31 January 1988
Biloela-Dakenba currently out of service
Callide Coalfields-Dakenba-Earlsfield (junction with the Moura Short Line) in active service for coal traffic
Koorngoo-Rannes, 24 km, closed ~1999
Earlsfield-Koorngoo available for seasonal grain haulage

Moura Short Line

In 1968 the Moura Short Line was opened to transport coal from the Callide and Moura mines to Gladstone port.^[3] The line crosses the Callide branch line between Jambin and Callide at Earlsfield Junction and thus links Biloela with Gladstone in lieu of its previous link to Rockhampton.

Route

Callide Valley railway line
Distance from Rockhampton	Stations	Present locality	Coordinates	Altitude	Notes
66 miles 52 chains (107.3 km)	Rannes	Goovigen, Shire of Banana	24°06′13″S 150°07′06″E / 24.10350°S 150.11820°E / -24.10350; 150.11820 (Rannes railway station (former))	327 feet (100 m)	^[4]^[5]
72 miles 79 chains (117.5 km)	Jooro	Goovigen, Shire of Banana	24°06′52″S 150°12′41″E / 24.11454°S 150.21150°E / -24.11454; 150.21150 (Jooro railway station (former))	483 feet (147 m)	^[6]^[5]
78 miles 20 chains (125.9 km)	Goovigen	Goovigen, Shire of Banana	24°08′47″S 150°17′02″E / 24.14644°S 150.28398°E / -24.14644; 150.28398 (Goovigen railway station (former))	425 feet (130 m)	^[7]^[5]
84 miles 52 chains (136.2 km)	Jambin	Jambin, Shire of Banana	24°11′44″S 150°22′11″E / 24.19550°S 150.36970°E / -24.19550; 150.36970 (Jambin railway station (former))	435 feet (133 m)	^[7]^[5]
90 miles 40 chains (145.6 km)	Argoon	Jambin, Shire of Banana	24°15′15″S 150°26′01″E / 24.25411°S 150.43361°E / -24.25411; 150.43361 (Argoon railway station (former))	509 feet (155 m)	^[8]^[5]
94 miles 30 chains (151.9 km)	Callide	Callide, Shire of Banana	24°18′06″S 150°30′31″E / 24.30175°S 150.50867°E / -24.30175; 150.50867 (Callide railway station (former))	518 feet (158 m)	^[8]^[5]
102 miles 07 chains (164.3 km)	Biloela	Biloela, Shire of Banana	24°23′58″S 150°30′31″E / 24.39949°S 150.50867°E / -24.39949; 150.50867 (Biloela railway station (former))	577 feet (176 m)	^[8]^[5]
109 miles 21 chains (175.8 km)	Thangool	Thangool, Shire of Banana	24°29′11″S 150°34′37″E / 24.48650°S 150.57682°E / -24.48650; 150.57682 (Thangool railway station (former))	652 feet (199 m)	^[8]^[5]
110 miles 72 chains (178.5 km)	Kariboe	Thangool, Shire of Banana	24°29′57″S 150°35′45″E / 24.49903°S 150.59572°E / -24.49903; 150.59572 (Kariboe railway station (former))	650 feet (200 m)	^[8]^[5]
113 miles 60 chains (183.1 km)	Mount Scoria	Thangool, Shire of Banana	24°32′04″S 150°36′58″E / 24.53451°S 150.61619°E / -24.53451; 150.61619	687 feet (209 m)	^[8]^[5]
117 miles 55 chains (189.4 km)	Lawgi	Lawgi Dawes, Shire of Banana		924 feet (282 m)	^[8]

References

^ "Queensland Two Mile series sheet 2m163" (Map). Queensland Government. 1939. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
^ "6 State Branch Railway lines To Be Closed". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. LXXV. Queensland, Australia. 15 January 1955. p. 1. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Moura Line Archived 14 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Towns of Rannes" (Map). Queensland Government. 1975. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "Railway stations and sidings - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 2 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
^ "Queensland Two Mile series sheet 2m202" (Map). Queensland Government. 1948. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Queensland Two Mile series sheet 2m201" (Map). Queensland Government. 1947. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Queensland Two Mile series sheet 2m163" (Map). Queensland Government. 1950. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.

Works cited

"Triumph of Narrow Gauge: A History of Queensland Railways" by John Kerr 1990 Boolarong Press, Brisbane

External links

[1] "Queensland Two Mile series sheet 2m163" (Map). Queensland Government. 1939. Retrieved 27 December 2022.

[2] "6 State Branch Railway lines To Be Closed". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. LXXV. Queensland, Australia. 15 January 1955. p. 1. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.

[3] Moura Line Archived 14 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine

[4] "Towns of Rannes" (Map). Queensland Government. 1975. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.

[railwaystations-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "Railway stations and sidings - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 2 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.

[6] "Queensland Two Mile series sheet 2m202" (Map). Queensland Government. 1948. Retrieved 29 December 2022.

[:0-7] "Queensland Two Mile series sheet 2m201" (Map). Queensland Government. 1947. Retrieved 29 December 2022.

[:4-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Queensland Two Mile series sheet 2m163" (Map). Queensland Government. 1950. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.

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