Callide Valley railway line

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.

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.

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.

A mixed service took 7 ½ 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.

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