Emu Bay Railway
| Public | |
| Industry | Railway operator |
| Predecessor | Emu Bay to Mount Bischoff Railway Company |
| Successor | Tasrail |
| Founded | 1897 |
| Defunct | 1998 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
|
Area served
|
West Coast, Tasmania |
The Emu Bay Railway was an Australian railway company. Listed on the Melbourne Stock Exchange, it operated the Melba Line on the West Coast of Tasmania from 1897 until 1998.
The origins of the Emu Bay Railway can be traced back to February 1878 when the Van Diemen's Land Company opened a 71 kilometre, horse drawn, wooden tramway line from Emu Bay (Burnie) to Rouse's Camp, near Waratah to serve the Mount Bischoff tin mines. The line was surveyed by John C Climie. In 1887, the line was taken over by the Emu Bay to Mount Bischoff Railway Company and relaid with steel rails as a 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge railway line to allow steam locomotives to operate. In 1897 the Emu Bay Railway Company took over the line, extending it a further 60 kilometres to Zeehan on 21 December 1900.
Following the opening of the Murchison Highway, the line was closed between Rosebery and Zeehan in August 1965. In October 1966 EZ Industries, who were now responsible for 90% of traffic on the line, launched a takeover bid for the company. Although rejected by the directors, it was accepted by the shareholders in early 1967. In the late 1960s the line was upgraded to carry heavier trains and in January 1970 reopened from Rosebery to Melba Flats.
In December 1976, the company was relieved of its common carrier obligations. Thereafter the line was basically freight only except for a twice weekly mixed train which lasted until 1983, using West Coaster carriages ABL1 and 2, which retained their two-tone blue livery. During the construction of the Pieman River hydro electric scheme in the late 1970s the line was diverted in places and new bridges were built.
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