Hervey Bay (Urangan) railway line
| Hervey Bay railway line | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Status | Closed, partly converted to rail trail |
| Termini |
Colton Urangan |
| Stations | 10 |
| Operation | |
| Closed | 10 June 1993 |
| Owner | QR Limited |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge |
Hervey Bay railway line, sometimes known as Urangan railway line, is a closed railway line in Queensland, Australia. It was opened in 1896 to Pialba and it was extended to Urangan in 1913. It was extended to the end of the Urangan Pier in 1917, along with the opening of the pier. It was closed in 1993.
Coal was discovered on the Burrum River in 1863. The Maryborough railway system had commenced operations as an isolated system with the opening of a line from Maryborough port to the goldfields at Gympie. Initially, the coal at Burrum River generated little interest, but by the 1880s, developers were pushing for a railway to the river, and the first section of the line, which would eventually be extended to Bundaberg, opened from Baddow to Howard on 30 June 1883. This gave the coal mines near Howard access to the Maryborough wharves, but the small, shallow vessels which could traverse the Mary River were not conductive to development, and shipping of the coal from Burrum River, across Hervey Bay to the Mary River where it was transshipped to larger vessels was met with similarly limited success.
In 1882-1883, a trial survey was carried out by the government with regards to a possible railway to Hervey Bay. The trial had been made from a point 11 km (6.8 mi) north of Croydon to Pialba, a distance of 27 km (17 mi). By commencing the line so far north, it would avoid major bridging of the Susan River, and the land the line would traverse would be relatively flat. The proposal by Vernon Corporation led to the government's proposal being shelved for the time being.
In 1883, capitalists from the state of Victoria visited the Wide Bay area to purchase land for coal mining at Burrum, and planned to construct a railway or tramway to Hervey Bay, where they would construct coal wharves. On the bay, it would be possible to provide a deep water berth for larger ships, which was necessary for coal to be exported intrastate, interstate and overseas. Burrum coal was cited as an alternative to Newcastle coal for industry in Victoria where coal was unavailable and required importing. The capitalists formed into the Vernon Coal & Railway Company, which was incorporated in Melbourne on 25 September 1884.
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