Kuranda railway station
| Cairns-to-Kuranda railway | |
|---|---|
Map of the railway
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| Location | Redlynch to Kuranda (4881), Redlynch, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 16°51′47″S 145°39′47″E / 16.8631°S 145.6631°ECoordinates: 16°51′47″S 145°39′47″E / 16.8631°S 145.6631°E |
| Design period | 1914 - 1919 (World War I) |
| Built | 1913-1915 |
| Official name: Cairns Railway, Section from Redlynch to Crooked Creek Bridge, Cairns to Kuranda Railway, Stoney Creek Bridge, Rail Bridge over Christmas Creek, Kuranda Railway Station, Surprise Creek Rail Bridge | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 21 August 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600755 |
| Significant period | 1887-present |
| Significant components | signals, office/s, turntable, signal box/signal cabin/switch house/mechanical points (rail), garden - bed/s, toilet block/earth closet/water closet, shed - shelter, shed - goods, residential accommodation - station master's house/quarters, office/s, toilet block/earth closet/water closet, shed - shelter, ramp, shed - storage, drain - storm water, tank - water, shed - shelter |
| Builders | Queensland Railways |
 Location of Cairns-to-Kuranda railway in Queensland
Location of Cairns-to-Kuranda railway in Queensland
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The Cairns-to-Kuranda Railway between Redlynch to Crooked Creek Bridge is a heritage-listed railway line that passes through Redlynch, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1913 to 1915 by Queensland Railways. Components of it include Stoney Creek Bridge, the Rail Bridge over Christmas Creek, Kuranda railway station, and Surprise Creek Rail Bridge. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 August 1992. The railway is now a tourist attraction called Kuranda Scenic Railway.
The Redlynch to the Crooked Creek Bridge portion of the Cairns-to-Kuranda railway constitutes most of the second section (Redlynch to Myola) of a planned railway line to Herberton. It ascends the coastal range and travels around Stoney Creek Gorge and through the Barron Gorge, to a height of 327.7m at Barron Falls railway station. It proceeds through Kuranda railway station 21.7 km from Redlynch, to Crooked Creek Bridge 23.2 km from Redlynch. Built between April 1887 and June 1891 through a steep and slip-prone landscape, the section is a feat of engineering which in 2011 included 15 concrete-lined tunnels and 39 timber or steel bridges (from Redlynch up to and including Crooked Creek Bridge).
Mining provided the original impetus for building a railway line up to the Atherton Tablelands from Cairns. Cooktown thrived as a port for the Palmer River goldfield, discovered in 1873, but it was too far from the Hodgkinson goldfield, discovered further south in early 1876. Trinity Bay was chosen as the port for the Hodgkinson; the first settlers arrived in October 1876 and Cairns became a port of entry on 1 November 1876. However, the founding of Port Douglas in 1877 almost stifled Cairns, as the former provided an easier access route to the Hodgkinson. When tin was discovered on the Wild River in 1880, the road from Port Douglas to Herberton was also preferred to the pack tracks from Cairns.
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