Pilbara Railways

The Pilbara Railways are a collection of railways in the Pilbara region of North-West Western Australia.

In 1887, the Cossack Tram opened in 1887 followed by the Western Australian Government Railways's (WAGR) Marble Bar Railway in 1911. However these had closed by the 1950s.

With the opening up of the Pilbara region for mining in the 1960s, four companies were formed to mine and export the iron ore. Because of the distances from the mines to the sea ports, railways were built as the most economical method to transport the ore. Unlike other lines in Western Australia that were built to narrow gauge, all of the lines in the Pilbara were built to the standard gauge Association of American Railroads loading gauge.

The first company to commence operations in June 1966 was the Mount Goldsworthy Co with a line from Mount Goldsworthy to Finucane Island. In August 1966, Hamersley Iron opened a 298 kilometre line from Mount Tom Price to Dampier, this was extended shortly after by 100 kilometres to Paraburdoo. In March 1969, Mount Newman Mining Co began operating a 427 kilometre line from Mount Whaleback to Port Hedland. Cliffs, Robe River Iron Associates opened a 162 kilometre line from Mount Enid to Cape Lambert.

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