Winton Branch Railway (Queensland)

The Winton Branch Railway was a railway line in Queensland, Australia, branching from the Mt Isa line at Hughenden and connecting to the Central West line at Winton.

It was originally part of the Great Northern Railway (Mt Isa line), but was later downgraded to branch line status when the extension west of Hughenden opened.

Queensland is the second largest of the Australian States and Territories by area. Its vast interior was largely opened up by the construction of three east-west railway lines that connected the interior of the State to the eastern coastal towns of Brisbane, Rockhampton and Townsville. The trunk lines were the Main Line and Western Line from Brisbane to Roma and Charleville (completed in 1888), the Central West line from Rockhampton to Emerald and Longreach (completed in 1892), and the Great Northern Line from Townsville to Charters Towers and Hughenden (completed in 1887). But those termini were still some 500 kilometres from Queensland’s western border.

It was later decided that each of the routes should each be extended to the south-west. In the case of the Western Line an extension to Cunnamulla was opened in 1898. The Central West Line was extended from Jericho south-west to Blackall and opened in 1908 whilst a further extension to Yaraka opened in 1917. Also in 1917 the Quilpie Line was opened from Westgate (south of Charleville) due west to Quilpie. The last two extensions were part of the Great Western Railway proposal.

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