York–Bruce Rock railway line

The York–Bruce Rock railway line is a closed railway line in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia running from York to Bruce Rock.

York-Bruce Rock
Bridge over the Avon River at York
Overview
TerminiYork
Bruce Rock
Operation
Opened1 September 1898 (York-Greenhills)
24 April 1908 (Greenhills-Quairading)
28 March 1913 (Quairading-Bruce Rock)
OwnerPublic Transport Authority
Operator(s)Brookfield Rail
Technical
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

History
York-Bruce Rock
 York
 Greenhills
 Mawson
 Dangin
 Quairading
 Yoting
 Shackleton
 Bruce Rock

On 29 June 1885, the Eastern Railway opened from Chidlow's Well to York. Another line opened south to Beverley on 5 August 1886 and ultimately Albany via the Great Southern Railway.[1][2]

On 9 September 1897, construction commenced on a line to Greenhills, with the line opening on 1 September 1898. On 24 April 1908, it was extended to Quairading, and to Bruce Rock on 4 July 1913.[2]

The line was initially served by a thrice weekly mixed train; this was later reduced to twice weekly. Once the line from Bruce Rock to Merredin was opened in December 1913, a through service was introduced. In 1938, a thrice weekly through service from Perth to Merredin was introduced with ADE railcars. This reduced the travel time from 17 hours to eight.[2]

In August 1949, a road bus service was introduced. By January 1951, the railcar service had been reduced to once weekly and was withdrawn entirely in March 1952. Diesel locomotives were introduced to the line in 1955, working in parallel with steam locomotives until 1970.[2]

In 1985, the line was closed between Yoting and Shackleton, the line now operating as two separate lines from York to Yoting and Bruce Rock to Shackleton. In October 1990, the haulage of superphosphate ceased, with the line exclusively used by grain trains.[2] It was cut back to Quairading in the 1990s and closed entirely in October 2013.[3][4][5]

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References
  1. Gunzburg, Adrian (1984). A History of WAGR Steam Locomotives. Perth: Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 14. ISBN 0 9599690 3 9.
  2. Tilley, Allan (1998). To Greenhills and Beyond. Greenwood: Rail Heritage Publications. pp. 4, 33, 35, 50, 58, 66, 68. ISBN 0 646 36007 8.
  3. Tilley, Allan (1998). To Greenhills and Beyond. Greenwood: Rail Heritage Publications. pp. 4, 35, 50, 58. ISBN 0 646 36007 8.
  4. Newland, Andrew; Quinlan, Howard (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 67. ISBN 0-909650-49-7.
  5. Tier three rail lines to close Merredin Mercury 8 October 2013

Media related to York to Bruce Rock railway line at Wikimedia Commons

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