Woke up this morning with an urge to tell a not-really cited story of both the Trans-Australian Railway.
(Editing Note: it actually took several days to edit this into something that flows, including one wiping of my edits just before posting, so I suppose the gratification of completion took a little longer than originally hoped for, whoops)
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Okay yeah, let's do this. Setting the mood with some musical accompaniment-
To understand why the Trans-Australian (TAR) came about, we need to go back before the Federation, when the modern country we call Australia was disparate independently-managed colonies under the British crown (on land never ceded by the hundreds of indigenous nations and peoples, which always needs acknowledging, but is a thing in it's own right). Specifically, we need to look at the Swan River Colony, what could become Perth and Fremantle.
Before the TAR , the only way of getting to the colony from any other was by sea - from around the horn of Africa and across, or under the Great Australian Bight - daunting, slow journeys, not to be undertaken lightly. Now, this would otherwise be a fairly mundane ask - okay the trips were long but that could be factored for, but there was a more foundational practical issue for the colony. The main port of Fremantle, on the mouth of Swan River is in extremely shallow, silty, sandy, water- with no facilities for heavier drafting ships. Most of it's port facilities were half-mile long jetty complexes from the beach into the ocean (a not-uncommon solution all along the coast). Ship captains hated docking there (some straight-up refused on sight). Sidebar - the issues with the port were known as far back as the scouting voyage for colony's foundation, a whole story unto itself.
Above: Fremantle Harbour looking east, c1890 (pre-major dredging works)
The intermediate solution was to have deeper drafting ships dock at the Colony's only deep water port in Albany -at the time a military garrison- and their cargo brought up to the major settlements by horse and bullock dray (a trip that is up to 6 hours drive by car today). While communication would ultimately be sped up by overland telegraph in 1867, the slow speed of goods going in and out by sea meant that the world's most isolated colony was frequently out on a limb if there were any sorts of disruption. The isolation and slow communication rapidly fostered a local sense of necessary resilience and independence within the colony from outside interest, (a freeholder or colonial mindset, if you will), and the colony's growth until the Gold Rush was comparably lacklustre.
Resultantly, (and this will become relevant later,) this lead to the state adopting a rail infrastructure standard which was considerably lighter than might be expected. A light-line rail system in 3ft 6in gauge track was adopted, owing both for it's ability to be laid faster with larger tolerances especially over Swan Coastal Plain's notoriously soft sand, lighter average axle loadings meaning that locomotives could be shipped and offloaded in Fremantle, and it's relatively lower labour requirements in construction and upkeep.
This is all important context that needs to be known beforehand.
Above: the first Perth Station, c1890, c.o, Rail Heritage WA)
To put this into the larger jigsaw, throughout the last quarter of the 19th century a general political movement for federation of the Australian colonies was growing. Whether that sentiment was for complete republicanism or some sort of retention system within the Commonwealth was up for debate, but the general feel was the direct administration from England, with its considerable communication delays and lack of local context was starting to test the local patience. A general package of incentives and goals for federation started to get drafted. Amongst it was a solution to one of the backaches of the Eastern Colonies - Railway Changes of Gauge. Part of the goals of federation was to provide a federally managed railway backbone that connected all the major state cities, with hopes of incentivising all the states to standardise on the system. Initially this did not include anything west or north of South Australia - the distances and relatively unoccupied nature of these spaces made the ask of construction distasteful, no matter how beneficial they may be.
Above: Inaugural train on the Eastern Goldfields Railway, official photograph, Jan 1 1897
Back to Western Australia (as it was now- receiving responsible government from Westminster in 1887) - and major change was afoot. Gold was discovered inland in Kalgoorlie (more accurately Coolgardie, but this predates there really being a westernised settlement there, so it's mostly semantics,) and with it a Gold Rush. Much like the California and Bendigo gold rushes before it, the numbers of people brought to the state and the interior especially were on a level not seen before, and it was a practical scramble to provide amenities and accessibility to the fields. As a result of the state's newfound wealth, WA's first Premier Sir John Forrest, committed a wide array of major public works including (in no order):
- the dredging of a new Fremantle Harbour
- the creation of the world's longest water-carrying pipeline to supply Kalgoorlie with fresh water
- an upgrade of the Eastern Railway
- and a new line extending the WAGR railhead east from Clackline to Kalgoorlie (important for our story)
The man he put in charge of these works was one Charles Yelverton O'Connor, an engineer who cut his teeth on public engineering works, particularly docks and railways, in New Zealand throughout the 1860s. While the water would not reach Kalgoorlie by federation (nor O'Connor's passing by suicide), the completion of the other major works would see Western Australia being more than just a footnote outpost.
Above: C.Y. O'Connor, Chief Engineer to Western Australia
Western Australia by and large was strongly divided on the notion of federation at the time, with a sizeable contingent of constituents and elected members being quite content to not ratify federation and instead seek independence.
Many reasons were given against federation, including- The Eastern States being as detached from the WA's interests that they may as well have just been England, a mostly English colonial population showing strong loyalty to the crown and British rule, a lack of any real merit displayed by the proposed government so far, and a general perception of indifference towards former New Holland states. The "independence from federation" movement was so strong there were flags and charters drafted in the chance of it being needed.
Back to the discussion tables for federation in Sydney and Melbourne. The Eastern Colonies realised they needed something to sweeten the deal for WA - They couldn't have one of the potential country's largest and newest economic breadwinners taking the ball and going home. A variety of things were offered, from reduced tariffs on agriculture to military defences. None really seemed do much on the whole, until a late revisitation of the railways act portion of federating documents.
Above: G class 32, in original condition, Kalgoorlie, EGR line, c1893-94. Elevated coal stage, water tower and shed in the background, workers standing in front of the loco. c.o, Rail Heritage WA
By the 1890s, WA now had a railhead all the way out to Kalgoorlie- "practically" it's eastern border - and a growing public infrastructure in general. While the pipeline was not complete, it was at least conceivable that it would reach it's goal, which would mean the ability to coal and water engines that far east. Could the interstate rail connection reach there? Broadly, aside the distance, the idea now seemed at least economically viable to build. So, the incentive was written into the federating documents, a version of which was presented to the Western Australian voting public.
Above: "Success to Coolgardie Water Scheme"- EC class pacific decorated for the opening of the East Goldfields Water Scheme. c.1903
That swung it. With Premier John Forest being a strong proponent, by the narrowest of margins Western Australia agreed to the terms of federation, because a rail link with the rest of the country would be provided. The terms of how and why on the rail link would take some more time, but in 1901 Perth and Western Australia became part of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Track Change -
Above: Tracklayer and team crossing the WA/SA Border, Aug 29, 1916 (Rees family collection , c.o, Rail Heritage WA)
By 1907 a federal act was passed to survey a route and was completed in 1909, recommending line from Port Augusta in South Australia in the east (at the time also narrow gauge, like WA), to Kalgoorlie in the west, via Tarcoola - 1063 miles of single-track, standard gauge rail, with passing loops and rest stops at predetermined places.
Approval for construction was granted in 1911, and work began September the next year. At peak of construction 2.5 miles of track were laid a day from two railheads - eastwards from Kalgoorlie and westwards from Port Augusta- and despite the work force drain experienced as the draft went into effect, progress continued throughout World War 1. The culmination of this effort resulted in the two halves of the line meeting at Ooldea in far-west South Australia on the 17th October 1917 - The Nullarbor Plain had been bridged. In that same year, the federal Australian government established Commonwealth Railways (under the Federal Dept of Transport) to operate the Trans-Australian Railway, Central Australian Railway, and North Australian Railway
Above: First Eastbound passenger service leaves Kalgoorlie for Port Augusta (Battye collection)
The logistics of trying to bridge a desert are no small challenge. Even if the geography is in your favour (and for the most part it is, Australia's "red center" is effectively dead flat), distance and lack of surface water mean the route has to be carefully considered, and stops well placed. The Nullarbor was no different. Despite the somewhat misleading name (the land through there is dense with mallee scrub, only null of arbor if you're hoping for a forest), permanent surface water was non-existent. Throughout construction, camels and their historied Central Asian handlers would be used alongside the growing line to ferry people, supplies, and water up to the railhead as it extended through the scrub.
Above: Construction of TAR line by Commonwealth Railways (CR), camel train carrying water, c.o, Rail Heritage WA
One of the things that the survey for construction turned up is that the Nullarbor Plain sits on top of an aquifer. In the context of geological research that postdated the survey, the finding tracks - Australia the continent was an island-chain atoll that housed it's own massive lagoon. At some point due to tectonic plate shifts and warping, that closed up and the surface water either permeated the porous limestone seabed (forming aquifers) or evaporated off. What this meant for the TAR is they did not need to find means to cart water into the middle of a desert - they only needed to drill artesian wells (bores).
Above: CL4 crossing bridge at Zanthus on the TAR, 1970
One of the most notable points of engineering interest is the section from between Nurina and Watson - the longest straight section of rail line in the world. Fun aside, the original survey had this section of line marked as 297.107 miles long - modern GPS measurements make it 297.135 - a mere 50 yards off.
Above: the "Long Straight"
Of course, the other side to having infrastructure across the desert is that is needs people to operate and look after it, and along the line at most every water stop a small town appeared. Most of these were entirely dependent on the line for everything, few developed businesses outside of the primary trade of servicing trains, as there was little else out there to offer. As a result, the CR (and it's successor AN - Australian National Railways) provided all the amenities it could in a rolling town-on-rails called the "Tea and Sugar train", which ran from day 1 until the mid 1990s. From butchers and bakers to dentists and doctors, to childcare and cinema, the train was THE thing that kept these water stops staffed and liveable, and each week services would make the rounds in both directions serving the families and indigenous populations that took to the challenge of the Nullarbor's isolation.
Above: "Tea and Sugar" stopped at Forrest, view of train from rear, brakevan and Commonwealth Railways (CR) clerestory roof carriage closest to camera, December 1963 to January 1964. Photo by Clyde Shoebridge and Peter Sage, c.o Rail Heritage WA
In operation, the line did much of what it promised to - providing a faster and safer alternative to sailing the Bight, with more regular services and in general more convenience.
The standards and stock of the CR initially borrowed heavily from practises of the New South Wales Government Railways of the time, the first rolling stock on the line consisting entirely of NSWGR surplus that was disassembled and flat-packed by ship to Port Augusta and Fremantle. There were some changes of course, CR was the first Australian rail operator to use American buckeye couplers only, and that was standard from day 1. The practises would change over time, as CR better understood the needs of the lines it ran, fleet acquisitions would start to tailor to it's niche.
Possibly one of the best examples of this in action is the Commonwealth Railways C class steam engine. It was at its base essentially a NSWGR class 36 - a 4-6-0 tender locomotive built by Walkers Ltd in Queensland, designed for express running. What CR changed from the design included a long, heavyweight tender, giving it a large water capacity for the desert. As they entered service some were fitted with cowling over the valve gear to mitigate dust ingress to the lubrication-sensitive area, others were fitted with smoke deflectors high on the smoke box to mitigate issues of smoke ingress to the cab, and all were fitted with thermo-couple cables to monitor non-powered axle boxes. These changes were well appreciated with crews and company alike, their reliability, speed, and ability to run further between water stops meant that these locos were able to shave 10 hours off the trip in either direction- no small feat.
Above: CR C class stabled at Port Augusta. Notice the size of the tender.
By the time it came for dieselisation on the CR, was leading their own way. With their EMD E7-based GM class being notable for their sleek futuristic look and striking red and silver paint scheme. The engines were built for all purposes on the line, but hauling rakes of air-conditioned Waggonfabrik Wegmann steel-body coaching stock across the desert on the "Trans Australian" was an iconic statement of comfort and style that's been hard to displace. During the 1970s as air travel ate into passenger rail travel revenue the era of the "Trans Australian" service gave way to the "Indian Pacific" service. The Wegmann coaches would be replaced with newer stainless-steel stock made by ComEng as the service, and made it's transition from long-distance interstate passenger transport service and more into a rolling hotel over the coming decades a no less attractive appeal inside and out.
Above: Cover of promotional booklet for the Trans-Australian Railway, by A.C Brooks for Commonwealth Railways in 1958, Depicting the sleek modernism of the train as it was at the time
One thing the line did not completely fulfil at launch was a rail link between all the state's capitals without a break of gauge - one of the original goals planned for federation. The line was met at both ends by 3ft 6in narrow gauge, but as time passed that would change. The eastern end would be extended to Port Pirie Junction in the 1930s, where it would meet South Australia's new Irish broad-gauge network. Further federal grants in the 60s and 80s would allow for network acquisitions and upgrades that would complete those federation aspirations-
- Perth-Kalgoorlie was upgraded to Standard and Dual gauge in 1965
- Port Augusta-Broken Hill(NSW) was converted to standard gauge in 1963
- The Adelaide-Broken Hill eventually converted to standard gauge in 1982
- Alice Springs-Darwin line being completed in 2004 (extending the CAR to complete the route of the original NAR)
These changes meant the TAR was no longer an isolated link but a part of a rail backbone that spanned the continent and connected every state capital, making good on the railway goals of the founding of the nation and then some.
Above: Commonwealth Railways GM15 on the "Indian Pacific" , 1970 (K. Rayes, c.o, Rail Heritage WA)
It wasn't all glory - Obviously, working the line was always going to be unpleasant by nature of both isolation and heat, (it was and still is,) but there were other operational issues that permeated it's life - most pointedly in the Steam Era. Early on in the line's operation the artesian bores dug at watering stops were found to be quite saline - the geologic history of Australia's atoll past leading to high mineral salt concentrations in the water. This would lead to a high turnover of steam locomotives for boiler repairs, and loco availability being a critical issue early on. The remedy to this was the fitting of barium carbonate filtration on all the bores at water stops.
Above: CR C class stranded by flooding at Cook, 1947
The other major operational issue that persists to this day is flooding. As previously mentioned, Australia was an atoll with an inland sea in it's geological past, giving the current continent a geological-scale bowl shape to its interior. That subtle bowl means that large areas of the interior can and will flood with a substantial enough weather system. With each northern wet season, an inland sea will happen somewhere in the red center. The Nullarbor is no exception to it, and this was a perennial maintenance issue for the TAR. Washouts and strandings were not uncommon. While remediation efforts like floodways, culverts and bridges are designed to mitigate it - the issue persists to this day and will likely always remain a thing the line contends with into the foreseeable future (see 2020, when flooding entirely stopped east-west rail for 3 weeks- resulting in supply shortages for months afterwards).
Above: The perennial problem - flooding on the TAR, 2020
To this day, the TAR provides a stable and fast freight link to Western Australia with the rest of the continent. It carries around half of all incoming goods to Western Australia and provides one of Australia's big-ticket luxury rail experiences (the Indian Pacific). It's vital to the economy of WA, and it all started as an incentive to stop a former colony becoming it's own nation.
Above: NR22 and 76 on 5PM5 freight near Binduli, March 2018 (Photo- Evan Jasper)
Now, as I started at the top, this is not a formally cited document, this a cobbled together history from things I've read and seen on the subject over a lifetime. It's not rigorous by any stretch, but I did at least make sure the dates are all shmick.
There. Got it out of my system. Infodump secured.
I've got An album of all the images used here, plus some more if you'd care for them.