Mount Lyell railway

The term Mount Lyell Railway was one of the terms used for the railway operated by the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company between 1899 and 1963.

Construction of the Mount Lyell mine haulage line, c. 1895

Many name variations were used for identifying the line, the most common being the Abt railway.[1] After closing of the railway, most of the railway infrastructure was removed, except for a few buildings and bridges.

History

Surveying for the railway line began in 1892.[2] A bill for construction of the railway was introduced into the Tasmanian House of Assembly in November 1892.[3] A further survey was undertaken in March 1893 to determine the best route[4] and in June the same year preparations were made to float the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company to undertake the work.[5]

Services

The line was primarily the only transport service out of Queenstown prior to roads being constructed. Passenger and freight services were consistent over the duration of the operation of the railway.

In the 1920s as typical passenger service was the daily mail train that left Queenstown at 8 am for 10 am arrival at Regatta Point. The return trip being 4.30 pm from Regatta Point to 6.30 pm arrival in Queenstown.[6]

Mine lease railways

Mount Lyell company had railways on its lease that were separate from the mainline between Queenstown and Strahan.[7] The company constructed a haulage line to the mining operations on the ridge between Mount Owen and Mount Lyell in the early decades of operations.

The company had small gauge lines to move materials on the lease.

In later stages of operations, the mine had an underground railway to haul ore to the processing facilities on the lease.

2000s

The reconstructed railway over the most of the original formation with some variations:

2002 operated under the name of the Abt Wilderness Railway.[8]
2013 Federal Hotels withdrew from operations
2014 reopened as the West Coast Wilderness Railway

References
  1. Rae, LG (2005), The Abt Railway, Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies, retrieved 2 September 2021
  2. "More Railways". Zeehan and Dundas Herald. Vol. II, no. 192. Tasmania, Australia. 11 August 1892. p. 2. Retrieved 3 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "Parliament of Tasmania". The Mercury. Vol. LX, no. 7, 101. Tasmania, Australia. 26 November 1892. p. 1 (The Mercury Supplement). Retrieved 3 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Strahan". The Mercury. Vol. LXI, no. 7, 184. Tasmania, Australia. 4 March 1893. p. 3. Retrieved 3 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "The Mount Lyell and Railway Company". Daily Telegraph. Vol. XIII, no. 142. Tasmania, Australia. 16 June 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 3 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "Mount Lyell Railway (Private Line)", Walch's Tasmanian almanac for ..., Rex Nan Kivell Collection, Hobart, Tas: J. Walch & Sons ((1929)), 1870, nla.obj-3016904733, retrieved 27 June 2023 – via Trove
  7. Mainwaring, Ross; Light Railway Research Society of Australia, (issuing body.) (2020), Beneath the peak of Lyell : the Mount Lyell mines and their 2 ft gauge tramways, Light Railway Research Society of Australia, ISBN 978-0-909340-55-1
  8. Winning Post Productions (Tas.); Peter Richman Productions (Tas.) (2000), The West Coasters : the convicts, the piners, the miners, tourism and the rebirth of the Abt Wilderness Railway, Peter Richman Productions, retrieved 2 September 2021
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