The Kalgoorlie

The Kalgoorlie was a railway passenger service operated by the Western Australian Government Railways between November 1962 and November 1971.

The Kalgoorlie
P class locomotive with the Kalgoorlie Express at Kalgoorlie station in 1935
Overview
Service typeOvernight passenger train
StatusCeased
First service3 December 1962
Last service28 November 1971
SuccessorThe Prospector
Former operator(s)Western Australian Government Railways
Route
TerminiPerth
Kalgoorlie
Distance travelled611 kilometres
Average journey time14 hours
Service frequency6 x weekly
Train number(s)85/86
Line(s) usedEastern
Eastern Goldfields

Earlier services

Following the opening of the Eastern Goldfields Railway to Kalgoorlie in December 1887, passenger services from Perth commenced.

Although not officially named, the service was often referred to as the Great Eastern Express,[1] Kalgoorlie Express[2] or the Kalgoorlie Passenger.[3]

Following the opening of the Trans-Australian Railway in October 1917, the service's importance increased with the commencement of the Trans-Australian Express[4] from Port Augusta in South Australia.[5]

By May 1921, a separate overnight express (later named The Westland) for interstate passengers and mail was introduced and it became the connecting train with the Trans-Australian Express.[6][7]

The Kalgoorlie

The existing service remained to service intrastate passengers and was named The Kalgoorlie on 3 December 1962. Following the conversion of the Eastern and Eastern Goldfields lines to standard gauge, The Kalgoorlie was scheduled to be replaced by The Prospector. However delays in delivery of new rolling stock saw the existing narrow gauge service continue. As it was the only narrow gauge train traversing the Northam to Merredin section of the Eastern line, it was diverted via Wyalkatchem in October 1970 to allow the old line to close. The Kalgoorlie last ran on 28 November 1971.[6][7][8]

Ship namesake

In the 1890s and early 1900s a coastal steamer in Australia was known as The Kalgoorlie.[9][10]

See also

References
  1. "GREAT WESTERN EXPRESS". The West Australian. Vol. XLVIII, no. 9, 370. Western Australia. 8 July 1932. p. 18. Retrieved 18 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia. - where the railway service to Kalgoorlie from the eastern states was known as the Great Western Express, and by extension, the train from Kalgoorlie to Perth carried the same name
  2. "KALGOORLIE EXPRESS". The West Australian. Vol. XLVII, no. 8, 994. Western Australia. 22 April 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 18 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "TWO DIVISIONS NECESSARY". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 1876. Western Australia. 7 January 1934. p. 10 (First Section). Retrieved 18 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "THE GOLDFIELDS". Kalgoorlie Miner. Vol. 25, no. 6164. Western Australia. 4 February 1919. p. 6. Retrieved 18 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "TRIP TO WESTERN AUSTRALIA". The Telegraph. No. 17, 445. Queensland, Australia. 31 October 1928. p. 10 (CITY EDITION). Retrieved 18 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia. - an early account of the 1920s.
  6. Nock, Oswald (1971). Railways of Australia. London: Adam & Charles Black. p. 100. ISBN 0-7136-1190-1.
  7. Higham, Geoffrey (2007). Marble Bar to Mandurah: A history of passenger rail services in Western Australia. Bassendean: Rail Heritage WA. pp. 116, 119, 122, 148. ISBN 978-0-9803922-0-3.
  8. May, Andrew S; Gray, Bill (2006). A History of WAGR Passenger Carriages. Midland, WA: Bill Gray. p. 263. ISBN 0646459023.
  9. "THE KALGOORLIE". Evening Journal. Vol. XXXV, no. 9971. South Australia. 23 December 1902. p. 1 (ONE O'CLOCK EDITION). Retrieved 18 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "THE KALGOORLIE". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. No. 7083. New South Wales, Australia. 23 July 1897. p. 4. Retrieved 18 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.

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