Northampton railway line
Northampton railway line was a railway line that ran from Geraldton through Northampton and on to Ajana in Western Australia that operated between 1879 and 1957.
Contents
Government railway
It was the first government railway constructed in Western Australia, and was from Geraldton to Ajana, which passed through Northampton.[1][2][3]
The railway station built for the line in 1879 was the first railway station in Geraldton.
In 2005 an old railway wagon was identified as being possibly the first item of rolling stock built for use on the line [4]
Opening
It opened to Northampton on 26 July 1879.[5] The Geraldton to Northampton was 33 miles 25 chains (53.6 km) in length, and the Northampton to Ajana section was 33 miles 5 chains (53.2 km),[6] and was a later extension.[7] The line closed on 29 April 1957.[8]
Locomotives
The line, as an isolated line, was constructed by two 2-6-0 Kitson locomotives. Originally classed as E1 and E2 they were later classified as M class. They were constructed in 1875, and were in service on the line until 1893. Also between 1879 and 1885 two Fairlie locomotives worked on the line [9]
Northampton railway station
Northampton had two railway stations, the first (named Gwalla) lasted between 26 July 1879 until January 1884. The second (named Mary Street) was opened in 1913 and closed when the railway closed in 1957 [10]
Stopping places
- Geraldton
- Bluff Point (junction to Narngulu)[11]
- Webberton
- Waggrakine
- Glenfield
- Wokarina (junction to Yuna)
- White Peak
- Oakajee
- Howatharra
- Oakabella
- McGuire
- Iseeka
- Chally
- Bowes
- Northampton
- Baddera
- Ogilvie
- Hutt
- Binnu
- Ajana (terminus)
See also
Notes
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Joyce, John (editor) (1979) Western Australia's first government railway, 1879-1957 compiled from the researches of Adrian Gunzburg [et al.].Bayswater, W.A. Australian Railway Historical Society, W.A. Division
- ↑ Geraldton - Northampton Government Railway, 1879-1957. Northampton news, July 2004, p.13.
- ↑ Warner, Gary. (2005) Piece of history. (Car No. AW323 discovered at Northampton - thought to be the first railway wagon built in Western Australia).Geraldton guardian, 14 Feb. 2005, p.3
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. page 64, appendix G.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Milne, Rod (2001) Rails to Ajana Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, February, 2001 pp. 45-53
- ↑ See Rogers regardlinc contemporary accounts of the Fairlie locomotives unsuitabilty for the line. See also Gunzburg for more details regarding the fates of the locomotives - Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ opened between Geraldton and Bluff Point – 26 July 1879 – page 68 WN75Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Further reading
- Higham, Geoffrey (2006) Where was that? An Historical Gazetteer of Western Australia, Winthrop, W.A. Geoproject Solutions Pty Ltd. ISBN 0-646-44186-8
