Railways and Tramways of Australia

Three ways across the Darling Range

 

The railway between Guildford and Chidlow in Western Australia was opened on 11 March 1884.

 

Following the opening of Perth’s first railway in 1881, there was momentum for expansion of the network. A contract was let for construction of a line from Guildford to Chidlow’s Well (now Chidlow), a distance of 21 miles (34 km). It was opened without ceremony on 11 March 1884.

 

When opened, traffic on the line was mostly stone, timber and sandalwood. There was one passenger train per day. A considerable increase in goods and passenger traffic arose from further extensions of the line to York in 1885 and Northam in 1886.

 

Completion of the railway involved crossing the Darling Range, or Darling Scarp, also referred to as Perth Hills. The first section from Guildford to Bellevue was around three miles (5 km) in length and the line then began to ascend sharply, with extensive gradients of 1 in 30, among the steepest in Australia. It climbed through Darlington and Mundaring before reaching a point near Sawyers Valley, from where the line descended.

 

Steep gradients posed difficulties, particularly with increasing traffic. A new route with easier gradients was opened through Parkerville in 1896, having a maximum gradient of 1 in 45. The original line became a branch, referred to as the Mundaring Line. It was eventually closed in 1966.

 

A third route was opened through the Avon Valley in 1966, featuring easier gradients as well as dual standard and narrow gauge tracks. This line remains in use.

 

The three routes of the Eastern Railway to Northam have served a valuable role in connecting Perth with inland Western Australia. Remnants of the first two routes still exist, while the current main line continues to carry trains across the Darling Range.

 

Bibliography

GJ Higham, Over the range: railways across the Darling Range of Western Australia, Australian Railway Historical Society (WA Division, Perth),

     1968.

MA Park, ‘Some notes on the Western Australian Government Railways – II’, Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, no. 124, February

     1948, pp 16–19.

N Zeplin, ‘The Avon Valley Deviation’, Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, no. 362, December 1967, pp 254–65.