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Main Range Railway is a heritage-listed railway corridor from the end of railway station at Murphys Creek to the Ruthven Street overbridge, Harlaxton, Queensland, Australia. It forms part of the Main Line railway. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 February 2009. == History == The Main Range Railway, between Murphys Creek and Harlaxton on the outskirts of Toowoomba, was built in 1865-1867 by railway builders Peto, Brassey and Betts, for the colonial Government of Queensland.〔 The Main Range, part of Australia's Great Dividing Range, was a formidable geological barrier to trade following pastoral settlement on the Darling Downs in the 1840s. An adequate transport link between sheep stations and the ports of Brisbane and Ipswich became increasingly important to enable the export of wool and the import of station supplies. A number of dray routes were used, with varying degrees of difficulty, to move goods and people across the Main Range during the 1840s. From 1847 Spicer's Gap replaced Cunningham's Gap (1828) as the preferred route in the southern Downs region. On the northern end of the Downs, Gorman's Gap was used from 1840, followed by Hodgson's Gap in 1842.〔 In 1855 the Toll Bar Road was opened and the traffic that soon came to use this route facilitated the expansion of the settlement of "The Swamp", from 1857 officially known as Toowoomba. By the early 1860s Toowoomba was the principal settlement on the Darling Downs, supplanting nearby Drayton as the service centre for the surrounding district. In this period, the pastoralists of the Darling Downs wielded significant political and economic power in the young colony of Queensland. This influenced the decision to initiate Queensland's railway network from Ipswich, considered the port for the Darling Downs, rather than Brisbane.〔 Queensland's earliest endeavours toward constructing a railway were through the activities of the Moreton Bay Tramway Company. The company intended to construct a tramway with horses hauling vehicles on timber rails, surveying a route between Ipswich and Toowoomba in 1861. The company failed to raise sufficient capital for the project to succeed and by the end of 1862 was insolvent.〔 Thereafter, the Queensland Government took responsibility for building the colony's railways. The first Railway Bill, authorising the government to construct and borrow funds for this purpose was passed on 3 September 1863. In the lead up to the Bill, Irish civil engineer Abraham Fitzgibbon, estimating comparative construction costs of rail gauges between Ipswich and Toowoomba, recommended to the government the adoption of a light railway with a 3-foot 6 inch narrow gauge (1067 mm). The ascent of the Main Range was the principal engineering and expense obstacle for the railway to Toowoomba and a narrow gauge allowed for tighter rail curves on the Range incline. A lighter railway with extensive use of curved track meant cheaper construction costs, lessening capital outlay. After much debate, the Queensland government adopted Fitzgibbon's proposal. While contemporary examples of shorter narrow gauge railways existed in other parts of the world, none were of the length or scale proposed for Queensland. The railway between Ipswich and Toowoomba was the first use of a narrow gauge for a main line.〔 Shortly after the bill was passed, Fitzgibbon was contracted as Chief Engineer, responsible for surveying the line, providing specifications and construction supervision. On 23 December 1863 he was appointed as Queensland's first Commissioner of Railways, a post held until October 1864. Sir Charles Fox was appointed consulting engineer, responsible for selecting the various components such as trains, rails and bridges to facilitate the railway. Samuel Willcox was responsible for the workforce involved in constructing the line.〔 The construction of the line between Ipswich and Toowoomba was divided into five sections. Section 1 was from Ipswich to Grandchester and opened on 31 July 1865. Tenders were called for Sections 2, 3, 4 and 5 on 24 August 1864 to extend the line from Grandchester to Toowoomba. Messrs Peto, Brassey and Betts, contractors with extensive world-wide experience in railway construction and builders of Section 1, were awarded the contract on 27 February 1865 for a sum of £515,000.〔 Section 5, the ascent of the Main Range from Murphy's Creek to Toowoomba was the most difficult section to engineer, involving steep gradients of 1 in 50, nine tunnels, 47 bridges, 126 curves, numerous cuttings, embankments, culverts and nearly 18 miles (32 km) of track work. Extensive use of five chain (100m) radius rail was necessary to negotiate the ascent. Nearly two thirds of the line required cutting, approximately one quarter embankments and the remainder tunnelling and bridging, over a rise close to 1200 feet (365.76 metres). Section 5 was engineered in two separate stages, delineated by the current site of Spring Bluff Station. The incline from this point towards Toowoomba provided the most engineering challenges within Section 5, with work including five tunnels and three major bridges.〔 The immense scale of the Main Range Railway demanded large numbers of skilled and unskilled workers to complete the project. The Queensland Government's immigration agent advertised in Great Britain and Germany for railway workers, offering free passage on the Black Ball shipping line to artisans such as excavators, bridge carpenters, masons and bricklayers. During April 1866 a total of 1009 workmen were employed along Section 5.〔 Peto, Brassey and Betts contracted work for specified lengths of line or engineering features to agents, who were responsible for ensuring contracts were adhered to and who in turn employed gangs of workers. Peto, Brassey and Betts also appointed an Engineer-In-Charge, Robert Ballard, to oversee construction on the Main Range. Prior to working on the Main Range, Ballard had gained experience in tunnel construction in New South Wales and his expertise in challenging engineering work, especially tunnelling, determined his appointment. Ballard's high standard of work on Section 5 (the Main Range Railway), in comparison with other sections of the Ipswich to Toowoomba line, was noted in reports soon after its completion and was considered the least expensive section of the Ipswich-Toowoomba railway to maintain. The high standard of his work on the Main Range Railway later earned him appointments as Superintending Engineer on Queensland's Great Northern (later known as Central) Railway in 1872 and as Chief Engineer for the Central and Northern railways (1882). He was granted £5,000 in the 1880s by the Queensland government for his achievements in cost-effective railway construction.〔 With the large amount of cutting and tunnelling required, much of the labour force was engaged in heavy manual labour to remove earth. While explosives were used to blast through rock, the work relied on large teams of men excavating with pick and shovel, assisted by horse and bullock teams to move earth, which was then used to create embankments. Such work in difficult terrain carried with it a high degree of risk and a number of work-related injuries and deaths occurred along the line during construction.〔 Tunnels were constructed where the terrain was too difficult to create cuttings. Two were ready for brick lining on 1 November 1865, one on 1 January 1866 and another on 13 Feb 1866. By April 1866 three quarters of the tunnelling had been excavated and work had begun on lining the tunnels. Within the tunnels, curved and straight rail, or a combination of both were laid. In addition to its two portals, tunnel 8 was constructed with the aid of a side gallery to allow boring to proceed on four faces. The side gallery is the only example of a side gallery on a railway tunnel thought to exist in Australia.〔 The tunnels built for the Main Range Railway are among Australia's earliest. In Queensland the only tunnels predating those of the Main Range are the two built through the Little Liverpool range in Section 2 of the main line, opening 1 June 1866 (still in use). The first railway tunnels were built in Victoria on the double line between Melbourne and Bendigo, opening in 1862 (still in use). New South Wales' first tunnel, initially supervised by Ballard, was the Redbank Range Tunnel at Picton which opened in early 1867 (since closed).〔 A large quarry now known as Cliffdale was established roughly halfway up the Main Range during construction, to supply ballast for the line. In later years the quarry was furnished with its own siding (since removed) and loading area, with stone extracted from the site into the 1950s.〔 The navvies (construction workers) and contractors resided in a number of camps along the course of the railway. From the base of the range upwards, camps included Gibbon's, Fountain's, Holmes', Main Range, Ballard's and Cameron's, generally named after the person responsible for the section of line in a particular area. The camps operated as temporary townships and bases for specific engineering projects. Bricks were being manufactured at Ballard's camp by August 1865. Peto, Brassey and Betts supplied a prefabricated church at Ballard's and buildings were supplied for community use at other camps. Fountain's, Holmes' and Ballard's camps were the most substantial, with Ballard's working population reported at about 500 in mid-1865.〔 Stores such as butchers and bakers were established and fresh produce was sourced from Toowoomba and Ipswich. Numerous drinking houses, legal and otherwise, provided workers with alcohol, meals and entertainment. Although many workers were single men, around one third were accompanied by their families. The makeshift nature of the camps led to inadequate sanitation with typhoid and diphtheria causing the death of a number of infants and young children in 1866 and 1867. One murder at Holmes camp and a small number of accidental deaths at campsites also occurred. Some 22 deaths (mainly infants) were recorded at Main Range camp.〔 The construction of the Main Range Railway took just over two years to complete. It was one of the most important early public works undertaken in Queensland and a major government investment in infrastructure. The first train to cross the Range made its entry into Toowoomba on 12 April 1867 and the official opening of the line took place on 30 April 1867.〔 The railway soon became the dominant transport artery for the movement of goods and people between Toowoomba and Ipswich. From Toowoomba the Western Line extended to Dalby in 1868 while the Southern Line reached Warwick by 1871. Numerous visitors to the Darling Downs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries marvelled at the engineering and scenic qualities of the Main Range Railway. Until road transportation began to dominate in the twentieth century, the railway was intrinsically associated with the development of pastoral, agricultural and mining industries, closer settlement and the growth of townships on the Darling Downs and south western Queensland.〔 The Main Range Railway was one of the most challenging sections of line for enginemen during the steam era on the Queensland Railways. Despite the advent of more powerful locomotives during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the combination of sharp curves, steep grades and tunnels created difficult conditions for crews. Railway workers needed to ensure adequate supplies of coal and water to negotiate the crossing and banking engines were employed between Murphy's Creek and Toowoomba to assist ascending trains. On curved sections of track inner check rails were laid to minimise the possibility of derailment after 1897. Sandboxes were placed along the line to assist wheel traction. Despite being a difficult stretch of railway to work, the Main Range line has been relatively free of major disasters. Of the fatal incidents that have occurred, the worst was the Murphy's Creek collision (1913) when six men were killed.〔 Since its opening in 1867 the Main Range line has sustained a high level of usage with various maintenance and upgrading works ensuring its continuity as a vital transport link. By 1868 excessive wear from steep grades and sharp curves was reported and some sections of iron rail were replaced with steel. From 1875 all curves sharper than 10 chain radius were re-laid with steel. In 1879 a proposal by Chief Engineer Stanley to re-lay track on the Main Range, to enable the use of heavier engines and to reduce maintenance was approved, with the work completed by 1883.〔 In 1882 plans for a plate girder overbridge were drawn up for the Ruthven Street overbridge, at the range summit near Harlaxton. The plate girder replaced an earlier timber structure but the existing brick abutments were retained. Only a small number of railway bridges with brick abutments were ever built in Queensland. A report of the Main Range Railway line in March 1867 included a description of the brick abutments and stone facings of the overbridge on the road to Highfields. As other surviving examples post-date the construction of the Main Range Railway, the brick abutments are thought to be the oldest in Queensland.〔 Between 1899 and 1902 the track was strengthened to support 12 ton axle loads and realigned to eliminate curves below a five chain radius, while the inadequate original iron girder bridges on timber piers were replaced with embankments and culverts. During this period Swanson's Bridge (Swansons Rail Bridge), close to the summit of the range was constructed, notable as the first concrete arched rail bridge constructed in Australia. From the latter half of the 1990s to 2006, eleven timber bridges were replaced with steel or concrete drains. Other than the Swanson and Harlaxton bridges, only two remain: King's Bridge (timber) and Murphy's Creek Bridge (steel and concrete).〔 Over time, different materials including brick, stone and concrete have been used to stabilise cuttings, embankments and entrances to tunnels. Many of the culvert portals were replaced and sides of shallow cuttings removed on the south side of the track when an access road running parallel to the line was built between 1993 and 1996. More recently timber sleepers have been progressively replaced by concrete sleepers.〔 After the opening of the line, a number of stations and sidings were established along the route between Murphy's Creek and Toowoomba stations. Stations were located at Murphy's Creek (1867), Holmes, known as 87 Mile siding until 1912, Ballard, in use by 1876, Rangeview, a public station by 1949, and Harlaxton (1884). Sidings included Cliffdale (by 1912), 88 and 95 Mile (1916) and Calobra, Commonwealth and Magoon (1942). While most of the components of these places are gone, Spring Bluff Station (known as Highfields until 1890) survives as an example of the small railway settlements that used to exist on the range. Situated approximately halfway up the Main Range, equipped with a natural spring for watering and a level section of track, Spring Bluff has always been the principal halt between Murphy's Creek and Toowoomba and the only station equipped with a resident station master. Spring Bluff was utilised locally by nearby settlers and the Highfields sawmill.〔 By 1879, Spring Bluff station included a 7000-gallon gravity-fed supply of water, passenger station and office, porter's cottage and station master's residence. The existing station and night officer's quarters are thought to date from the 1880s. The crossing loop was extended in 1911 and 1959, with its current configuration dating from 1968. By 1963 the complex also included a signal cabin, single men's quarters (now removed), fettler's quarters, and loading bank. The station building contains two electric staff machines that demonstrate the safe management of multiple trains using the main range. No train driver was able to proceed between stations up or down the range without the issue of a staff. In 1992, Spring Bluff Station was decommissioned and Centralised Traffic Control (CTC) was installed.〔 From the early 1900s the picturesque surrounds of Spring Bluff became a popular local destination for recreation and leisure, with an entertainment shed provided on a rise behind the station between 1907 and 1911. In addition to recreation and leisure, Spring Bluff was and remains well known for its floral displays and gardens. Early evidence of efforts to beautify the surrounds exist in the sole remaining London Plane tree (platanus acerifolia), one of five planted in 1870. From the 1910s, Queensland Railways began promoting the beautification of stations and growing of vegetables by station staff, with competitions held for the best displays. During the 1930s and 1940s Station Master Ralph Kirsop, his wife Lillian and night officers undertook extensive improvements to the gardens, creating flower beds terraced with blue metal stone. Spring Bluff Station was awarded prizes numerous times for its floral displays and produce.〔 After a period of post-war neglect, resident railway workers from the 1960s were required to assist in the upkeep of the gardens. Since this time the gardens have continued to be cultivated, offering alternating floral displays in summer and spring. In the 1970s Queensland Rail began excursions from Toowoomba to Spring Bluff and these trips continue to operate during Toowoomba's Carnival of Flowers in September. During the last quarter of the twentieth century, Queensland Railways continued to improve visitor amenities at Spring Bluff. Work included extending the grassed area below the pavilion, addition of a cricket pitch, planting of native and exotic vegetation and lawn grasses, construction of bitumen pathways and installation of an ex-Guard's Van to serve refreshments. Since 1995 the Spring Bluff Railway Station Trust Management Committee, composed of representatives from local councils and Queensland Rail, has been responsible for the management of the site. Lion's Club members have also contributed to the upkeep of the grounds and gardens. The Spring Bluff railway complex remains a well patronised tourist attraction.〔 In the 1860s, the ambitious construction of the Main Range Railway provided the colony of Queensland a critical transport link for the export of goods from its interior. This role currently continues, with most of the traffic on the Main Range Railway laden with coal for overseas markets.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Main Range Railway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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