View source for Commonwealth Railways

{{Short description|Australian railway operator (1912–1975)}}
{{Distinguish|Commonwealth Railway}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2011}}
{{Infobox company
|name             = Commonwealth Railways
|logo             = Commonwealth Railways crest from front of diesel locomotive (NMA).png
|logo_size        = 
|logo_caption     = 
|image            = GM2_National_Railway_Museum_Port_Adelaide.jpg
|image_size       = 400px
|image_caption    = Preserved [[Commonwealth Railways GM class]] diesel locomotive at the [[National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide]]
|type             = 
|traded_as        = 
|industry         = Railway operator
|fate             = 
|predecessor      = 
|successor        = [[Australian National Railways Commission]], branded as Australian National and subsequently&nbsp;AN
|foundation       = 1917
|founder          = 
|defunct          = June 1975
|location_city    = [[Port Augusta]]
|location_country = 
|locations        = 
|area_served      = [[Northern Territory]]<br />[[South Australia]]<br />[[Western Australia]]
|key_people       = 
|products         = 
|production       = 
|services         = 
|revenue          = 
|operating_income = 
|net_income       = 
|assets           = 
|equity           = 
|owner            = 
|num_employees    = 
|parent           = [[Government of Australia|Australian Government]], termed Commonwealth Government when the Commonwealth Railways were extant
|divisions        = 
|subsid           = }}

The '''Commonwealth Railways''' were established in 1917 by the [[Government of Australia]] with the Commonwealth Railways Act to administer the [[Trans-Australian Railway|Trans-Australia]] and [[Adelaide-Darwin railway|Port Augusta to Darwin]] railways. In 1975, all assets were acquired by the [[Australian National Railways Commission]], branded as Australian National Railways and subsequently Australian National, trademarked as AN.

==Operated railways==

===Trans-Australian Railway===
{{Main|Trans-Australian Railway}}
Construction of the [[standard-gauge]] Trans-Australian Railway between [[Port Augusta railway station|Port Augusta]] and [[Kalgoorlie railway station|Kalgoorlie]] commenced in 1912. Despite the inhospitable nature of the terrain<ref name=BulletinNov56>{{cite magazine| title=Ways in the Wastelands| last=Gigney| first=M.E.| magazine=[[Australian Railway History|Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin]]| date=November 1956| pages=149–160}}</ref> and wartime supply problems, satisfactory progress was made, and the two tracklaying machines, one working from each end, met near [[Ooldea]] on 17 October 1917.

The promise to construct the Trans-Australian Railway had been one of the principal inducements to [[Western Australia]] to join the [[Australia|Commonwealth of Australia]] during [[Federation of Australia|federation]], and it was for the purpose of surveying and constructing this railway that the Commonwealth Railways Department was initially formed. It was a matter of misfortune that its two termini were [[break-of-gauge]] stations connecting with narrow-gauge lines that formed part of the transcontinental link.

In 1937, the eastern end was extended south to [[Port Pirie Junction railway station|Port Pirie]], enabling one less break of gauge in the trip across Australia, but at the same time establishing a three-gauge junction at Port Pirie with the {{RailGauge|1600mm}} broad gauge [[South Australian Railways]] line to [[Adelaide]].

The Trans-Australian Railway remained an isolated stretch of standard-gauge track between two narrow-gauge railways until 1968, when the Kalgoorlie to [[Perth]] standard-gauge line replaced the line at the western end, and 1970 when a standard-gauge line from Port Pirie to [[Broken Hill railway station|Broken Hill]] replaced a narrow-gauge line, completing the long-delayed project to connect Perth to [[Sydney]] with one standard gauge.

The Trans-Australian Railway remained fundamentally a single-track main line, the only branch line being a short section from [[Pimba, South Australia|Pimba]] to [[Woomera, South Australia|Woomera]] (officially known as a stores siding, though a passenger service operated when Woomera was the base of a large [[RAAF Woomera Range Complex#Anglo-Australian|rocket testing range]]). There are two junctions: one on the outskirts of Port Augusta is the line to [[Whyalla]], which opened for traffic in 1972; and one at Tarcoola is the [[Central Australia Railway]], which opened in 1980.

===North Australia Railway===
{{Main|North Australia Railway}}
[[File:Commonwealth Railways NSU class diesel-electric locomotive at the Old Ghan Heritage Railway and Museum, 2006.jpg|thumb|Preserved [[Commonwealth Railways NSU class|NSU class]] narrow-gauge diesel-electric locomotive at the [[Old Ghan Heritage Railway and Museum]], [[Alice Springs]], in 2006. As with the NT class, these locomotives operated on both the North Australia Railway and the Central Australia Railway.]]

The North Australia Railway was the name given to the Northern Territory narrow-gauge railway that extended south from [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] to [[Birdum, Northern Territory|Birdum]]. Construction of this line was commenced by the [[Government of South Australia]], being known then as the Palmerston & Pine Creek Railway, it opened in 1889.<ref name=BulletinNov56/>

When the administration of the Northern Territory passed from South Australia to the Commonwealth Government on 1 January 1911, the railway was transferred to Commonwealth ownership. The railway was initially placed under the control of the Administrator of the Northern Territory. At this time, it was known as the Northern Territory Railway, but was transferred to the control of the Commonwealth Railways Commissioner in 1918.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=The North Australia Railway, 1911–1939| last=Harvey| first=J.L.| magazine=Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin| date=August 1970| pages=169–192}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| title=The North Australia Railway, 1911–1939| last=Harvey| first=J.L.| magazine=Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin| date=November 1970| pages=241–259}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| title=The North Australia Railway, 1911–1939| last=Harvey| first=J.L.| magazine=Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin| date=February 1971| pages=39–47}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| title=The North Australia Railway, 1911–1939| last=Harvey| first=J.L.| magazine=Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin| date=March 1971| pages=58–65}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| title=The North Australia Railway, 1911–1939| last=Harvey| first=J.L.| magazine=Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin| date=April 1971| pages=73–88}}</ref>

It was renamed the North Australia Railway in 1926. Extensions to Birdum were completed in 1929, but during and following [[World War II]], the effective railhead was [[Larrimah]], a few miles north.

The railway gained increased importance in the 1960s and early 1970s through the mining of iron ore from the [[Pine Creek, Northern Territory|Frances Creek]] deposits, about 230 kilometres south of Darwin. Ore traffic exceeded one million tons per annum, but after the mine closed, other traffic was not enough to justify keeping the railway open and it closed in 1976.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=The Closure of the North Australia Railway| last=Bayley| first=William A.| magazine=Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin| date=June 1977| pages=121–127}}</ref>

===Australian Capital Territory Railway===
{{Main|Canberra railway station}}
In March 1913, work began on an 8.5 kilometre [[standard-gauge]] line from [[Canberra railway station|Canberra]] to [[Queanbeyan railway station|Queanbeyan]] on the [[Bombala railway line|Bombala line]]. The line was constructed by the [[New South Wales Public Works Department]] on behalf of the Federal Government.<ref name=HJWStokes>{{cite book| last=Stokes| first=H.J.W.| title=Railways of the Canberra and Monaro Districts| year=1984| publisher=Australian Railway Historical Society, ACT Division| location=Canberra}}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2021}} Canberra station along with the line to Queanbeyan was owned and staffed by Commonwealth Railways even though all services on the line were operated by the [[New South Wales Government Railways]].<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Canberra Line Handover| magazine=Railway Digest| date=May 1985| page=136}}</ref>

===Central Australia Railway===
{{Main|Central Australia Railway}}
[[File:NTswirrabarra.jpg|thumb|Ex-Commonwealth Railways [[Commonwealth Railways NT class|NT class]] locomotives NT67 and NT76 loading a bulk wheat train at [[Wirrabara, South Australia|Wirrabara]] in 1987 on the now-abandoned [[Gladstone railway station, South Australia|Gladstone]]–[[Wilmington, South Australia|Wilmington]] narrow-gauge railway line of the former [[South Australian Railways]]. The locomotives are badged as [[:en:Australian National Railways Commission|Australian National Railways]], the entity that took over the operations of both the Commonwealth Railways and the South Australian Railways in 1975.]]

The Central Australia Railway extended from [[Port Augusta railway station|Port Augusta]] to [[Alice Springs]]. Work on the first section of this railway was commenced by the [[South Australian Railways]] in 1878.<ref name=BulletinNov56/>

Under South Australian ownership, the railway, known as the Great Northern Railway,<ref>{{Citation | title=Starting point of the Great Northern Railway, South Australia | publication-date=1881 | publisher=Alfred May and Alfred Martin Ebsworth | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/167576364 | access-date=25 November 2023}}</ref> was extended in stages and reached [[Oodnadatta]] in 1891. The South Australian Government subsequently made offers to several syndicates to construct a line north from Oodnadatta to [[Pine Creek, Northern Territory|Pine Creek]] on the land grant system, however negotiations were unsuccessful and Oodnadatta remained the railhead.

Like the [[North Australia Railway]], this railway passed to Commonwealth ownership on 1 January 1911, but continued to be operated by the South Australian Railways until the Commonwealth Railways took over operations on 1 January 1926. An extension of the railway to Alice Springs was completed in 1929.

In the years following [[World War II]], large tonnages of coal were railed from [[Telford Cut|Leigh Creek]] and heavy demands were placed on the railway. In many ways, the original line was inadequate; sharp curves and heavy gradients limited train loads, whilst light track and bridges restricted speeds and axle loads. Consequently, a new [[standard-gauge]] [[Marree railway line|Stirling North to Marree line]] was constructed and extended from [[Stirling North]], via Telford to [[Marree railway station|Marree]]. During the construction stages, and after washaways on the old line, but with the new standard-gauge line available to that point, complete trains of narrow-gauge wagons were carried ([[Piggy-back (transportation)#Rail|Piggyback]] style) to Brachina, 140 kilometres from Stirling North.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=The 'Pick-a-Back' Train| last=Buckland| first=J.L.| magazine=Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin| date=December 1955| pages=157–162}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| title=Carpe Diem – Seize the Day| last=Smith| first=Keith A.| magazine=Australian Railway History| date=March 2006| pages=103–112}}</ref> Completed in 1957, the new line enabled much larger quantities of coal to be carried.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=The Stirling North-Marree Standard Gauge Railway| last=Castle| first=B.J.| magazine=Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin| date=February 1958| pages=17–22}}</ref>

The old narrow-gauge line between Marree and [[Hawker, South Australia|Hawker]] was closed, but between Stirling North and Hawker it was retained and used to a limited extent for some years. The line between Stirling North and Hawker was closed in 1972 and the section between Stirling North and [[Quorn railway station|Quorn]] handed over to the operations of the [[Pichi Richi Railway]].

==Gauges==

===Narrow gauge===
The Commonwealth Railways owned and operated {{RailGauge|1067mm|lk=on}} [[narrow-gauge]] lines on the [[Central Australia Railway]] ([[Port Augusta railway station|Port Augusta]] via [[Quorn railway station|Quorn]] and [[Marree railway station|Marree]] to [[Alice Springs]]); and the [[North Australia Railway]].

===Standard gauge===
The Commonwealth Railways owned and operated {{RailGauge|1435mm}} [[standard-gauge]] lines on the [[Trans-Australian Railway]]; the Central Australia Railway (both [[Tarcoola railway station|Tarcoola]] to Alice Springs and Port Augusta via [[Telford Cut|Leigh Creek]] to Marree); and Whyalla to Port Augusta.

==Named trains==

===The Ghan===
{{Main|The Ghan}}
[[File:Restaurant car old Ghan-train.jpg|thumb|Preserved carriage from the narrow-gauge [[The Ghan|Ghan]] in [[Alice Springs]] in February 2009]]
[[File:Rhondda_Tomlinson_001.tif|thumb|A Commonwealth Railways engine in Alice Springs, 1969]]
The Ghan train commenced operation for the Commonwealth Railways when they took over the narrow-gauge [[Central Australia Railway]] from the [[South Australian Railways]] in 1926. It ran between [[Port Augusta, South Australia|Port Augusta]] and [[Oodnadatta]] initially, being extended to [[Alice Springs|Alice Springs (Mparntwe)]] in 1929. When the [[Marree railway line|new standard gauge]] to [[Marree railway station|Marree]] line opened in 1957 the journey was broken into two. A standard-gauge run from [[Port Pirie Junction railway station|Port Pirie Junction]] to Marree, with the rest of the journey remaining on narrow gauge.

===Indian Pacific===
{{Main|Indian Pacific}}
The Indian Pacific commenced operating in February 1970 between [[Central railway station, Sydney|Sydney]] and [[East Perth railway station|Perth]] following completion of the standard gauge line. Commonwealth Railways were responsible for the train from [[Port Pirie (Mary Elie Street) railway station|Port Pirie]] to [[Kalgoorlie railway station|Kalgoorlie]].

===Tea & Sugar===
{{Main|Tea & Sugar Train}}
The Tea & Sugar was a train that serviced isolated Australian towns between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie. The train provided all the supplies for remote towns in [[South Australia|South]] and [[Western Australia]] that were mainly inhabited by railway workers who maintained the line.

===Trans-Australian===
{{Main|Trans-Australian}}
[[File:GM29 Rawlinna, 1986.JPG|thumb|[[Commonwealth Railways GM class|GM class]] on the [[Trans-Australian]] at [[Rawlinna]] in May 1986]]
The Trans-Australian Passenger train ran between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie that commenced in 1917 and was still being operated by Australian National when it ceased in 1991.

==Fleet==
For its standard gauge operations, Commonwealth Railways purchased [[Commonwealth Railways G class|G]], [[Commonwealth Railways K class|K]], [[Commonwealth Railways KA class|KA]], [[Commonwealth Railways C class|C]], [[Commonwealth Railways CA class|CA]], [[Commonwealth Railways CN class|CN]] and [[Commonwealth Railways L class|L]] class steam locomotives. From 1951, it purchased [[Clyde Engineering]] built [[Commonwealth Railways GM class|GM]] and [[Commonwealth Railways CL class|CL]] class diesel locomotives. It also purchased three [[Commonwealth Railways CB class railcar|CB railcars]].

For its narrow gauge operations, [[Commonwealth Railways NC class|NC]], [[Commonwealth Railways NSU class|NSU]], [[Commonwealth Railways NT class|NT]] and [[Commonwealth Railways NJ class|NJ]] diesels were purchased to replace steam locomotives inherited from the South Australian Railways in 1911.

In 1936, the company owned 105 locomotives, 2 railcars, 67 coaches, 14 brake vans and over 1000 freight wagons.<ref>{{cite book |title=World Survey of Foreign Railways |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HxHLQGfxDa0C&pg=RA2-PA1 |year=1936 |publisher=Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C.|language=English |page=15}}</ref>

==Commissioners==
*1917–1929 – [[Norris Garrett Bell]]
*1929–1948 – George A. Gahan
*1948–1960 – P. J. Hannaberry
*1960–1975 – [[Keith Smith (engineer)|Keith Smith]]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2001/s331040.htm| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106191457/http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2001/s331040.htm| archive-date=November 6, 2012| title=Alice to Darwin railway construction begins (transcript)| website=ABC 7:30 Report| date=17 July 2001}}</ref>

==Demise==
[[Australian National Railways Commission|Australian National Railways]] was established by the [[Whitlam government|Whitlam Federal Government]] following a commitment made in the [[1972 Australian federal election|1972 election]] to invite the states to hand over their railway systems to the federal government. In July 1975, Australian National Railways was formed taking over the operations of Commonwealth Railways.

During the next two years, discussions between the state governments of [[South Australia]] and [[Tasmania]] and the federal government resulted in all [[South Australian Railways]] services (except the [[Adelaide]] metropolitan passenger network) and all [[Tasmanian Government Railways]] services transferring to Australian National Railway in March 1978, the latter being rebranded [[AN Tasrail]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{Anchen-Iron Roads}}
*{{cite book |last1=Anchen |first1=Nick |title=Outback Railwaymen: Life on the Commonwealth Railways |date=2019 |publisher=Sierra Publishing |location=Ferntree Gully, Vic. |isbn=9780992538880}}
*{{FluMarWil-LocRailCR}}
* {{cite magazine| last=Henshaw| first=C.H.| title=Overland to Perth in 1928| magazine=Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin| date=April 1964}}
*{{Luke-Riders}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Trains}}
*[https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C1917A00031 Commonwealth Railways Act 1917]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100513031954/http://www.comrails.com/common/index2.html Chris's Commonwealth Railways Pages]
*[http://www.natrailmuseum.org.au National Railway Museum]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Commonwealth Railways| ]]
[[Category:Former government railways of Australia]]
[[Category:Trans-Australian Railway]]
[[Category:Australian companies established in 1917]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1917]]
[[Category:Australian companies disestablished in 1975]]
[[Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1975]]