Travel Australia

Far Western Line, Tasmania

The still intact line at Parklands, a suburb of Burnie

The trains of Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) were very much late arrivals in the north west corner of Tasmania. By the 1880s, a sandy track followed the coast to the east and west of Burnie, and was being travelled by regular road coach services. In turn, coaches were replaced by buses and private cars. The road to Launceston was macadamised in 1885 and by 1901, the Government Railway was extended to Burnie, and later to Circular Head in 1922. In conjunction with the Emu Bay Railway Company, Burnie became the centre of a regional rail network during the early twentieth century.



Burnie Railway Station (above) was the terminus for a regional railway network for both commercial and passenger trade. Built railway infrastructure is increasingly rare in Tasmania, and the Station building is a very good example of its type. The Burnie Railway Station has a special association with the work and development of the Emu Bay Railway Company, one of the longest lasting and most successful private railway companies in Australia. The railway was of vital importance to West Coast mining operations, and from its establishment provided essential passenger services in an area with few roads.

Railway bridge over Black Creek

TGR extended its Western line from Burnie to Myalla in two stages in 1913. In 1919, an isolated line was opened from the Bass Strait port of Stanley, south to Trowutta to tap the timber and farming industries. Two years later, this line was extended from Irishtown Junction west to the major centre of Smithton. In 1922, the missing section – from Myalla to Wiltshire – was completed.


The alignment of the line coming into Stanley, visible from the air, 1960s

The railway came to Stanley in 1911, however the first railway link to the town being from Trowutta and not Burine.That link, by a single narrow gauge line, was completed in 1913 and became known as the Far Western Line. From Burnie to Wynyard, the line closely follows the coastline of Bass Strait, for the majority of route between the main road and the water, before turning inland and passing through the south of Wynyard township. The line was then extended from Myalla station to Irishtown (1919), Smithton (1921) and Wiltshire (1922).


Stanley railway station buildings

In the 1970s, with the increase in car ownership, funding for highways and the loss of goods consignments, the TGR's operations suffered, and passenger services were eventually ceased across the network. Hobart suburban services ended in 1974, with passenger services ending entirely in 1978. At present the line is intact and generally clear form Burnie to Wiltshire, but is not available to traffic. Cabins of the Caravan Park now occupy much of the northern end of the former railway yard. Proposals to rebuild the line in recent years have suggested a new alignment following the highway nearer the coast.

Western Line timetable, 1957

Operations in the area have varied over the years depending on where locomotives and crews have been based, and also the dominant traffics. From the 1980s, the dominant traffic on the line was outbound logs from Black River (just east of Wiltshire) with some supporting traffic to/from Stanley for the King Island shipping service, and to/from Smithton for the local processing industry. In 1990 the two extremities of the line were closed due to dwindling traffic, and outbound logs and silica stone, and inbound fertiliser traffic at Wiltshire became the sole reason for the line.

Preolenna Branch Line

Set amid rolling hills covered in a mix of green fields and eucalyptus forest, Flowerdale is situated where the Inglis River meets its largest tributary, the Flowerdale River. Near the river beyond where the road crosses the track of Far Western Line, are the remnants of Flowerdale station, where a line branched off to Preolenna.

The Preolenna railway line that was laid in 1917 to service coal mines and forestry activity in the area. Prior to the completion of the line, it was decided to extend it another 7.6km to Meunna, to better serve the small community there. In 1930, 3,500 tons was shipped out of Maweena, being a mix of coal or forestry products. By comparison, only 90 tons was being sent from Preolenna, so the line closed in 1931 when mining ceased. Most of the track was soon lifted, and today, very little can be seen.



As you approach Preolenna by road, you will come across a somewhat overgrown but still recognisable corridor through the bush, along which the railway had once travelled on its way to the mine. It is one small piece of evidence of Preolenna's mining past and of the railway that had been a lifeline to the miners and their community.

Marrawah Bush Tramway

The first tram load of cheese, butter and wool to Smithton on the Marrawah tramway

The never part of the Far Western Line, the Marrawah Bush Tramway met the main line at Smithton, where goods were transferred onto train to Burnie. The 45 km long tramway between Marrawah and Smithton ran on a narrow gauge of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm), its construction being initiated around 1911 to harvest timber in the Mowbray Swamp. The tramway was bought by the state government in October 1913 and the steel rails extended from Mowbray Swamp to Marrawah. It was decommissioned in 1961. The first sod of the new line was turned by the Governor, Sir Harry Barron, at Stanley on 4 May 1911. After the winter break the work resumed in August 1911. Iron rails for the line and a new locomotive were delivered by November 1911. Within a year, the line had been laid as far as the 13½ mile peg, and the formation completed to the Montagu River, 15½ miles out. It was well-laid with 30 and 40lb. rails, and sleepers not more than one foot apart in most cases, so that it could carry loads of up to 70 tons. The grades were less than 1 in 40 (25 ‰). The section from the 19 mile to the 22½ mile peg was also ready for the laying of the wooden rails, and it was anticipated that the line would be at Marrawah by the end of the year.

J.S. Lee & Sons 'Coffee Pot' locomotive near Leesville

The first regular rail service between Smithton and Marrawah started on 5 February 1913. The tram ran once a week, on Wednesdays, for freight and passengers, but from the 17 mile peg the journey was made by horse tram. Goods and passengers had to be transferred at this point. The estimated cost of the tram was £259,592, at an average cost of £2,998 per mile. The tram left Smithton at 9 a.m. every Wednesday for the 17 mile and at the same hour the horse tram left Marrawah to connect with the steam tram at this point.

Several timber tramways branched-off from the Marrawah Tramway into the Montagu, Brittons, Arthur River and Welcome. The Marrawah Tramway served the dolomite Mowbray and Montagu Swamps on its journey from Smithton to Marrawah. Brittons’ branch tramway went through Brittons Swamp.

In the four years from 1916 to 1920, the railway's income from the timber industry had doubled, while produce from Marrawah has gone up one-third. By 1922, timber valued at £4000 and produce worth £1000 was being carried each year on the line.