Emu Bay Railway

The origins of the Emu Bay Railway can be traced back to February 1878 when the Van Diemen's Land Company opened a 71 kilometre, horse drawn wooden tramway line from Emu Bay (Burnie) to Rouse's Camp, near Waratah, to serve the Mount Bischoff tin mines.

[11][12][13] In the late 1960s the line was upgraded to carry heavier trains and in January 1970 reopened from Rosebery to Melba Flats.

[14] Thereafter the line was basically freight only except for a twice weekly mixed train which lasted until 1977, using West Coaster carriages ABL1 and 2, which retained their two-tone blue livery.

During the construction of the Pieman River hydro electric scheme in the late 1970s the line was diverted in places and new bridges were built.

The Emu Bay Railway was included in the October 1984 sale of EZ Industries to North Broken Hill Peko, which in 1988 merged with CRA Limited to form Pasminco.

Due to an increase in tourist traffic, a service named The West Coaster was introduced between Burnie and Rosebery in October 1960.

They were converted to oil burners and repainted in two-tone blue livery, along with three former Tasmanian Government Railways carriages.