Railways on the West Coast of Tasmania

Points of note include the Mount Lyell rack railway which has an Abt rack system, the presence of the world's first Garratt locomotive and a Hagans articulated locomotive on the North East Dundas Tramway, and the collection of narrow-gauge lines as the only links to the outside world for a number of the communities for over fifty years.

[1] The haulage railways at Mount Read, and the various ones in the area of the Mount Lyell mining lease, were also significant in their use in moving both people and metal ore. Also aerial ropeways were operating in the region well into the late twentieth century.

Ex Mount Lyell passenger stock can be found on the Puffing Billy Railway in Victoria, while the West Coast Wilderness Railway has seen the return of reconditioned engines that used to work on the original Mount Lyell lines.

A number of steam engines are held at the West Coast Pioneers Museum in Zeehan.

Following the closures of most railways in the early 1960s, rolling stock was dispersed but engines were fortuitously retained on the west coast, in most cases at the museum in Zeehan.