Tablelands railway line

It commences at Cairns and at its maximum extent, reached Ravenshoe at the southern end of the Atherton Tableland.

Three potential routes were investigated to reach Herberton, via Port Douglas, Cairns and Geraldton (now Innisfail).

[1][2] The next section climbed the Barron River Gorge reaching 317 m asl using 1 in 50 grades and 4 chain (~88m) radius curves (the tightest used on the system) involving 15 tunnels and several major bridges.

[2] The Barron Gorge section had cost nearly three times the original estimate, and the government, reluctant to commit to any further public expenditure on extending the Tablelands rail network, sought alternative options.

The 610 mm (2 ft) gauge Stannary Hills Tramway was opened from Boonmoo (17°14′44″S 145°04′24″E / 17.2456°S 145.0734°E / -17.2456; 145.0734 (Boonmoo railway station)) to Rocky Bluffs in 1902 to serve a further mining field, and a branch built from Stannary Hills to Irvinebank in 1907, closing in 1937.

[2] Another copper smelter was built at Mount Molloy (16°40′29″S 145°20′05″E / 16.6748°S 145.3346°E / -16.6748; 145.3346 (Mount Molloy railway station)), and a 32 km (19.88 mi) line with 1 in 40 grades opened in 1908 from Biboohra (16°55′11″S 145°25′12″E / 16.9196°S 145.4201°E / -16.9196; 145.4201 (Biboohra railway station)) to serve it and a sawmill.

It was built with 21 kg/m (42.3 lb/yd) rails, 1 in 40 grades, 4-chain (264 ft; 80 m) radius curves and low level bridges.

The section of the Etheridge railway line west of Mount Surprise (18°08′48″S 144°19′04″E / 18.1468°S 144.3179°E / -18.1468; 144.3179 (Mount Surprise railway station)) was badly damaged by cyclonic rainfall in 1927,[2] and from that time until 1939 the only service was provided by a railmotor which could haul two small goods wagons.

An 18 km (11.18 mi) branch line from Peeramon (situated between Yungaburra and Malanda) south east to Boonjee was proposed in 1920 but never constructed.

In 1936, demand from tourists wanting to travel through the Barron River gorge section resulted in the introduction of what is today known as the Kuranda Scenic Railway service.

Cairns Railway Station ~1890
Works train in the Barron Gorge section
Stoney Creek bridge
Biboohra bridge ~1895
Stoney Creek trestle bridge in the Barron gorge, September 1989
QR loco 1760 hauls a special train on the Mareeba-Almaden section of the Mungana line, September 1989
Arrival of the train at Atherton station, 1928
View from a loco cab on the Mungana line, September 1989
Train at Yungaburra, 1929
1760 and special train crossing a low level bridge on the Forsayth line, September 1989. Note the short, steep approaches to the bridge, as steep as 1 in 15, known as 'momentum' grades. The bridge is designed so floodwaters pass over it and minimise the risk of damage.