BHP Whyalla Tramway
Overview
OwnerLiberty House Group
LocaleEyre Peninsula
Termini
Service
Operator(s)Aurizon
History
Opened1901
Technical
Track gauge1067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map
km
54.1
 Iron Duke
46.0
 Iron Knight
24.5
 Iron Baron
54.1
 Iron Knob
22.0
to Steelworks & Whyalla line
Whyalla Inner Harbour
0.0
Whyalla Narrow Gauge Terminal
[1]

The BHP Whyalla Tramway is a 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge heavy-haul railway, 112 kilometres (70 miles) long, on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It runs from haematite mines at Iron Monarch, Iron Baron and Iron Duke in the Middleback Range, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) west of Whyalla, to company steelworks at the coastal city of Whyalla. Opened in 1901, it was built by, and until 2000 operated by, the Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP).[note 1] As of 2021 it was owned by Liberty House Group and operated on its behalf by rail operator One Rail Australia, which was sold in 2022 to Aurizon.

History

In 1935, BHP's 2000-ton trainloads were unequalled in Australia. In the background is Iron Monarch, which rises 100 metres (330 feet) above the surrounding plain.
An ore train on the line in 2019

In 1899, BHP was granted a lease to mine iron ore from the Middleback Ranges.[4] The Hummock Hill to Iron Knob Tramways and Jetties Act 1900 authorised BHP to build a 54 kilometre line from Hummock Hill, Whyalla to Iron Knob that opened on 28 August 1901.[5][6]

In 1930, a branch opened from Middleton Junction to Iron Baron. The latter closed in 1947 and reopened in 1958.[7][8] In 1990 it was extended 32 kilometres from Iron Baron to Iron Duke.[9][10] After iron ore production ceased at Iron Baron in 1991 and Iron Duke in 1998, the line from Middleton Junction closed. With the reopening of the Iron Baron Mine, in mid-2012 the line reopened to Iron Baron.[11][12]

In the 1960s, the internal Whyalla Steelworks network was converted to standard gauge to allow large 200 ton capacity torpedo ladles to be used.[13][14] It also allowed standard gauge trains from interstate to access the steelworks when the Whyalla railway line opened in October 1972.[15]

In 2000, operations were contracted out to Australian Southern Railroad (ASR), with locomotive maintenance taken over by Clyde Engineering and track maintenance by Transfield.[16][17][18] In July 2022, the contract was included in the sale of One Rail Australia, as ASR had become, to Aurizon.[19]

Rolling stock

Many of the steam locomotives used on the tramway were transferred from BHP's Broken Hill operations. By 1941, the fleet comprised 12 locomotives.[20]

A petrol-electric locomotive was purchased from the Davenport Locomotive Works, Iowa in 1928 for use at Iron Knob.[6]

DH and DE class diesel locomotives replaced the steam locomotives in the 1950s.[6][21] With the reopening of the line to Iron Baron, five GWNs were delivered in 2013.[22] In July 2019, five former Queensland Railways 2250 class locomotives were repatriated from South Africa to replace the GWNs.[23]

Notes

  1. ↑ At the time BHP was spun off, the company division was known as OneSteel;[2] it was renamed Arrium in 2012.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Whyalla - Iron Duke/IronKnob SA Track & Signal
  2. ↑ "Onesteel Limited OST – Profile and Status at InvestoGain". investogain.com.au. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2022..
  3. ↑ "OneSteel officially becomes Arrium Ltd". Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  4. ↑ The 1978 Scene at BHP Whyalla Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 494 December 1978 pages 266-277
  5. ↑ Railed Transport in the Broken Hill District Australian Railway Society Railway Bulletin issue 295 May 1962 pages 71/72
  6. 1 2 3 Griffiths, David (1985). BHP Tramways Centenary History. Cowandilla: Mile End Railway Museum. ISBN 0959507345.
  7. ↑ BHP Re-opens Workings at Iron Baron Railway Transportation February 1958 page 24
  8. ↑ Iron Baron Archived 24 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine Sydney Morning Herald 8 February 2004
  9. ↑ BHP Tramway The Recorder April 1989 page 102
  10. ↑ In Brief Railway Gazette International June 1989 page 367
  11. ↑ Mining boost as Iron Baron reopens Archived 21 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine ABC News 15 May 2012
  12. ↑ Whyalla Iron Ore Tramway Changes Motive Power issue 87 May 2013 pages 54-63
  13. ↑ Whyalla Steelworks Gauge Standardisation Project Railway Transportation September 1963 pages 26, 27, 35
  14. ↑ Conversion of steelworks railway to standard gauge Railway Gazette 20 December 1963 page 681
  15. ↑ Bayley, William (1973). Steel Wheels on Railway to Whyalla. Bulli: Austrail Publications. ISBN 0-909597-12-X.
  16. ↑ ASR Takes Control at Whyalla Catch Point issue 136 March 2000 page 21
  17. ↑ ASR Takes Over BHP Whyalla Steel Lines Railway Digest January 2000 page 13
  18. ↑ Intelligence Railway Gazette International January 2000 page 12
  19. ↑ Aurizon completes acquisition of One Rail Australia Archived 29 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine Aurizon 29 July 2022
  20. ↑ BHP Purchases Locomotives For Whyalla Plant Truck & Bus Transportation July 1941 page 49
  21. ↑ BHP Orders Diesels for Iron Knob Line Railway Transportation November 1955 page 40
  22. ↑ The GWN Class Motive Power issue 87 May 2013 pages 64/65
  23. ↑ Old for New for Whyalla Catch Point issue 253 September 2019 page 10
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