Heritage listing of Main Range rail salutes engineering feats of past

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Media Release Queensland Heritage Council

12 February 2009

Heritage listing of Main Range rail salutes engineering feats of past

The Queensland Heritage Council has described the newly heritage-listed Main Range railway line as an engineering feat of brilliance.

The Main Range Railway, from Murphy?s Creek to Harlaxton on the outskirts of Toowoomba was built in the mid 1860s, forming Australia?s first rail crossing of the Great Dividing Range.

?The engineering challenges of the day must have seemed quite daunting,? said Queensland Heritage Council chair David Eades. ?Yet ingenuity and perseverance won the day along with a massive labour recruitment program.
?The Snowy River Hydro project is renowned for being built from the toil of new migrants to Australia.

?Few realise that was the story with the Main Range Railway too. Queensland recruited huge numbers from Germany and Great Britain.  Section 5 ? the steepest part of the line ? was built by 1009 workers.

?It is undoubtedly one of Queensland?s most significant early public works, opening up the inland,? Mr Eades said.
Points of particular public interest in the heritage listing include:

?   Spring Bluff Railway Station, popular with visitors for its gardens and yesteryear charm
?   Ruthven Street overbridge, Queensland?s oldest existing metal rail overbridge

Mr Eades said heritage listing would not affect the rail?s use, safety or performance.

?This rail line has been used continually since its official opening in 1867. There have been upgrades over the years and we accept that maintenance and repair work are needed to keep Queensland Rail safely rolling,? Mr Eades said.
?Scheduled work will be unaffected.?

The Queensland Heritage Council is the state?s peak heritage body, independent of government. Its heritage listing decisions are designed to ensure that the most comprehensive representation of places of state cultural heritage significance are captured on the Queensland heritage register.

Fast facts about the Main Range railway

Nearly 32 kilometres of track work snake up the 366 metre rise.
Originally there were 47 bridges and 126 curves along with the cuttings, embankments and culverts.
Most of the bridges were timber. They were gradually replaced by culverts and embankments. Four bridges remain.

Issued by Heather Grant for the Queensland Heritage Council