Tasmanian rail statistics 1959-60 – Main and Fingal Lines
Image: A special train passing Ross, 3 March 1965. Credit: Weston Langford
Part two of my review of historic Tasmanian rail statistics. Click here for part one.
Following on from Part One, it is time to travel north, to the Main line and Fingal line. Country train services in the late 1950s were under review, and the growth of the road coach had began to supplement costly, poorly patronised passenger services.
The introduction of the Tasman Limited was a major impetus in the retention of country passenger services, especially following the recommendation in the 1953 Phillips Report to suspend all of them, except for Hobart’s suburban services.
Main Line
The Main Line, today known as the South Line, is the principal route between Hobart and Western Junction. Opened in 1876, the line runs for almost 200 kilometres with a journey time of around five hours between the two junctions.
History
In 1952 there were three services that operated each day on the line – A morning and evening service, and the Midlands Motor between Parattah and Hobart. The introduction of the Tasman Limited in 1954 increased the number of services to four, with the evening trains billed as Diesel Express Freight services.
Following service reductions in September 1957, the Tasman Limited became the only morning service from Hobart on weekdays. The Tasman also consolidated trains on the North-West Coast, becoming the only morning service from Wynyard to Western Junction. The timetable below is from October 1959, and shows the level of service during the data period.
Image: Tasmanian Country Passenger Rail timetable – October 1959. Source: Author collection
The rationalisation brought by the Tasman Limited meant that passengers from Launceston no longer had a morning service, but a mid day service, and the regular evening service. The through-running of trains was designed to help increasing costs of country operations.
Green Coach Lines, operated by the Transport Commission between 1949 and 1968, picked up much of the intercity passenger traffic as the highway developed. This led to an increased share of services on road transport, rather than rail. Journey times by road were also around four hours.
Campania, Colebrook, and Parattah were generally well patronised due to the Midlands Motor. There is an anomaly in the data as Gilrose just south of Campbell Town was a goods siding. Arguably, the numbers are meant to go along with Campbell Town, however the typist back in the day must have misread.
Statistics
| MAIN LINE | Passenger Trips Out (#) | Goods Out (Ton) | Goods In (Ton) |
| Tea Tree | 868 | 30 | 7 |
| Rekuna | 607 | – | 4 |
| Campania | 3,722 | 98 | 258 |
| Lowdina | 141 | – | 36 |
| Danby | 445 | 2 | 2 |
| Colebrook | 2,809 | 157 | 403 |
| Salmon’s Crossing | 280 | – | – |
| Rhyndaston | 642 | 14 | 28 |
| Tiberias | 277 | 10 | 54 |
| Stonor | 783 | 258 | 647 |
| Parattah | 3,091 | 730 | 3,050 |
| Andover | 34 | 21 | 334 |
| Nala | 12 | – | 182 |
| Lord’s Mine Siding | – | 14 | 76 |
| York Plains | 91 | 220 | 1,104 |
| Antill Ponds | 37 | 38 | 183 |
| Woodbury | 15 | 127 | 980 |
| Tunbridge | 786 | 88 | 604 |
| Mona Vale | 434 | 1 | 1 |
| Kermode | – | 60 | 903 |
| Ross | 961 | 533 | 3,094 |
| Gilrose | 2,445 | – | – |
| Campbell Town | 1,254 | 4,621 | 3,769 |
| Conara Junction | 1,630 | 40 | 556 |
| Cleveland | 104 | 1 | 56 |
| Epping | 961 | 533 | 3,094 |
| Powranna | 18 | 137 | 1,936 |
| Clarendon | 4 | 10 | 602 |
| Evandale | 54 | 415 | 682 |
| Western Junction | 1,991 | 102 | 675 |
| TOTAL | 24,496 | 8,260 | 23,320 |
Fingal Line
The Fingal Line is a branch extending from Conara Junction to St Marys. Opened in 1886, the line ran 75 kilometres to the state’s east. In July 1957, the last railcar service operated along the line.
History
In 1959 only one mixed train service for passengers operated on the Fingal Line, departing 2:30pm each week day from Conara Junction. This was timed to meet with the southbound Tasman Limited arriving at 2:07pm. All stations except for Avoca, Fingal and St Marys were flag stops.
Brown’s Bus Service provided a morning trip from St Marys to Launceston and return evening trip on weekdays and Saturdays. There was also an evening return trip on Sundays. This arguably captured most of the passenger travel along the railway and its principal towns, taking three hours to travel from St Marys to Launceston.
Malahide was a large livestock farm which had popular saleyards that offered state-wide cartage by rail. Cullenswood and Duncan were substantial coal mining areas, with coal screens and wash facilities. Today, Duncan remains as a central loading facility for TasRail. Jubilee was the St Marys timber yard just outside of town.
Statistics
| FINGAL LINE | Passenger Trips Out (#) | Goods Out (Ton) | Goods In (Ton) |
| Llewellyn | 2 | 18 | 1 |
| Hanleth | 7 | 5 | 9 |
| Eastbourne | – | 4 | 173 |
| Avoca | 52 | 59,272 | 5,112 |
| Ormley | 17 | 68 | 165 |
| Tullochgorum | 4 | 60 | 91 |
| Fingal | 64 | 15,394 | 3,654 |
| Malahide | – | 31,347 | – |
| Duncan | – | 94,463 | 43,336 |
| Frodsley | 7 | 126 | 298 |
| Mount Nicholas | – | 45 | 39 |
| Cullenswood | 10 | 115,134 | 305 |
| Jubilee | – | 9,472 | – |
| St Marys | 82 | 9,573 | 7,627 |
| TOTAL | 245 | 334,981 | 60,810 |
Part Three will review the Western and Mole Creek lines. Keep an eye out for it soon for more Tasmanian rail statistics.
