197803 – Leslie – Part 1: Description of Signalling A.N.R. Tasmanian Region

The Tasmanian Railways is a relatively small system of about 1,006 route kilometres with a 1,067 mm gauge track.

The oldest length of track, between Launceston and Deloraine, was opened for traffic in 1871. The first train from Hobart to Launceston ran in 1876. Expansion of the system continued until shortly after World War I. Since then, several branch lines have been taken up and no new construction has been undertaken except the Bell Bay Railway.

Although the Launceston to Deloraine line originally was constructed to a gauge of 1,600 mm, all other lines were constructed to 1,067 mm gauge. The Launceston to Deloraine line eventually was converted to narrow gauge.

The track in Tasmania was constructed to pioneer standards and little upgrading was undertaken after the original construction. There is inadequate drainage on most of the track; in some sections the formation is relatively narrow, and much of the track is laid on subgrade with little ballast other than gravel, ashes, and limited crushed stone.

In a number of areas the grades are severe, with many at 1 in 40. The existing curvature also is difficult, with many curves of 10 and 15 chains radius and a substantial number of 5, 7, and 8 chains radius.

Only very limited funds were made available by the State Government for improvements to the track on the Tasmanian system prior to transfer of the Tasmanian Railways to the Commonwealth Government.

The Commonwealth Government acquired the Tasmanian Railways from 1 July 1975 and since then the Transport Commission has operated as agents for the Commonwealth Government under policy directions from the Australian National Railways Commission.

In April 1971, Maunsell and Partners Pty. Ltd. were appointed as consulting engineers to design and supervise the construction of a new narrow gauge railway from Coldwater Creek, on the North Eastern Line, to Bell Bay Wharf, the line to have a gradient of 1 in 70.

The main purpose of this line was to serve two new woodchip plants being established at Long Reach (A.P.P.M. and Northern Woodchips) and to provide a rail connection to the port of Bell Bay.

Considerable construction difficulties were experienced with the Bell Bay line as a result of the soil and rock conditions and the difficult terrain.

With completion of the Bell Bay Railway, work was put in hand to upgrade the section of the existing North Eastern Line from Launceston to Coldwater Creek, which was in poor condition and had a gradient of 1 in 40.

On completion of this work, a track was available from Launceston to Bell Bay Wharf of a good standard with a gradient throughout of 1 in 70.

The next construction work undertaken was the upgrading of the section of line between Launceston and Western Junction, a key section of the whole system and one which was in poor condition. This has been completed recently, although considerable difficulties were encountered in construction because of the nature of the soil and two very severe slip areas.