It was built in 1910,[1][2] and closed in 1949;[3] it was lifted in 1950.[4]
The Mt. Magnet-Black Range Railway Act 1907, assented to on 20 December 1907, authorised the construction of the railway line,[5] while the Railway (Mt.Magnet-Black Range) Discontinuance Act 1948, assented to on 21 January 1949, permitted its discontinuation. More specifically, the act permitted the removal of the line to be used for the construction or maintenance of other railway lines in the state, or to be sold by the ministry of railways.[6]
An interactive map of the Sandstone line is available at OpenStreetMap.[7]
Proposed link to Leonora
Prior to[8] and after construction, there were suggestions of connecting to the railway line at Leonora, approximately 100 miles (160 km) south east of Sandstone.[9] Such a connection would have created a loop line linking the Northern Railway[which?] with the Eastern Goldfields Railway. The proposal was not successful.
Reputation of branch line
The railway was considered by the railway commissioner of the time in the mid-1930s to be the worst railway in Western Australia.[10][11][12][13]
Post-Second World War austerity issues were given as part of reason for closing in 1948 due to shortage of 45-pound (20 kg) rails for the required repairs to remain open.[14]
Legacy
The Sandstone railway goods shed built in 1910 was considered to be of heritage significance, having survived long after closing of the line.[15] The Sandstone railway station and the station master's house have been demolished but the goods sheet remains on the Shire of Sandstone heritage list, which also includes a railway tank stand and a railway dam at Sandstone.[16]
At Mount Magnet, the railway station and platform, railway dam, railway bridge and the railway workers houses are on the Shire of Mount Magnet heritage list.[17]
Notes
^1 August 1910 – page 69, or WN 83Quinlan, Howard; Newland, John R; Australian Railway Historical Society. New South Wales Division (2000), Australian railway routes 1854 to 2000, Australian Railway Historical Society – New South Wales Division, ISBN978-0-909650-49-0
^"WESTERN AUSTRALIA". The Argus. Melbourne. 19 July 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 22 October 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
^Mount Magnet to Jundoo closed 31 December 1949, Jundoo – Sandstone closed 28 May 1949 – from page 69 Quinlan, Howard; Newland, John R; Australian Railway Historical Society. New South Wales Division (2000), Australian railway routes 1854 to 2000, Australian Railway Historical Society – New South Wales Division, ISBN978-0-909650-49-0
^"Sandstone Railway". The Mullewa Mail. Vol. 39, no. 1951. Western Australia. 9 September 1933. p. 7. Retrieved 21 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.