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Lonely Rails in the Gulf Country, by JW Knowles, subtitled 'The story of the Normanton - Croydon Railway and the Gulflander'
Published by the author in 1993, 62 pages. Booklet - c.21cm by 29cm (A58KX1)
From the introduction: The line was originally to go from Normanton to the Cloncurry copper field, but was diverted east after the Croydon goldfield boomed. During the brief heyday of Croydon, this railway, then with several locomotives and carriages and a fleet of wagons, was its lifeline. None of several schemes to extend it, especially to a better port, came to fruition.From 1910 to 1980 or so, the story is of less and less, traffic, staff and rolling stock, the least busy railway on earth. It was operated by a rail motor and a few wagons, with almost all duties except maintaining the track combined into one man, the Officer-in-Charge. Connections were made with shipping into Normanton, and road services into Croydon. That road service brought goods and mails from the nearest railhead at Forsayth. Overland travel from Cairns to Normanton by rail, road and rail again took four days. After 1961 it was the last isolated section of the Queensland Railways. Withroad improvements, by 1980 the line was performing no transport task at all.Since then it has become much busier, with tourists. It has been necessary to provide more rolling stock to carry them and their cars, and, to allow track maintenance to be improved, a light diesel locomotive and more rolling stock, all brought to Normanton by road. But it remains very much an outpost and an extreme contrast to the modern heavy duty railway.In this second edition, the history has been brought up to date, some corrections and additions made, and new illustrations added. The corrections cover how the steel sleepers were packed, where steel and timber sleepers were laid originally, the delay in constructing sections 2 and 3, the original location of Haydon, the camping quarters at Blackbull, and the altitudes en route. The contents include:A Railway from Normanton - for Copper or Gold?The Rails Go Down - to CroydonThe NinetiesThe Proposed ExtensionsUntil Croydon Bust - 1900-1920PanhardThirty Unchanging YearsDiesel PowerThe Tourist RailwayA Description of the Line and What is to be Seen TodayAPPENDICES:The Phillips Steel Sleeper SystemBridgesEngine LoadsList of Locomotives and Rail MotorsRolling Stock Since 1945
The condition of the booklet is generally very good. The covers have some minor scuffs, but are clean and bright, the staple spine is intact and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound.
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