A thread of occasional posts regarding the QR line to Canungra. Traffic branched off the South Coast Line at Bethania and off the Beaudesert Line at Logan Village. Ballast came from the Buccan ballast reserve

Buccan Railway Ballast Siding QLD Peter Cokley June 2014

One interesting tramway engineering relic from the Nineteenth Century lurking away in the semi-rural Logan Valley is Railway Ballast Reserve 219. This 166 acre Government Reserve was a quarry that during its lifetime supplied material for both rail and road construction. The Buccan Ballast Quarry line was a spur line that led off Queensland Railway’s [QR] Upper Logan line which eventually went to Beaudesert. The quarry was initially built for the construction of this 1880s line and supplied crushed rock which was laid between the sleepers and rails to provide stability and drainage for the railway track.

The Buccan Ballast spur’s location was on the eastern side of the line 24 miles 58.5 chains from South Brisbane. Buccan Station was 25 miles 57 chains from South Brisbane so the spur was about a mile north of Buccan Station. Waterford, the preceding station, was 22 miles 5 chains from South Brisbane. The spur line from the mainline to the quarry works was about 53 chains long which translates in the modern metric as 1066 metres so a little over a km long. [1] [6]

[Caption; Buccan ballast siding shown on the 1932 BrisbaneValley map] [3] http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk478/petanoz/Canungra/Ballast-Siding-Brisbane_Valley1932_zpsa0dada6d.jpg

The quarry spur line was initially removed after the line to Logan Village and Beaudesert opened in 1888 but was proclaimed a Reserve in 1894 in case of future need. The spur into the quarry was reinstated for the construction of the QR Logan Village to Canungra line which opened 1915. This time it remained in place till 1922, in the meantime having periodic usage supplying gravel for local council road construction. [1]

Three years later a loop siding was installed on the mainline as the quarry’s products were required by the QLD Main Roads Board. This time Queensland Railways [QR] did not reinstall their 53 chain spur but instead the QLD Main Roads Board installed a tramway from the quarry works out to the QR siding on the main line to Beaudesert and Bethania. This tramway was removed by 1931 with the QR siding removed 1937. [1]

[Caption; Buccan ballast siding shown on the 1947 Beenleigh map as a Main Roads Board Siding] [2] http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk478/petanoz/Canungra/Ballast-siding-1947-map_zps666a9310.jpg

The loading ramp on the main line remained until the Beaudesert line was closed. In 2002 the area was inspected by a group of rail historians as part of a Light Railway Research Society of Australia Tour. This group walked along the formation of a tramline to the loading bank. Another rail historian group inspected the area in 2014[4]

[Caption; the 1923 lease of Railway Ballast Reserve 219] [5]http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk478/petanoz/Canungra/Ballast-siding-sale-1923_zps1f04c8a7.jpg

Imperial Measurement conversion
Imperial Measurement conversion; The British imperial measurement system used miles and chains. 1 Mile is 1.61 Kilometres. There are 80 chains in a mile. One chain is 66 feet or 22 yards or 20.12 metres. A standard cricket pitch is one chain long.
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Bibliography
[1] Armstrong, John & Kerr John, “Destination South Brisbane”, ARHS [QLD] 1978 P.23,117

[2]Beenleigh topographic Map, Scale 1:63,360, published 1947, Courtesy State Library QLD

[3] Brisbane Valley topographic Map Scale 1:126,720,published 1932. Courtesy State Library QLD

[4] Sheehan, Danny and Betts, Owen. Personal communication.

[5] The Brisbane Courier 10APRIL1923 and The Courier-Mail21July1934 Courtesy Trove [National Library Australia]


[6] Webber, Brian “Exploring Queensland’s Railways - South from Brisbane”, ARHS [Q] 2007 P.10

Parish map [Moreton district 40 chain to the inch 5South 1927] by courtesy Dept of Natural Resources and Mines. The Moreton district 40 chain maps consulted were published pre 1930 by the Survey Office, Queensland Department of Public Lands. Initial public sales price was 2 shillings and 6 pence.

Please Note;
This material is the result of private research and is strictly for non-profit private non-commercial hobby usage only. None of the material or obsolete documents provided are to be sold in any format or any manner including, but not limited to, money or payment in kind or any similar scheme including no sales on a DVD or any other device or website......

A recent trip near Buccan showed the line overgrown as per these two images. Buccan QR station was 2 chains south of Stegeman Road. One chain is 22 yards or one normal cricket pitch long so imagine two cricket pitch lengths past that road. Of course that is where they measured the station, not the yard's outer ends.


http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk478/petanoz/Beaudesert/Buccan-line-June2014-A_zps71041eaf.jpg


http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk478/petanoz/Beaudesert/Buccan-line-June2014-B_zps532cdd6d.jpg


A rail screw spike found near there

http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk478/petanoz/Beaudesert/Rail-screw-spike-Buccan_zpsfbca8580.jpg

Those with Laheys' Canungra Tramway / by Robert K. Morgan; revised by Frank Stamford [2000revision] will have noticed the map on P.10 is a puzzle as the DJ Smith Memorial Park on the corner of Christie and Kidston streets has a railway line marked as going through the war memorial structure’s site. I have solved the war memorial structure site puzzle as the Canungra war memorial was unveiled Anzac Day 25APRIL 1938 according to The Courier Mail 9MARCH1938 http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/39739008

As the tramway was being dismantled in 1933 according to page 19 of that tramway book so the area of the war memorial structure was vacant and available in 1938. Thus one more piece of the Canungra jigsaw slots into place! The southern end of that memorial park with the toilet block and car park is at the top of the QR turning fork so that section of the park must be after 1955 when the QR line closed.


The WW1 and WW2 plaques were different suggesting added at different times. The WW1 plaque was embedded in the stone and the WW2 was screwed on suggesting a later addition. The text style is also different. The WW1 section is labelled “Great War” not WW1 as at its 1938 installation WW2 had not occurred.

I have been slowly working on my Canungra Line project while also reorganising my SCL project. The Canungra line WTT from 1948 is now available with thanks to State Library http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/library/Canungra?sort=3&page=1

The Jessie Daniels Benobble images are included in that Photobucket set due to his large sawmill near the Benobble QR station on Daniels Creek in the early QR Canungra line era. That creek is sign posted on Mundoolun Connection Rd 400 meters north after that road crosses Canungra Creek Benobble. The Daniels sawmill http://libraryhack.anotherbyte.net/pictures/view/48072


More on Jessie Daniels from The Brisbane Courier http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19368313

More on Thomas Plunkett, source of the name for Plunkett QR station on the Canungra QR line http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/plunkett-thomas-12113

1948 Canungra & Beaudesert line instructions http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/1948-Working-Canungra-Beaudesert-WTT_zps44e65771.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

Logan Village instructions from the 1950 General Appendix (By Law 532) https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByB-ppGeDyvwYnIxVzVoVng1cTA/edit

1954 timetable [Canungra line closed 1955] https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByB-ppGeDyvwcWpsZkdDZktxRUE/edit

The Canungra and Beaudesert list from Queensland Railways [QR] 1950 List of stations, stopping places and isolated sidings Courtesy QR and State Library of QLD https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByB-ppGeDyvwM2RqVTVaR0RmcUE/edit

Of course once again thanks to another anonymous researcher who sent me some of these and similar material in the past for us to use in our own private research.

Those who compared the Canungra and Beaudesert 1950 list in the previous post with the all QR 1950 master list available from http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11376356.htm would have realised the only fork lines [F] for turning locos etc were at Canungra and Bethania. Beaudesert is shown with a 40ft turntable [T]. The master list has the other QR state wide turntable and fork locations.

In the second column which lists siding accommodation places such as Waterford and Plunkett have a cross type symbol which means no siding and only light articles in the brake van can be sent there.

Plunkett QR Station on Plunkett Rd 1.8 km east of Waterford Tamborine Rd, can be difficult to find as Google Earth wrongly marks the QR formation to the north of Plunkett station as Railway Parade while the real Railway Parade is 200 meters to the east at the next bend in Plunkett Rd. The Google Street view car travelled along the real Railway Parade but did not label it as Railway Pde. The QR station site was only a few meters south of Plunkett Rd on the fairly obvious route through the private land via the western of the two gates. The other gate heads to the house. One locating clue is the rail formation to the north of Plunkett Rd is beyond a locked gate while the real Railway Pde is not gated. Place Google Street view at the following and look north for the formation 27° 50.906'S 153° 8.338'E The QR 1950 level crossing list marks Plunkett Rd as 33miles 46 chains and the station was listed in timetables as 33miles 52 chains so the station was only a few meters south of Plunkett Rd.
Our own recent image from that spot looking north http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Plunkett-nth_zps82c7df26.jpg.html?sort=9&o=18

The station and district was named after Thomas Plunkett MLA who in 1869 bought a property on the Albert River near Tamborine. He was a member of parliament and engaged in dairy-farming, grazing and crop-growing, and also established a general store. Plunkett died on 2 September 1913 at Sandgate Brisbane and was buried in the Tamborine Catholic cemetery which is on Plunkett Rd between Waterford Tamborine Rd and the station site. Our recent image of the grave http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Plunket-grave_zpse7a554bd.jpg.html?sort=9&o=17

Searching for Plunkett’s parliamentary record needs care as his son Thomas Flood Plunkett, (1877–1957), was also in parliament. The parliamentary record for Plunkett [Senior] http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/apps/formermembers/memberBio1.aspx?m_id=1037

Thomas Plunkett also owned “Beau Park” at Kerry. This was sold in 1960 and converted into Boys Town.

Plunkett QR station and rail route from the 1954 TamborineTopographical map which also shows the Tamborine Catholic cemetery on Plunkett Rd http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Plunkett_zpsc8497bf6.jpg.html?sort=9&o=19

Other research sources include;
Plunkett, ThomasFlood (1877–1957) http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/plunkett-thomas-flood-11438

Stevens John F. & Harrison Alex. “The pioneers of Tamborine and Jimboomba”, North Tamborine, Qld, published J.F. Stevens, 1962. Page 9ff

We are extremely lucky as David Bromage has placed the QR Canungra Line's Working Plans and Sections on his photobucket Thanks David http://s825.photobucket.com/user/DavidBromage/library/Railway%20diagrams/Logan%20Village%20to%20Canungra?sort=9&page=1

These cover the Queensland Government Railway's [QGR] Logan Village to Canungra line. The QGR line received parliamentary approval on 5 December 1911 and the construction start date was September 1913. The line opened 2 July 1915 and closed 30 June 1955.

Those seeking the accurate route map might try QLD State Library for the downloadable 1954 Tamborine topographical map for the majority of the line and the Beenleigh 1947 map for the Waterford Bethania area http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Queensland_Historical_Maps

Those who have read Brian Webber’s Southside book, details below, page 101, would know the Canungra line location known by QR as 1.5 miles was Camp Cable during WW2 and had understandably a very high passenger count in the war years, although, being military personal, you might wonder if all paid fares or knew tricks to dodge fares.

The camp map, with rail line shown, is available at
http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Camp-Cable_zpsfa87f502.jpg.html?sort=9&o=13

Webber, Brian “Exploring Queensland’s Railways - South from Brisbane”, ARHS [Q] 2007
http://railshop.com.au/exploring-queenslands-railways-south-from-brisbane-book

http://www.ozatwar.com/ozatwar/campcable.htm

Found a pre October 1938 Canungra line timetable from when the train overnighted at Canungra. This timetable also mentioned a road connection to Mt Tamborine available from both Canungra and Tamborine [Village] railway station, as per the (*) indication. The Brisbane return same day dates from October 1938 according to Rod Milne 1993 P.17.

http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Mount-Tamborine-and-Canungra--rail-1930s_zps2520e8bb.jpg.html?sort=9&o=21

At the same c1930s time direct Brisbane Mt Tamborine road services were operating. http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Mount-Tamborine-and-Canungra-bus-1930s_zps45cd4e64.jpg.html?sort=9&o=22

Source; Queensland Government Intelligence and Tourist Bureau document“Mount Tamborine and Canungra district”, Undated, Govt. Printer, Brisbane courtesy State Library QLD


For comparison; 1954 timetable [Canungra line closed 1955] https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByB-ppGeDyvwcWpsZkdDZktxRUE/edit

Canungra school's website has their history part back on line http://resources.canungrass.eq.edu.au/CanungraHistoryWeb/index1.htm

Four photos of the timber tramway here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canungra_railway_line

EDIT 10 October 2014. The photographs now appear in a newer Wikipedia entry entitled 'Laheys Tramway'. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laheys_Tramway

This is a follow up for my material in the current LRRSA Light Rails magazine at your local newsagent.

After the closure of the QR Canungra line in 1955, the land from the apex of the former Canungra QR fork line became a Park Reserve with Beaudesert Shire as trustee. This was added to the DJ Smith Memorial Gardens which contains the 1938 erected War Memorial. The DJ Smith land itself was previously in use with a rail transfer line between QR and Lahey’s timber tramway. The following is some of the correspondence from QLD State Archives on this topic. The last image is the map where the Dept of Public Lands marked the land in question in red. QLD State Archives ID 1103280 Correspondence; Closed railway Logan Village/ Canungra.

QR’s receipt of Beaudesert Shire’s application for the land 1956 http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Canungra-Park-1956_zps428003f1.jpg.html

Dept of Public Lands 1957 http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Canungra-Park-A-1956_zpsca9d687a.jpg.html

Dept of Public Lands 1960. Map refereed to is the following image http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Canungra-Park-B-1956_zps92a35864.jpg.html

Map from Dept of Public Lands 1960 http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Canungra-Park-map-1956_zps96332c5f.jpg.html

Bromfleet

The Queensland Railways station of Bromfleet was on the eastern side of Mundoolun Connection Rd near its junction with present day Chestnut Road. The railway plans suggest Bromfleet station yard would have been on the northern side of Chestnut Road. The Mundoolun Connection Rd level crossing was listed as 38 miles 50 chains from South Brisbane on the 1950 Queensland Railways [QR] station list and the station was shown as 38 miles 43 chains in railway staff timetables.

[Caption; Bromfleet railway station near Tamborine House and Mundoolun area] http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Brom-area_zps6499b126.jpg.html?sort=9&o=11

Across Mundoolun Connection Rd from the Bromfleet railway station was Tamborine House on Delpratt’s property, now part of Albert River Wines. Tamborine House is on the eastern bank of the Albert River near its junction with the Coburg River, also known as Canungra Creek. The naming of the Coburg River was logical as the Albert River was named after Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the Prince Consort and husband of Queen Victoria.  

This Tamborine property can be traced through various owners to the 1840s when it was known as Burton Vale. The present day sign on Tamborine House displays a date of 1868. Joseph Henry Delpratt, originally from the Isle of Jersey, purchased the property from a Captain Williams in 1870. In early days this property was known as the Tamborine Run. Generally the early approximately 25 square mile colonial properties known as runs were formed into parishes when the government opened up these large areas for closer settlement. [Stevens & Harrison P.2ff] [First surveys]

[Caption; Tamborine house] http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Tamborine-House_zps8ffa8da8.jpg.html?sort=9&o=22

Bromfleet railway station was spelt Bromfleet on the 1915 railway plans and listed in the 1956 “Nomenclature of Railway Stations” as named after an estate in Yorkshire, England. But the UK Yorkshire location is spelt Broomfleet with an extra “o”. A search of newspapers via Trove pre 1915 did not give any entries for either Bromfleet or Broomfleet in the Tamborine district which suggests the Bromfleet name was not in use before the Canungra railway line.  

JH Delpratt was listed in the Government Gazette of 1891v52 as living at Tambourine [spelling change] of Beenleigh. When Robert Delpratt was fatally injured in 1929, The Brisbane Courier noted him as of Tamborine House, Broomfleet, with the extra “o” and Tamborine without the “u”.  A similar search through the Tamborine district’s historical literature also did not reveal any Bromfleet / Broomfleet entry pre railway era. Brisbane Courier 27April1929, page 17 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21399965  

[Caption; JH Delpratt’s address in Government Gazette 1891] http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Tambourine-1891v52-GG_zps7d434749.jpg.html?sort=9&o=24

Tamborine

The Tamborine Village’s Railway Station site is just east of the 1966 opened St Patrick’s Catholic Church on the northern corner of the Beaudesert-Beenleigh Rd and Waterford-Tamborine Rd junction. This junction includes the road south east to the similarly named Mount Tamborine, a volcanic rim plateau. One product of the Mount Tamborine plateau loaded onto railway wagons at Tamborine station was bauxite. [Knowles ARHS Bulletin 1956 P.96]

Not all the railway and road connections on the Canungra line were at level crossings as a road overbridge crossed the railway in a cutting 9 miles 47 chains out on the branch from Logan Village. That is one mile south of Tamborine Village near the Leach Rd and Palomino Rd intersection. The railway property easement still marked on some maps leads straight to that intersection with the railway route now part of Palomino Rd. This road overbridge is marked on the 1954 Tamborine topographical map. The 11 foot deep railway cutting remnant immediately east of the Leach Rd and Palomino Rd intersection was inspected in 2014. [Knowles 1956 P.96]

[Caption; Tamborine area on 1954 map] http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Tamb-Bromft-1954_zpsfad209be.jpg.html?sort=9&o=20

The name of the district was spelt “Tamborine” in the 1876 Queensland Government Gazette, the same as the present day spelling. But it changed to Tambourine with the letter “u” in the 1880s with many organisations returning to the former spelling of Tamborine in the mid-1920s. The Queensland Government Gazette of 1890v51 used Tamborine spelling while the Government Gazette of 1891v52 used Tambourine spelling.  The railway opened in 1915 using Tambourine spelling as the station name and changed to Tamborine spelling in 1926. Newspapers and Pugh’s Almanac used various forms of the spelling at different times.

[Caption; “Tamborine” spelling Government Gazette 1876] http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Tamborine-spelling-GG-1876_zps353523a0.jpg.html?sort=9&o=26

[Caption: Tamborine spelling Government Gazette 1890] http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Tamborine-1890v51-GG_zpsc6a402fb.jpg.html?sort=9&o=22

The QLD Department of Public Lands parish cadastral maps continued to use the earlier spelling [Tamborine] on their maps when other organisations made the short term change to Tambourine with the letter “u”. This is shown on the Parish Map 9 South of 1902 and 1916 with Tamborine used for both the name of the parish and the name of the mountain. The railway Working Plan and Section [c1915] used Tambourine spelling with the extra “u” for the station name while also spelling the Tamborine parish without the extra letter on the same railway page.

[Caption; Two different spellings on railway plan, Tambourine station and Tamborine parish] http://s311.photobucket.com/user/petanoz/media/Canungra/Tamborine-QR_zpsd18d6e5f.jpg.html?sort=9&o=25

Boyland    

Boyland Station was 630 meters along Biddaddaba Rd from Mundoolun Connection Rd. There are two plaques at that spot with one for the station and the other for the local history book; “The history of Biddaddaba Creek, Boyland, Canungra Line, Queensland”. Remnants of the 13 foot deep 140 metre long cutting north of Biddaddaba Rd from the station are still visible.

Boyland 1954 map http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk478/petanoz/Canungra/Boyland-Station_zpsfd2e41ee.jpg

Those seeking a good background to this line can check Brian Webber’s “Exploring Queensland’s Railways - South from Brisbane”, ARHS [Q] 2007 http://www.railshop.com.au/prod15.htm    

Boyland station was named after the local land owner, Councillor G Boyland, who was one of the early advocates for the railway as well as being the chairman of the Tamborine Shire Council.  The Brisbane Courier 14OCT1907 P.5 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19389437

The Buccan ballast Pit spur line just appeared on the latest Hairyleg Google earth file so check that Railpage thread. The Canungra town area also upgraded on the latest version so thanks for that

Canungra line 1917 track profiles which also show track gang areas, courtesy QLD State Archives (QSA) at Runcorn and I included the QSA data slip in my photo. The location names on each are only a guide to the region covered. These are part of a series on the lines from South Brisbane when it was a terminus. Others will eventually appear in threads on their own lines; Tweed Heads / Southport, Cleveland, Canungra, Beaudesert, Gabba and wharf line, Belmont Tramway and the Yeerongpilly / Corinda line.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0ByB-ppGeDyvwZ2FiRzFfZWItWnM