Ballaarat Tramline

The Ballaarat Tramline, also known as the Lockville – Yoganup Railway, was the first railway in Western Australia, constructed in 1871 by the Western Australian Timber Company. The railway was used to transport timber from forests in the South West to the company's jetty at Lockville using the Ballaarat steam engine.

The W.A. Timber Company constructed the 12-mile (19 km) long Ballaarat Tramline in 1871 between Lockville and Yoganup. Governor Weld officially opened the railway on 23 December 1871.^[1][2]

The tramline was the first railway in Western Australia. It also included the Ballaarat Bridge – the first bridge constructed to conduct a steam locomotive in Western Australia.^[3]

The tramline's name originated from the locomotive that operated on the railway, named Ballaarat by the Mayor of Melbourne on the original spelling of the Victorian town of Ballarat where the locomotive was constructed.^[3][4]

The W.A. Timber Company was liquidated in 1888 and its assets auctioned.^[5]

In 1897 the W.A. Timber Company's former timber concession was leased to the Jarrah Wood and Saw Mills Company. The section of the Ballaarat Tramline route south of the Bunbury-Busselton railway^[6] was reused for the Nannup Branch Railway between Wonnerup and Jarrahwood.^[7]

A plaque and locomotive wheel commemorating the Ballaarat Tramline is located at Wonnerup House.^[3]

The Ballaarat steam engine now resides in Railway House, attached to the Visitor Centre on the Busselton foreshore.

• How Ballarat's 19th-century locomotive innovation became Busselton's historical treasure – ABC News article about the locomotive Ballaarat

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Railway lines in Western Australia

Main lines

• Eastern Goldfields
• Eastern Railway
• Great Southern Railway
• South Western Railway
• Trans-Australian Railway

Goldfields–Esperance

• Hopetoun–Ravensthorpe^†
• Kalgoorlie–Esperance
• Kalgoorlie–Gnumballa Lake^†
• Kalgoorlie–Kanowna^†
• Kalgoorlie–Leonora
• Malcolm–Laverton^†
• Kambalda–Redmine

Great Southern

• Donnybrook–Katanning^†
• Elleker–Nornalup^†
• Katanning–Pingrup^†
• Tambellup–Ongerup^†

Mid West

• Avon Yard–Mullewa^†
• Cue–Big Bell^†
• Dongara–Eneabba^†
• Geraldton–Ajana^†
• Geraldton–Mullewa
• Karara
• Meekatharra–Wiluna^†
• Millendon Junction–Narngulu
• Mullewa–Meekatharra^†
• Mount Magnet–Sandstone^†
• Upper Chapman Valley^†

Peel

• Waroona–Lake Clifton
• Pinjarra–Narrogin^†

Pilbara

• Fortescue
• Goldsworthy
• Hamersley & Robe River
• Marble Bar^†
• Mount Newman
• Roy Hill

Perth

• Airport
• Armadale
• Belmont^†
• Fremantle
• Kalamunda
• Kwinana freight
• Mandurah
• Midland (country)
• Midland (suburban)
• Morley–Ellenbrook
• Mundaring
• Mundaring Weir
• Spearwood–Armadale^†
• Thornlie
• Upper Darling Range
• Yanchep

South West

• Pinjarra–Narrogin^†

Wheatbelt

• Amery–Kalannie
• Avon Yard–Mullewa^†
• Boyanup–Flinders Bay^†
• Brookton–Corrigin^†
• Brunswick Junction–Narrogin^†
• Burakin–Bonnie Rock^†
• Goomalling–West Merredin^†
• Lake Grace–Hyden
• Merredin–Narrogin^†
• Merredin–Yilliminning^†
• Picton–Northcliffe^†
• Pinjarra–Narrogin^†
• Wyalkatchem–Southern Cross^†
• Toodyay West–Miling
• Wagin–Bowelling^†
• Wagin–Newdegate
• Wonnerup–Nannup^†
• York–Bruce Rock^†

Tourist & heritage railways

• Bennett Brook
• Hotham Valley

Timber railway lines

• Ballaarat Tramline
• Jarrahdale–Rockingham

Trams & tramways

• Baldivis Tramway
• Broome Tramway
• Carnarvon Tram
• Trams in Fremantle
• Trams in Kalgoorlie
• Trams in Perth

Approved by Parliament but not constructed

• Boyup Brook–Cranbrook
• Brookton–Dale River
• Manjimup–Mount Barker
• Southern Cross southwards
• Yarramony eastward

^† Denotes railway is closed, partially closed or has been removed

See also: Agricultural railways ♦ Wheatbelt railways