| Upper Darling Range railway | |
| System: | Western Australian Government Railways |
| Status: | Dismantled |
| Start: | Midland Junction |
| End: | Karragullen |
| Open: | July 1891 |
| Close: | 22 July 1949 |
| Linelength: | 35 kilometres |
The Upper Darling Range railway (also known as the Upper Darling Range branch) was a branch railway from Midland Junction, Western Australia, that rose up the southern side of the Helena Valley and on to the Darling Scarp via the Kalamunda Zig Zag. At the time of construction it was the only section of railway in Western Australia to have had a zig zag formation.
Completed in July 1891, the Upper Darling Range railway line was built by the Canning Jarrah Timber Company to supply railway sleepers to Perth's growing railway system. It ran from Midland Junction railway station through to the Darling Ranges and up into Kalamunda. It was later extended to Canning Mills and in 1912 to Karragullen.[1] From Pickering Brook, a line branched off to Bartons Mill.[2] [3]
On 1 July 1903, the line was taken over by the Western Australian Government Railways and became known as the Upper Darling Range branch. The last service ran on 22 July 1949. The line was formally closed by the Railways (Upper Darling Range) Discontinuance Act 1950; it was dismantled in 1952.[2] [3] [4] [5]
Named stopping places and locations on the line included:[6]
| Name | Previous name(s) | Distance from Perth | Height above sea level | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helena Vale | 15km (09miles) | 15m (49feet) | |||
| Bushmead (now under Roe Highway) | Waterhall | 17km (11miles) | 26m (85feet) | ||
| Rifle Range | 23km (14miles) | 104m (341feet) | |||
| Poison Gully Creek (scene of 1904 crash) | |||||
| Number 1 Points Ridge Hill (lower section of Zig Zag) | 27km (17miles) | ||||
| Perth City Council siding from 1920 | 28km (17miles) | ||||
| Number 3 Points | |||||
| Number 4 Points (upper section of Zig Zag) | Possibly known as The Knoll | ||||
| 30km (20miles) | 242m (794feet) | ||||
| Stirk's Landing | 32km (20miles) | 242m (794feet) | |||
| South Kalamunda | Guppy's Siding | 35km (22miles) | 283m (928feet) | ||
| Wallis's Crossing | 37km (23miles) | 311m (1,020feet) | |||
| (named Heidelberg between 1904 and 1915) | 38km (24miles) | 318m (1,043feet) | |||
| Green's Landing | 40km (30miles) | 286m (938feet) | |||
| Pickering Junction | 42km (26miles) | 282m (925feet) | |||
| Canning Timber Station | 48km (30miles) | 254m (833feet) | |||
| Karragullen | 50km (30miles) | 300m (1,000feet) | |||