Kerang–Koondrook Tramway

The Kerang–Koondrook Tramway was an Australian private railway of 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge, running from the state-owned Victorian Railways network Piangil railway line at Kerang to the Murray River town of Koondrook, with intermediate stations at Yeoburn, Hinksons, Teal Point and Gannawarra.

Swan Hill-Koondrook rail ticket 1977

Construction of the 13.94 mi (22.43 km) long line was initiated by the Shire of Swan Hill in 1887,[1] under the terms of the Tramways in Country Districts Act 1886, which allowed local governments in country areas to construct tramways, with financial assistance from the Victorian government, to a limit of £2,000 a mile.[2][3] The tramway was opened in 1889.[4] On 31 December 1898, the now Kerang-based Shire of Swan Hill was renamed the Shire of Kerang.[5] By 1920, the tramway's construction had cost £39,229.[6]

In 1929, a four-wheel vertical boilered locomotive was imported to work the tramway, manufactured by the Sentinel Waggon Works in Shrewsbury. It was withdrawn in 1941 and scrapped in 1952. There is a description of a journey on the railway in 1938 in an article in the March 1971 edition of the Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin.[4]

Ownership of the tramway was transferred to the Victorian Railways on 1 February 1952. In its later years, passenger services on the line were run by a 102hp Walker railmotor, paid for by the Victorian Education Department, to convey school children. That service was withdrawn on 16 December 1976. A railfan farewell special, with a train hauled by T356, ran on 20 November 1977.[7] The line was officially closed on 3 March 1981.[8]