Convict tramway

The 19th-century convict tramway, in Tasmania, used trusted prisoners from the Port Arthur convict settlement as motive power.[1] Constructed to bypass the hazardous sea voyage from Hobart to Port Arthur,[2][3]: 27  it was the first "railed way" in Australia to carry passengers and general freight.[4][3][note 1]

The line, of unknown gauge, was constructed under the supervision of the penal settlement's commandant, Captain Charles O'Hara Booth.[6] Opened in 1836, it ran for 8 kilometres (5 miles) from Oakwood to Taranna.[2] An unconfirmed report said that the line continued to Eaglehawk Neck; if this were so, its length would have been more than doubled.

The tramway carried freight, with a capacity of half a ton, and passengers, on wooden rails. The track formation was not levelled but followed the natural elevation of the ground; on descending a hill the runners were permitted to ride on the vehicle. One team of convicts – usually three in number – could complete up to three round trips per day, carrying freight in both directions. If he proved trustworthy, a convict was eventually rewarded with permission to access less restricted parts of the colony.[7]

The date of the line's closure is unknown; the penal settlement closed in 1877.[8]

Notes

  1. ^ The term "railed way" refers to a configuration that preceded those of full-scale railways.[5]: 27  The timber rails of the line, for example, were inadequate for speeds higher than those of running men or weights of more than half a ton; and carts were not coupled together.

References

  1. ^ "Local History – history of the Tasman Peninsula". Tasman Council. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Taranna - Tasmania". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Port Arthur Historic Sites Statutory Management Plan 2008". UNESCO. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  4. ^ Eardley, Gifford (April 1954). "The convict tramway at Port Arthur, Tasmania". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin. Vol. V, no. 198. Redfern, NSW: Australian Railway Historical Society, New South Wales Division. pp. 38, 39. ISSN 1449-6291.
  5. ^ Webber, J.; Wylie, R.F. (March 1968). "Colliery railways of the Australian Agricultural Company in the Newcastle district". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin. Vol. XIX, no. 365. Redfern, NSW: Australian Railway Historical Society, New South Wales Division. p. 56. ISSN 0005-0105.
  6. ^ Hughes, Robert (1987). The Fatal Shore. Random House. pp. 407–408. ISBN 9781407054070. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  7. ^ "An excursion to Port Arthur". Fraser's Magazine. Vol. 26, no. 180. London. September 1842. p. 283.
  8. ^ Yonge, John (2004). Australian Railway Atlas: No.1 - Tasmania. Exeter, UK: Quail Map Company.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.