Armadale to Fremantle Railway Line Remnants

Child Places

• 24582 Armadale/Fremantle Rail Armadale Road to Cockburn
• 26203 Armadale to Fremantle Railway Line and Bridge
• 24581 Armadale/Fremantle Rail Line James Drain Portion
• 24004 Armadale/Fremantle Rail Line Nicholson to Taylor Rds
• 24582 Armadale/Fremantle Rail Armadale Road to Cockburn

Statement of Significance

Historic Value:
The place has historic value as the opening of the railway from Perth to Armadale had a large impact on the elevation of Armadale to municipal prominence. The selection of Armadale as the point to join the line to Fremantle further opened the district to the transport of its agricultural and timber products and the movement of passengers along the Armadale-Fremantle route.

Scientific Value:
The place has scientific value as an archaeological research and teaching site that has the potential to reveal wider information about railway works associated with the construction of railways in Western Australia at the start of the 20th Century.

Physical Description

In the 1970’s the alignment of this railway was largely intact and the location of the sidings readily visible. The two railway bridges at Armadale (Neerigen Brook) and Westfield (Wungong Brook) were also still in - situ. The construction of Armadale Road along the railway reserve has eliminated much of this formation. From Forrestdale to Banjup the old railway formation is still largely in place on the south side of Armadale Road, with remains of the gravel ballasting extant. There are the remains of a bridge over the James Drain in Forrestdale between Nicholson and Taylor Roads and a small culvert visible north of Taylor Road.

History

The Jandakot-Armadale Railway was constructed by the Railway Construction Branch, Public Works Department (PWD). Work commenced at Jandakot on 20 February 1907 and after a month the forming up of the track bed and clearing were well advanced. About 80 men were employed and 1 mile of rails had been laid. Jandakot had been the terminus of the railway since the section from Robb’s Jetty opened on 1 April 1906. This railway was built to serve the settlers along its route but it was also a short cut for goods, timber and coal to the port of Fremantle. Because of this heavy goods traffic, the line was built new with heavy rails. The 58lb per yard steel rails were made by Cockerill Ougrée in Liège, Belgium.
By the end of April 1907 the rails had been laid for 3½ miles. The rails were connected with the South Western Railway at Armadale in mid June and it was reported that the PWD had already hauled 100 tons of local goods using their construction locomotive. The railway was opened for goods and passenger traffic from 15 July 1907, while the official opening was performed by the Minister for Works, James Price, on 22 July 1907. A special train was run for the
occasion from Fremantle through to Armadale. At the time of the opening there were only two
intermediate sidings; No.1 Siding (later Banjupp) and No.2 Siding (later Forrestdale).

There were a number of sidings and stopping places from Fremantle heading towards Armadale along the route of the railway over the years from 1907 to 1964.
These included:
“Jandakot : opened with the railway from Robb’s Jetty on 1 April 1906. It was renamed
Yangebupp on 1 April 1908, but renamed Jandakot on 14 September 1908. It was still open when the railway
closed in 1964. It appears that this siding was about 8.9km, as the crow flies, west from the Banjup siding (and nowadays in the City of Cockburn).
“Banjup : opened with the railway on 15 July 1907 and was known as No.1 Siding. It was named Banjupp on 1 April 1908 but renamed Banjup in August 1915. It had a public siding, shelter shed and loading ramp. The public siding was removed in April 1952 but the location remained open as a passenger stopping place until eliminated in January 1961. (This siding was located just west of the intersection of Armadale and Liddelow Roads and outside the boundaries of Armadale).
“Taylor’s Crossing: this was a passenger stopping place only, and opened sometime prior to 1922. It was originally called
Skeet’s Crossing and was renamed Taylor’s Crossing in June 1934. It appears to have been mainly used by school children. It was eliminated in January 1961. (This locality was about 500 metres east of the intersection of Armadale and Taylor Roads).
“Pine Tree Crossing : this was also a passenger stopping place only (mainly school children) and opened about 1936-38. It was eliminated in January 1961. (This location is about the intersection of Armadale and Nicholson Roads).
“Forrestdale: opened with the railway on 15 July 1907 and was known as No.2 Siding. It was named Jandakot on 1 April 1908, but renamed East Jandakot on 14 September 1908. It was renamed Forrestdale in August 1915. It had a public siding, shelter shed and loading ramp. It was still open when the railway closed in 1964. (This siding was located about the intersection of Armadale and Wirin Roads, Forrestdale).
“Westfield: this public siding was opened in August 1911 and named Murphy’s Crossing. It was renamed Westfield in May 1916. The public siding was removed for a time but was reinstalled in October 1923. A shelter shed was provided for passengers and goods. It was still open when the railway closed in 1964. (This siding was just west of the current intersection of Armadale and Lake Roads).
In the early 1960’s a new bauxite railway was proposed by Alcoa to run from Mundijong to the Darling Ranges. A new direct route for the bauxite was planned from Mundijong to Kwinana and this eliminated the need to maintain a parallel railway from Armadale to Robbs Jetty. Train services from Bibra Lake to Armadale were therefore suspended from 23 January 1964. The last train to run on this line was an Australian Railway Historical Society tour to Armadale on 23 February 1964. This tour was also a farewell tour for the ‘DS’ class of steam locomotives, when DS 371 hauled this train.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Moderate
Authenticity: Moderate

Condition

Poor

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.