Commercial Operation at Archerfield

Subject:    Archerfield
Date:             Sun, 7 Nov 1999 12:25:43 +1000
From:           "PETer and susAN Cokley" <petan@ion.com.au>

I have a particular interest in historical aviation research, especially air navigation. My aviation web page contains material I have collected so far.

One date I can not find anywhere is when commercial operation changed from Archerfield to Eagle Farm. It would be sometime around 1950.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter and/or Susan Cokley
Gold Coast, Australia
petan@ion.com.au

Subject:   Re: Archerfield quarry
Date:           Mon, 8 Nov 1999 20:04:25 +1000
From:          "PETer and susAN Cokley" <petan@ion.com.au>

I quote from "Destination South Brisbane" by John Kerr and John Armstrong, published by the Australian Railway Historical Society, QLD Division, 1978. Page 27 and pages 73-76.

The train siding from Rocklea Station yard was 2 mile 34 chains completed in 1913. This began at the end of the former livestock siding at Rocklea station yard, ran parallel to the main line to near the site of the present day Nyanda platform [ closed 11/78] than headed south across Stable Swamp CK, and along the eastern edge of Beatty RD, past what is now Archerfield Aerodrome. It then turned south east to terminate at the Brisbane Blue Metal's Company's quarry. In 1914 a Mr Abercrombie was permitted to load logs on the siding [exact spot not stated]. The line was out of use by 1923 when W.J. Crabb was allowed to make use of the Rocklea end of it. The above book suggests the reason for the closure possibly due to exhaustion of the quarry.

The "First Sod" for the standard gauge line to Sydney via Kyogle was turned at Rocklea 17 January 1925. Ballast for this new line was from the Round Mountain quarry which was 45 miles 17 chains from South Brisbane. Round Mountin is 3 miles north of the township of Tamrookum which is on the Mt Lindsay highway south of Beaudesert.

The interstate train line was build from South Brisbane to the Border by QLD Rail [QR] as they own it. Although finally built as standard gauge, it was first built as QR 3 ft 6 inch track on standard gauge sleepers. After the track was finished and ballasted, one rail was moved out to the 4 ft 8.5 inch gauge. In this way QR narrow gauge locos and wagons could be used to build the line to the border. It fact, there were public excursions operated by QR on the new line using QR narrow gauge locos and passenger carriages. A photo is in the above book. The date for one of these QR narrow gauge excursions was 21 July 1929. The new route, on 4 ft 8.5 in track, was opened to Sydney 27 Sept 1930.

The interstate track through Rocklea would be on the same location as the line to the Archerfield quarry would have been, that is, on the western side of the line to Beenleigh , for the section between Rocklea and Nyanda.

Anyway, I thought you might be interested in what the railway historical book has to say about the quarry line to Archerfield.

No matter what the quarry was used for and the years it was dug out, the huge hole was still there in WW11 waiting for scrap metal items to be tossed down into it.

> Have you seen all my others. There's now over 100 Mbytes at the address at the
> bottom of this e-mail. Quite a lot of military aircraft history sites.

Yes, I did have a close look. The reason I found your site was an e-mail friend told me that your site had material about the USAAF B-17 that force landed near the Sandgate RAAF station on 18 April 1942.

Have you checked out my air navigation web site. There are over 9000 words of text.

I need your help

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