Cecil Plains railway line


The Cecil Plains Branch was a branch railway line on the Darling Downs in Queensland, Australia. It branched from the Western railway line at Oakey and terminated at Cecil Plains, a distance of. It operated from 1914 to 1994.

History

On 5 December 1911, the Parliament of Queensland approved the construction of a line to run from the Darling Downs town of Oakey southwest to the Mount Russell region.
Work began in May 1914 and the line to Mount Russell opened on 20 September 1915 terminating at the newly named town of Evanslea. En route stops were established at Tangkam, Yargullen, Aubigny, Purrawunda, Motley, Boora-Mugga, Mount Tyson and Mondam.
In 1917, work began on a extension of the line further west to Cecil Plains, with stops incorporated en route at Norillee, Bongeen, Norwin, Mywybilla, Nangwee and Horraine. That section of the line opened on 29 April 1919.
A passenger rail motor service plied the line fortnightly during the 1940s, and weekly during the 1950s, until withdrawn.
The line closed in 1994.