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Murphys Creek Railway Complex

Odin Street, Murphys Creek

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Murphys Creek Railway Complex (2011); Heritage Branch staff

Murphys Creek Railway Complex (2011)

Murphy's Creek Railway Complex (2008); Heritage Branch staff

Murphy's Creek Railway Complex (2008)

Murphy's Creek Railway Complex, water tank (2008); Heritage Branch

Murphy's Creek Railway Complex, water tank (2008)

Murphys Creek Railway Complex (2009); Heritage Branch

Murphys Creek Railway Complex (2009)

The 1867 Murphy’s Creek Railway Station and its water tank are a tribute to the development of Queensland Railways during the steam locomotive era (1865-1969). Due to limited water carrying capacity of early locomotives, water halts were required along the main range line. A water tank was installed at Murphy’s Creek prior to the completion of the line and the area became known as a ‘feeding place for the engines‘. In 1871, a goods shed was constructed at the station following increasing goods traffic. A booking office and platform were built in 1878-79 to provide additional room for the developing line traffic. In 1879, an 11,000 gallon steel water tank was installed to expand water supply. A reserve for railway purposes was set aside opposite the station in 1884 and a fork line was established there in 1885, in an effort to support locomotives in ascending the Main Range without having to reduce their load at Murphy’s Creek. In 1917, Murphy’s Creek was closed as a watering station; however an emergency 8,000 gallon water tank was erected in 1921 and expanded with a second tier in 1949. The station was closed in 1992 with the introduction of Centralised Traffic Control.

Coordinates: -27.4628622, 152.05719297

Full details of this heritage-registered place are in the Heritage register.

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Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Last reviewed
1 July 2022
Last updated
28 February 2023