Railway dams and reservoirs were used to supply water to an extensive railway system that ventured into low rainfall, and poor water quality areas of the inner regions of Western Australia in the 1890s.
Contents
- Droughts
- Water quality
- Eastern Railway
- Eastern Goldfields Railway
- Great Southern Railway
- Northern Railways
- WAGR annual reports
- References
Some of the dams were made redundant with the completion of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme which provided a more certain supply along the Eastern and Goldfields lines.
Droughts
Seasonal variations and drought conditions in various areas made rainfall and re-filling of dams a reportable event in the West Australian media.
Water quality
Water quality was a perennial problem, and some dams and supplies had levels of unwanted salinity and other ingredients that seriously affected the life time of the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) steam locomotive boilers.
Eastern Railway
In the 1890s the Eastern Railway was designated as being from Fremantle to Kalgoorlie.
Railway dams were located at:
Eastern Goldfields Railway
The Eastern Goldfields railway started east of Northam, following development of other branch lines from Northam.
Great Southern Railway
The Great Southern Railway was originally a private land grant railway, and was later taken over by the government.
Northern Railways
WAGR annual reports
The information about the dams – Return of Reservoirs – can be found in the WAGR annual reports, but there is no consistency as to which appendices they are listed in during the period 1899–1905.
The appendices are fully expanded tables that include the capacity of the dams, as well as their location in miles from the Perth railway station.