Western Australian Government Railway lines and operations centres

Main lines

In rail administration, lines were given generic titles such as the Eastern Railway, the South Western, rather than after the destination.

In different stages of the administration of the WAGR - the term for groups of railways were known by different terms

Eastern Lines

Eastern Goldfields Lines

South Western Lines

Southern Lines

Northern Lines

Names of Lines and abbreviations

Names of lines were abbreviated regularly in WAGR publications - to facilitate List of Stations and Sidings on the Western Australian Government Railways open for Traffic sections in Goods rates books. Also at one stage every location was numbered with a code number.

Branches/sections

Internal WAGR publications usually identified railway lines as Lines, rather than as Branch Lines. Also tables and indexes of loads for locomotives created a large range of 'sections' that were either ganger related lengths, or related to gradients and conditions.

For a different way of identifying branches/routes see also Quinlan and Newland.

Isolated lines

A number of isolated lines did not connect with the main rail systems - these included the Port Hedland - Marble Bar Railway and the Hopetoun - Ravensthorpe Railway. A number of piers were fitted with rail lines to carry goods from the ship to the mainland.

Operational centres

For most of the years that the WAGR existed as that entity, main offices, and divisional offices and buildings were all within a short range of Perth Railway Station. Rationalisation of the diverse addresses and locations occurred with the construction of the East Perth Head Office building.