HISTORY
The mood for a railway linking the rapidly developing tin mining town of Herberton and the coast grew during the election year of 1882 when southern politicians visited the north to court the Northern vote. After a prolonged wet season virtually isolated Herberton for several months that same year (Cairns Post Office recorded 64 inches of rain for Janurary, February and March in 1882) the obvious need for a more permanent line of communication became apparent and angry Herberton voices began agitating for a railway to the coast. The cry was soon taken up in the rival towns of Cairns and Port Douglas which quickly formed Railway Leagues.
In April 1882 the Minister for Works and Mines, Mr Macrossan, during a visit to the northern electorates, announced that in consequence of a promise made to the people of Cairns and Port Douglas, he had commissioned Mr Christie Palmerston, a well-known northern bushman and explorer, to search for and report on the best crossing of the coastal range for a railway.
On 1st August 1882, Palmerston sums up his explorations for a route across the ranges by saying "I am positive there is not a natural road over the coast range, or anything approaching it. It will require skill and engineering wherever you wish to cross it."
A report by the Chief Engineer, Central and Northern Division, Mr R Ballard, dated 21st August 1884 states:
"As there are two or more routes out of Cairns towards Herberton, and as it is a much better port than either Mourilyan or Port Douglas, and as the cost and distance of the line from Cairns to Herberton appears likely to be no greater than that of a line from either of the other two places, I think that the time has arrived when you might be justified in reducing the problem into the smaller compass of finding the best line from Cairns to Herberton, instead of from Herberton to the Coast."
CONSTRUCTION
The first section extended from Cairns to Redlynch, initially traversing sand ridges, swamps and salt-pans and then into jungle country touching the right bank of the Barron River before turning up the valley of Freshwater Creek to the foot of the coastal range. On this section there were no great engineering difficulties beyond that of providing a solid foundation under the rail bed to carry the weight of rail traffic. Quarries at Edge Hill provided suitable ballast close beside the surveyed line.
The second section extended from Redlynch at the foot of the range to Myola, about three miles beyond the present site of Kuranda. This section covered a distance of fifteen miles and contained fifteen tunnels and 98 curves. The original plans had indicated that 19 tunnels would be required but numbers 14, 15, 17 and 18 were altered to cuttings. The construction entailed side cuttings across the face of the range and along the side of the Barron Gorge throughout the greater part of its length.
It was contracted for by John Robb at a tender price of £290 094. Building of the second or range section was completed to Myola on 15th June 1891 and a regular rail service to that terminus was commenced. On completing the second section John Robb was paid £901 213, a cost three times the initial contract price, the additional costs being due to the difficulties of the construction and damage caused by landslides during the wet seasons.
