Sandstone Branch Railway (also known as the Black Range railway) was a branch railway line between Mount Magnet and Sandstone in the Mid West region of Western Australia.
It was built in 1910,[1][2] and closed in 1949;[3] it was lifted in 1950.[4]
It was connected to the Mullewa – Meekatharra railway at Mount Magnet.
An interactive map of the Sandstone line is available at OpenStreetMap.[5]
Prior to[6] and after construction, there were suggestions of connecting to the railway line at Leonora, approximately 100 miles (160 km) south east of Sandstone.[7] Such a connection would have created a loop line linking the Northern Railway[which?] with the Eastern Goldfields Railway. The proposal was not successful.
The railway was considered by the railway commissioner of the time in the mid-1930s to be the worst railway in Western Australia.[8][9][10]
Post-Second World War austerity issues were given as part of reason for closing in 1948 due to shortage of 45-pound (20 kg) rails for the required repairs to remain open.[11]
The Sandstone railway goods shed built in 1910 was considered to be of heritage significance, having survived long after closing of the line.[12]