Mackay, about 1000 km north of
Brisbane, is situated at the entrance of a fertile river valley, and was quickly developed for agriculture, especially sugar cane. Sugar mills had been constructed with private cane tramways, meaning each mill had a local monopoly. The Mackay railway was built to allow growers to ship their sugar cane to alternative buyers, ending the mill monopolies.
Early lines The first section opened from Mackay to
Eton, the only other town in the region at the time, together with a branch from Newbury Junction to
Mirani, 36 km in total, in 1885. The "branch line" from Mirani was extended 16 km west to
Pinnacle between 1897 and 1902, and traffic grew to the point where it became regarded as the main line, and Eton as the branch line. The
Queensland Government built two sugar mills as part of the development, and in due course most mills became cooperatively owned.
River Estate of John Spiller }} For his estate, John Spiller imported a new steam locomotive (4150 of 1881) from
John Fowler & Co. in England. It was named on Thursday 4 August 1881
Emma Ruth after John Spiller's wife. It was capable of drawing 80 tons on a level or 16 tons up a gradient of 1 in 40 (25%) and at a speed of 15 miles per hour. The new locomotive was reported to have been a cylinder, with gauge, together with pressure gauge spring balance, whistle, and outfit complete. It pulled up to 26 cane wagons, 16 of which came out with the locomotive; they could each carry about 23
cwt (1.2 t) of cane. The estate had a gauge line of rails some three and a-half miles in length. The line was substantially laid on sleepers, and was similar in construction to ordinary lines. The trestle over Fursden Creek was made of piles, which were of up to high. In 1881, Spiller also procured from England two miles of permanent steel rails and one mile of portable rail, which were added to the existing line of 3½ miles, allowing it to run from one end of the estate to the other. ==References==