I Thought for the purposes of Posterity I would record the History of the D&E along with a crude map before I post up my new working track plan. I would also like to thank Bill Nelson and Doc Tom who as this was the first forum site I joined really influenced me towards the forestry side of railroading, my new plan will pay homage to that like the old history did.
Desolation & Eastern Railway (Desolation Island Short Line (Desolation Bus Company) – FreightLink – Department of Defence consortium)
Motto: “Serving everywhere east of Desolation”
History:
Lying some 45 kilometres off the mainland cost and some 3 km from the International Date Line the Desolation Island chain holds the title as the eastern most land body on earth. It was here after settlement of the mainland did mainly Irish and Scottish settlers come to make a new life. Most of these were failed gold prospectors from both Bathurst and San Francisco. More came in the mid 1850’s to establish a base on the westernmost island for whaling in the southern pacific ocean, following them was the British government who established a garrison and prison on the eastern island of the chain, following this with the discovery of mineral salts from the two extinct volcanoes on the Island – Now Mount Sarah and Mount Morrison, came the establishment of a gunpowder factory in the shelter of Dog Bay.
In the 1890’s with little expansion into the island interior it was hit upon to build a coastal railway to link the small settlements that had sprung up on the island, for the most part to service these towns clippers were forced to dodge the natural reefs and rock formations that line the coast to unload at each port. Added to this was the limited road development on the island due to its rugged terrain and inability of access from the mainland of materials and workers. Named the Desolation Short Line The line would leave the main settlement of Desolation on the Islands North West point and move south east skirting around the western face of Mt. Sarah to a high bridge across the Hickox channel to the fishing settlement of Blue Fin on English Island – named for the fish that was the town’s life blood. The line was then pushed on through a ridge line into the dog bay garrison where the gunpowder factory was located. The Dog legged harbour surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs was the perfect fortification for the installation from the guns of the French and Dutch while providing supplies for Britannia’s navy. About this time along the coast to the northern village of Timber landing another line, this time the 30” Mt Morrison and Pacific Logging Co was pushed inland across the saddle of Mt Morrison to provide Logging access to stands of the native and very expensive Blood and Honey Pines. This line made it over the saddle to the main camp at what is now the village of Mt Morrison. Later this line would be pushed further south to give access to the coastal town of Hickox bay. Further logging branches inland to the eastern face of Mt. Sarah and the inland valleys were also constructed and are still used today. Both lines were never to be called rich and with lightly laid track and grades of up to 7% on some branches, Shays and later Climaxes and Heislers where the power of choice for both companies
In 1912 the DSL made its second push across the Rocky channel – named because it is impassable to all but the smallest water craft – onto Dateline Island to the settlement of Sand Patch serving logging, farming, a sand pit and clay quarry to supply the gunpowder factory and naval base. With the coming of the aeroplane, came the air force. In the end the Desolation chain would receive three airfields by the end of world war two. Conversely the Mt Morrison Company would play out its logging stands and go bankrupt in the great depression. The mainland government, sensing the changing winds of the 1930’s, would make the biggest investment in infrastructure ever done on the islands, both to stave off the massive unemployment of the time and to prepare for the threat that was coming from the Japanese. Connecting Timber Landing to the DSL was the first task done along with a realignment of sections of the Mt Morrison line to remove the worst grades and regauging to 4’ 8 ½” (standard gauge).
One of the main sources of traffic for the company is the Honey and Blood pines. Honey pine is a coastal growing variety related to both the Wollemi and Norfolk Island Pines, it gets its name from both its brightly coloured yellow wood which turns a burnt umber colour from the inside out as the tree ages and it’s highly sought after sweet sap which is a rival to maple syrup. Its almond like nuts are edible with a hazelnut flavour and it fruits prolifically. Although a protected species limited logging of the tree for its wood is allowed under permit which is used in fine furniture and for decorative turning, it is illegal to remove specimens from the desolation Islands (to protect the local industries) however the trees have turned up in bush land on the mainland. The Blood Pine is a mountain growing relative to Honey Pine and gets its name from its wood, which has been described as a soft wood Jarrah or Rose wood. Used primarily for its Timber, Blood pine is semi-endangered as no stands outside the desolation chain exist, again it is illegal to remove specimens from the islands, however in limited logging is still allowed in specific areas and only certain amounts per year may be logged to protect the species – a point of contention with many environmental groups . Not surprisingly its limited availability along with its fine quality make Blood pine a highly sought after and very expensive furniture wood.
For many years this was the main income for the DSL along with brining in supplies to the towns from the main port and ferry slip at Desolation. However after the war the lines fortunes began a steady decline as the roads around the island were improved, to stave off the loss of an important employer and community link the local government (which unlike many of its counterparts around the world at the time was Pro-train) banned the use of trucks above 6 tonnes gross weight from using the islands roads. This also allowed the government to get away with not having to strengthen bridges and use sub-standard road materials. This did not save the DSL but did stave off the inevitable through the 1960’s with an economic downturn in the 1970’s following the Oil shock the DSL lost most of its traffic to light trucks; although these had to make more runs than a standard rail wagon it was still more economical. The company switched its passenger business to busses and sold most of its rolling stock to mainland companies, because of the military presence on the island the line was not ripped up like most at this time but went into mothball ready to move should the need arise, in fact several time during the 70’s and 80’s the army and navy used the islands for exercises utilising the rail as both transport and objectives.
By the 1990’s again like the WST&ER on the west coast it was hit upon to re-open the line for tourist operations and to the benefit of the local economy restart freight operations. The department of defence which had rented and maintained the track work throughout the mothballing agreed to enter into a consortium with the Desolation Bus Line (the passenger arm of the original DSL) and Freightlink who would secure contracts for goods and wagons both on and off the island, the inclusion of Freightlink gave the Desolation and Eastern as it was now known access to CFCL (Chicago Freight Car Leasing) inventory of rolling stock, while the explosives plant agreed to sell is old class 08 shunter to compliment the GP-35 purchased ex Santa Fe from the US. Today with its massive staff of 14 the company continues to rebuild sections of track to bring it to mainland standard. Short freights of merchandise can be seen heading inland and to the naval base while cottage agriculture products; wine, cheese, preserves and tree nuts are shipped out. On holidays and at peak tourist times of the year the Historical Railway society ships in on car ferry on or two steam locomotives and old passenger cars for use on tourist workings around the island. It has been noted that the company recently found the remains of a one-of-a-kind garret locomotive built for the Mt. Morrison Company in the late 30’s. Having refurbished the locomotive it can be seen working most weekends and during high traffic times or emergencies making it one of the last stem locos still in revenue service anywhere in the world.