Australian Railway Atlas: No.1 - Tasmania.

Australian Railway Atlas: No.1--Tasmania, Quail Map Company, Exeter, 2004. ISBN 1898319693. 33+ii. Maps. $36.00

This atlas is the first in a proposed series of state-based atlases of Australian railway, tram and trolley routes. The idea for an Australian railway atlas was initially proposed in 1990, and a team of researchers set out to compile the necessary information, once and for all, to avoid the necessity of subsequent editions to correct and complete the initial publication (such as happened with Quail's New Zealand Railway & Tramway Atlas). The only problem with this approach is the amount of time it takes for the atlas to reach publication and the relative lack of feedback and new information the authors can get without a provisional edition on public release. So last year, fourteen years after its initial proposal, the first volume in the series was published. It is a mere 36 pages, but A4 in size (like Quail's Russian and Chinese atlases, and larger than the A5 New Zealand atlas), and unlike its predecessors it uses colour throughout.

The criteria for inclusion of a line is described on page 1:

1) Iron or steel rails on formation constructed to a reasonable standard and intended to be used indefinitely.

2) Regularly worked by steam locomotives (other than home made locomotives on rough bush tramways) for at least part of their existence.

Thus the ephemeral and often wooden-railed bush tramways built by timber mills to deliver trees to the mill, and for which there are very sparse records and little evidence left on the ground, are excluded.

Below this are listed categories of lines

excluded:

1) Lines built purely to service a construction project such as a dam or canal and which were removed on completion of the project.

2) Lines which operate entirely within a single industrial site.

3) Lines which were partially constructed but never completed or opened.

The first of these raised my eyebrows, although the second is understandable, particularly within mines where individual branches were frequently rebuilt and for which little documentation exists. The third however is much to be regretted. With regard to the first exclusion category, construction lines, such as those built during the development of Canberra in the 1910s and 1920s often appear on other maps, and many have been researched in Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) publications, so that their carte blanche exclusion from this atlas is not due to lack of information. Likewise, partially constructed lines may have formations still visible in the landscape, and again such an atlas should be the initial point of reference for them. Quail's own New Zealand atlas, for example, shows a partial formation built from Mercer to Thames but abandoned during the war. That formation is still visible on current topographic maps (NZMS 260, sheet S11), so the decision to exclude such lines from the Australian atlas, while perhaps easing the research burden, is very disappointing. Together these exclusions prevent the atlas from being the definitive reference source it should be. Luckily the introduction goes on to allow for some exceptions to the above to ensure a "rounded view of operations in particular areas", and thus the convict-powered timber-railed trolley on the Tasman Peninsula is shown, together with a number of timber tramways.

The atlas devotes fifteen pages to maps. The cartography and typography are crisp and clear and despite the wealth of information, the maps are a joy to read. The colour adds a new dimension to Quail's established style. Each page features several individual maps, often insets, each with a clear scale and usually a north arrow. Some insets are rotated from north to fit them onto the pages, but this is generally clear.

Topography is not shown, so the land is white, and rivers and sea a pleasing medium blue. The individual rail lines are colour-coded by gauge, with solid colour used for extant lines and a lighter hue for lifted lines. Presumably any lines out of use have been lifted (unlike in NSW where many long-disused lines retain their rails), but this is not stated. My only concern is that the bold red used for 1600 mm (5' 3") gauge extant lines is hard to distinguish from the lighter shade of red for 1600 mm lifted lines under some lights, and may become more so as the colours fade (don't leave the atlas open on your dashboard when exploring the old lines!). On each line, stations are classified as freight, passenger, both, or closed, and the mileages (converted to km!) to each station are given, as measured from Hobart or from the branch junction. After the railway maps, three pages cover Hobart's and Launceston's tram and trolley bus lines.

Next come twelve pages of route sections giving mileage and altitude data. The numbering of these follows that of the ARHS's previously-released Australian Railway Routes 1854 to 2000 (which I reviewed in 2002 in Cartography 31(1):125-6), but substantial new detail is given for sidings, stations and other features.

Finally a six-page index includes all names on the maps, and references both the maps and route sections. Capitals and italics allow immediate differentiation of passenger stations, and "other activity points", from junctions, bridges and other features.

I have two further quibbles. First, despite an overall map of Tasmania on page 1, there is no reference on this to the individual line maps. The highlighted numbers on this first map refer to the route sections, which then tell the reader upon which maps that line is shown in detail. Alternatively, armed with a placename, one can use the index to locate a particular map. But given the relative simplicity of the Tasmanian system, an index map with numbered rectangles overlaid showing the extent of each of the individual line maps would have been helpful, especially to anyone unfamiliar with Tasmania.

Second, lists of tunnels and bridges, giving their length, height and date of construction would have been a nice addition. This was done in the New Zealand atlas.

These criticisms aside, overall this is a very complete book, a must-have for any railway enthusiast, and like Australian Railway Routes 1854 to 2000 will be a very useful tool for dating Tasmanian maps. I look forward to the arrival of the rest of the volumes, hopefully not too far in the future. The atlas is a perfect excuse to get out into the bush, or even the urban jungle and begin exploring part of our industrial heritage. All aboard!

Dr Brendan Whyte

The University of Melbourne 

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