29 April 2003

Today's crossing of the Fergusson River Bridge is the first in nearly 27 years and is another success story for construction of the AustralAsia Railway. The Fergusson River Bridge, originally constructed for the North Australian Railway (NAR), carried it's last train in 1976 when the NAR was closed.

Only minor work was required to refurbish the bridge and return it to service, this included replacement of former timber sleepers with steel transoms, the replacement of some rivets and bearing pads on top of the bridge piers and the addition of a safety walkway to comply with current safety standards.

The proposed railway alignment crossed the Fergusson River about 250 metres upstream of the existing bridge, but this alignment was abandoned and the old NAR alignment adopted in order to reduce the capital cost of the new line. When load conditions warrant it, a new bridge may be built on this alignment at some future time.

The bridge was designed for standard gauge railway, even in 1915, and adopted design train loading very close to the current design loadings for the AustralAsia Railway. This allowed ADrail to consider using the bridge for the new railway, but at a cost of lower operating speeds through this section of the line. The lower operating speeds are required to cope with the tighter curves on the approaches to the bridge.

The Fergusson River Bridge was built by the Commonwealth Government as part of the extension of the line from Pine Creek to Katherine, to bring cattle to the Vestey's Meatworks at Bullocky Point in Darwin, now the sight of Darwin High School.

Steel work for the bridge was ordered from a Sydney company in 1913, wooden sleepers were supplied form the forests of Western Australia. Supplies of steel and shipping to Darwin were delayed by the demands of World War 1, these delays were overcome by constructing a temporary low-level bridge upstream of the railway bridge. This temporary bridge was used for two years until 1918, when the Fergusson River Bridge carried it first train.

Most of the bridge was assembled on site, using the plate riveting techniques common during that period. The girders were assembled on the north bank and then rolled forward on rail trolleys and lifted into place by special cranes set up for the purpose.

The NAR maintains a long, important and complex history to the Northern Territory. Originally constructed to service and supply the northern goldfields around Pine Creek, the NAR was integral to expansion into the interior that opened up other enterprises such as pastoralism. The NAR also played an important role during WWII as a supply line to the military stationed inland.

For additional information, see:

• Heritage on the AustralAsia Railway Project
• History
• Environment and Heritage

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