South Coast Line
The original railway line to the Gold Coast, Queensland was started with the construction of the line from Brisbane to Beenleigh in 1884, and the line to Southport was officially opened on 25 January 1889.
In 1903 the line was extended to Nerang and on to Coolangatta and Tweed Heads. The train line pre-dated the first car to pass through the coast, which arrived in 1905 (source: Gold Coast Bulletin).
In 1908 a siding was built to Currumbin for freight (source: Gold Coast Bulletin).
The railway pre-dated Southport (declared in 1918) and Surfers Paradise (1933), when the population of the Gold Coast was a mere 7,500.
In 1958 “Gold Coast” became the official name for the new region, and within a decade the railway was gone:
- 1961 – Nerang to Tweed rail service closed
- 1962 – Coolangatta Railway Station becomes a Lutheran church
- 1964, 1 July – The last train leaves Southport Station, and the line was torn up, sold, and destroyed shortly after
Segments of this Web Site
The main part of this site covers the portion of the line from Southport to Helensvale – click here to see that section.
The line also ran south to Tweed Heads, and was of course connected to Brisbane. There’s a lot of information yet to add to the site.