About The Bell Branch Railway was a railway line from Dalby, on the Western line, to Bell in Queensland, Australia. The Line is about 34.7 km (21.6 mi) In 1889 Queensland Parliament approved the construction of a line to run northeast from the Darling Downs town of Dalby to the Bunya Mountains but financial hardship prevented the commencement of work. In 1904 further approval enabled construction of a 39 km line to Cattle Creek, later renamed Bell after Lands Minister Sir Joshua Peter Bell. A daily service was initially provided, a thrice-weekly service sufficed by 1923 and a rail motor service prevailed between 1928 and 1956. During its time, goods transport was prolific. Farm produce was the initial mainstay but later cream traffic increased as did the carriage of wheat and timber from the Bunya Mountains. Locomotives (can not confirm if all these ran on this line and if there might have been more) 1150 class Builder: GE Transportation, A Goninan & Co Total Produced: 13 Years Built: 1952 - 1956 Prime mover: Cooper Bessemer FWL12T Power Output: 820 kW (1,100 hp) 1170 class Builder: Walkers Total Produced: 12 Years Built: 1956 - 1958 Prime mover: Cooper Bessemer FWL6T Power Output: 477 kW (640 hp) 1720 class Builder: Clyde Engineering, Eagle Farm Total Produced: 56 Years Built: 1966 - 1970 Prime mover: EMD 8-645E Power Output: 745 kilowatts (999 hp) DH class Builder: Walkers Limited Total Produced: 73 Years Built: 1966 - 1974 Prime mover: Caterpillar D355E Power Output: 347 kW (470 hp) 1900 class (for heritage tours) Builder: Comeng Total Produced: 2 Years Built: 1956 Prime mover: 2 x AEC AH590 Power Output: 250 horsepower (190 kW)
