Etheridge railway line
The railway stations at Mount Surprise, Einasleigh and Forsayth and the route of the Etheridge Railway between Mount Surprise and Forsayth, including surviving railway buildings, rails, sidings, turning forks, loading banks, stone pitched bridges and culverts, stone cuttings, sandboxes, water tank, signage, and signals and points infrastructure, are important surviving evidence of the efforts of the Chillagoe Railway and Mines Company to supply copper ore to its smelters at Chillagoe.
Etheridge railway line
Protracted negotiations between the government and the Chillagoe Company led to the passing of The Chillagoe and Etheridge Railways Act 1918 and the resumption of the company assets, including the Etheridge Railway, on 20 June 1919. The Almaden to Forsayth line was purchased for . The Chillagoe smelters were reopened in January 1920, and were operated by the government until 1943.