Chillagoe Railway &amp; Mining Co.
After a number of proposals had been made for the route of a railway to the Etheridge field, construction of the Etheridge Railway finally commenced in 1906 from Almaden to Mount Surprise on the Mareeba to Chillagoe line. The railway was opened to Mount Surprise in May 1908, and through to Einasleigh on 8 February 1909, a total of 101 miles. The final 41 miles from Einasleigh to Forsayth were not opened until 5 February 1911, construction having proceeded slowly due to union unrest and uncertainty within the mining industry generally.
Etheridge railway line
The Mount Surprise railway station complex and other remaining evidence of cattle transportation at the main stations along the Etheridge Railway, such as cattle yards and loading banks, are important in demonstrating the role that the railway played in maintaining pastoral activity in the area before the construction of the bitumen "Beef Road" in the 1960s.