Seven out of ten for scenery, nine out of ten for gradient. That's the old Eastern Railway corridor in a nutshell, and it's the best entry point in the state if you want rail trail bike paths without the drama of a mountain climb. Trains stopped running this alignment when the standard-gauge deviation opened, the rails came up, and what's left is a crushed-gravel spine running from the hills down toward the Swan coastal plain. It's not glamorous. It's consistent, which for a lot of riders matters more.
What's left of the old Eastern Railway line
The corridor itself is the whole story here. Rail engineers in the 1890s wouldn't tolerate a gradient steeper than about 1 in 40, and that habit is the reason this stuff rides so well now, decades after the last locomotive used it. No pinch climbs, no surprise 12% ramps out of a gully. Just a long, patient grade either up or down depending which way you're pointed. The full route is documented properly on the 
