Shelbourne railway line
Shelbourne | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Status | Closed |
Former connections | Maldon line |
Stations | 2 |
Service | |
Type | Branch |
History | |
Opened | 24 March 1891 |
Closed | 8 January 1969 as wooden bridges were destroyed by bushfire |
Technical | |
Number of tracks | 1 |
The Shelbourne railway line was a continuation of the branch line from Castlemaine to Maldon in Victoria.[1]
Due to the facing junction of the Shelbourne extension, when services to Shelbourne reached Maldon, the locomotive had to change ends in order to run from there to Shelbourne.
History
[edit]The line from Maldon to Shelbourne was opened on 24 March 1891.[2] The line was originally planned to extend about 8 miles (13 km) beyond Shelbourne to Laanecoorie, but work on that section was suspended in 1890. Almost 2 miles (3 km) of earthworks and two trestle bridges had been built before construction was abandoned.[3]
The one intermediate station on the line was called Bradford until May 1919, when its name was altered to Pollard.[4] In late 1936, a proposal to close the Castlemaine-Maldon-Shelbourne line was met with protests.[5] Consequently, the line was not closed, but services were modified such that some rolling stock was allocated to the Echuca line.
Closure
[edit]A bushfire on 8 January 1969 destroyed a number of the wooden trestle bridges between Maldon and Shelbourne, which were deemed uneconomical to rebuild, forcing the closure of the line.[6]
Line Guide
[edit]Shelbourne Railway Line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
[edit]- ^ VICSIG - Infrastructure http://www.vicsig.net/infrastructure/line/Shelbourne
- ^ Harrigan, Leo J. (1962). Victorian Railways to ‘62. Melbourne: Victorian Railways Public Relations and Betterment Board. p. 283.
- ^ "Report on the Question of the Laanecoorie District Connecting Railway" (PDF). Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- ^ "Pollard". Vicsig. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "Maldon-Shelbourne Railway". The Argus. 7 November 1936. Retrieved 6 February 2014 – via Trove.
- ^ Brown, Les. "ROLL 38. A.R.H.S. Excursion to Shelbourne, 20th January 1968". Retrieved 6 February 2014.