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Lakers Siding is a heritage railway station on the Bellarine Railway, Australia. It was built privately by the Laker family (from whom the siding's name is derived), and was used as a shell grit plant, opening on 16 November 1959. [1]
The dispatching of shell grit was Lakers Siding's main function. Approximately 1,000 tonnes of shell grit was produced at the plant there each week. The product was then transported to the Australian Glass Manufacturers' siding in Spotswood, Victoria, [1] where elevated loading bins and platforms were used to unload it. One train departed each week. [1]
The Laker family decided to cease the operation in 1973 [1] and established an engineering business at the site instead. Consequently, the Australian Glass Manufacturers obtained shell grit from New South Wales instead.
Erosion
Sand erosion became a major problem at the site during the 1960s, with sand drifts clogging the point work and the signal cables. Special grass was planted in an attempt to stop the sand from moving onto the train tracks. Although the grass helped somewhat, erosion is still evident at the site and continues to be a problem today.
Closing and reopening
The siding remained available until the Queenscliff Line's closure in 1976. The Bellarine Peninsula Railway then took control and reopened the site as a tourist destination in 1979.
Maintaining the site
In addition to re-gauging the track, the Bellarine Railway replaced the staff lock points with plunger locks and provided up and down home signals.
A passenger platform was built in 2003 and features a replica of the original Victorian Railways portable building and a Marshalltown post office hut replica.
In 2007, a project commenced that included building an island platform, facilitating a new locomotive watering facility, and the construction of a 150-metre-long rolling stock shed with four tracks.
Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula in southern Victoria, Australia, south of Swan Bay at the entrance to Port Phillip. It is the administrative centre for the Borough of Queenscliffe. At the 2016 census, Queenscliff had a population of 1,315.
Spotswood railway station is located on the Werribee and Williamstown lines in Victoria, Australia. It serves the western Melbourne suburb of Spotswood, and opened on 1 December 1878 as Edom. It was renamed Bayswater on 1 September 1881, renamed Spottiswoode on 1 October of that year, and renamed Spotswood on 1 August 1905.
Deer Park railway station is located on the Serviceton line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the western Melbourne suburb of Deer Park, and it opened on 2 April 1884 as Kororoit. It was renamed Deer Park on 3 December 1889.
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Point Lonsdale is a coastal township on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia. The town is divided between the Borough of Queenscliffe and the City of Greater Geelong. Point Lonsdale is also one of the headlands which, with Point Nepean, frame The Rip, the entrance to Port Phillip. The headland is dominated by the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse. At the 2016 census, Point Lonsdale had a population of 2,684. The population grows rapidly over the summer months through to the Easter period due to its popularity as a holiday destination.
Geelong railway station is located on the Warrnambool line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the city of Geelong, and it opened on 1 November 1856.
South Geelong railway station is located on the Warrnambool line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the southern Geelong suburb of South Geelong, and it opened on 1 November 1883.
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The Bellarine Peninsula is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peninsula, separates Port Phillip Bay from Bass Strait. The peninsula itself was originally occupied by Indigenous Australian clans of the Wathaurong nation, prior to European settlement in the early 19th century. Early European settlements were initially centred on wheat and grain agriculture, before the area became a popular tourist destination with most visitors arriving by paddle steamer on Port Phillip in the late 19th century.
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Drysdale is a railway station on the Queenscliff branch line off the main Warrnambool line in Victoria, Australia. It is 110 km (68 mi) from Melbourne, and 65 m (212 ft) above sea level. The station lies next to Lake Lorne and was first opened on 21 May 1879. It operated until 6 November 1976 when it was closed. Subsequently, usage of the line was granted to the Bellarine Peninsula Railway which commenced tourist operations from Queenscliff in May 1979 to Laker's Siding, extending to Drysdale soon afterwards.
The Bellarine Rail Trail is a 32 km walking and cycling track on the Bellarine Peninsula, in Victoria, Australia, that follows the route of the former South Geelong to Queenscliff branch line. It runs from South Geelong to Queenscliff, passing through the towns of Leopold, Curlewis and Drysdale. The rails have been removed from the western section between South Geelong and Drysdale.
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Hamilton is a railway station located on the Ararat - Portland railway in the town of Hamilton, Victoria, Australia. Today the station is now used only for through trains, and the large station building is used only to serve bus passengers, although the disused platform remains in reasonable condition.
The Bellarine Railway, formerly the Bellarine Peninsula Railway, is a volunteer-operated steam-driven tourist railway located in Victoria, Australia. It operates on a 16 km section of a formerly disused branch line on the Bellarine Peninsula between the coastal town of Queenscliff and Drysdale, near Geelong.
Mannerim railway station is a closed railway station on the Bellarine Railway in Victoria, Australia. It opened on 1 February 1883 as Marcus Hill. It was renamed Mannerim on 28 October 1890. The passenger station and goods shed and platform were located opposite each other at the up end of the yard adjacent to Swan Bay Road. A small settlement had existed in the area around the station at Mannerim with a public hall, store, post office state school and fire brigade. The facilities were shifted or closed over the years and the station did little business.