Line Guide
Shelbourne Railway Line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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.
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.
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]
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Castlemaine is a town in west central Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The population at the 2021 Census was 7,506. Castlemaine was named by the chief goldfield commissioner, Captain W. Wright, in honour of his Irish uncle, Viscount Castlemaine.
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Castlemaine railway station is a regional railway station on the Deniliquin line, part of the Victorian railway network. It serves the north-western suburb and town of Castlemaine, in Victoria, Australia. Castlemaine station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 21 October 1862.
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The Strzelecki railway line was a 49 km (30 mi) steam-era branch railway line in Victoria, Australia. The line opened in June 1922, branching off the former Great Southern Railway at Koo Wee Rup Station. The main line branched off the current Pakenham line at Dandenong, extending out into the South Gippsland region.
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The Moolort Line was a cross-country railway line which connected Maryborough and Castlemaine in Victoria, Australia. The line, now defunct, starts in Castlemaine, passes through Campbells Creek, Yapeen, Guildford, Strangways, Newstead, Moolort, and Carisbrook, before joining the Mildura line at Maryborough.
Shelbourne railway station was the terminus of the short Shelbourne branch line, located in the locality of Shelbourne, Victoria Australia. An extension of the line was partially constructed, and was planned to terminate at Laanecoorie, Victoria. This extension was never used, and Shelbourne station was the terminus for as long as the line was open. Some embankments and cuttings of this extension still survive, as do cattle pits and remnants of two trestle bridges that were built over Bradford Creek.
This walking and cycling track runs along Campbells Creek in the town of the same name, Victoria Australia.
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