Belmont railway line, Western Australia

Belmont line
 Bayswater
 Whatley
Swan River
 Belmont
Excerpt from a 1945 Perth street map showing the Belmont line and surrounds

The Belmont Railway Line was a branch railway in Western Australia that extended from the Eastern Railway at Bayswater to Belmont near the Ascot Racecourse. The line closed in 1956.

The line was also known as the Belmont Branch, and Perth Racecourse Railway.[1][2]

History

In November 1885 a 65 chains (1.3 km) branch line was constructed from the Eastern Railway at Bayswater to the Swan River near the Perth Race Course, improving access to the Race Course.[3] Initially a ferry service across the Swan River was provided for racegoers travelling to and from the Race Course by train,[4] which was replaced by a narrow footbridge by 1891.[5]

The branch line's construction immediately spawned proposals to construct a railway linking the Eastern Railway at Bayswater (via the branch line) to areas south of Perth, including Canning, Kelmscott, Woongong, Pinjarra, Bunbury, and Busselton.[6] The various proposals were abandoned following the announcement of the construction of the South Western Railway in 1891 which provided a more direct route bridging the Swan River further to the south.[7]

In 1897 the line was extended across the Swan River, and a new station built on the southern side of the Race Course.[8][9] The new station was opened on 21 October 1897.[10] The railway service to Belmont was suspended in 1926 following floods.[11]

Consideration of closing the railway had been publicly discussed as early as 1930. There was a proposal to convert the rail bridge over the Swan River to a road bridge, however this never happened. Instead, the Garratt Road Bridge opened nearby in 1935.[12][13]

In the mid-1930s, the Bayswater Road Board asked the Main Roads Department to construct a subway at Guildford Road to replace the existing level crossing. The Bayswater Road Board considered the level crossing, named Whatley Crossing to be one of the most dangerous level crossings in the area. The subway was never constructed.[14][15][16]

The Belmont branch line was closed in 1956 following a fire on the bridge crossing the Swan River, and the bridge, line and stations were removed in 1957.[17][18]

References
  1. "Racecourse Railway Traffic". Sporting Life : Dryblower's Journal. Vol. 1, no. 36. Western Australia. 16 December 1905. p. 4. Retrieved 21 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. P.W.D. WA plan 1864, SROWA record -https://archive.sro.wa.gov.au/index.php/belmont-branch-railway-plan-section-drawings-etc-cce-16046-26-78
  3. "Sporting". The West Australian. 30 November 1885. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  4. "The W. A. Turf Club". The West Australian. 6 January 1886. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  5. "Sporting. W.A. Turf Club Annual Meeting. Cup Day". Western Mail. 3 January 1891. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  6. 1886/044, cons 1067, WAS 4410, State Records Office of Western Australia(SROWA)
  7. City of Bayswater Municipal Heritage Inventory
  8. Quinlan, Howard; Newland, John R; Australian Railway Historical Society. New South Wales Division (2000), Australian railway routes 1854 to 2000, Australian Railway Historical Society – New South Wales Division, ISBN 978-0-909650-49-0 page 66 WN 36
  9. History of stations on the Midland line Right Track
  10. City of Belmont (Heritage) Inventory 2012 page 32
  11. "Belmont Service Suspended". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 22 July 1926. p. 10. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  12. "BELMONT RAILWAY BRIDGE". The Daily News. Vol. XLIX, no. 17, 180. Western Australia. 29 May 1930. p. 9 (HOME FINAL EDITION). Retrieved 27 July 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "BELMONT RAILWAY BRIDGE". The West Australian. Vol. XLVI, no. 8, 737. Western Australia. 24 June 1930. p. 5. Retrieved 27 July 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. "SUBWAY PROPOSED FOR BAYSWATER". The Daily News. 25 October 1935. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  15. "Subway at Whatley Crossing". The West Australian. 29 August 1936. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  16. "Subway Move And Road Upkeep At Bayswater". The Daily News. 3 December 1936. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  17. West Australian Newspapers (1957), Partly demolished Belmont Railway Bridge looking towards Bayswater, retrieved 27 July 2017
  18. West Australian Newspapers (1957), Workers demolishing the Belmont Railway Bridge, retrieved 27 July 2017
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