Shelbourne railway line

The Shelbourne railway line was a continuation of the branch line from Castlemaine to Maldon in Victoria.[1]

Shelbourne
Overview
StatusClosed
Former connectionsMaldon line
Stations2
Service
TypeBranch
History
Opened24 March 1891
Closed8 January 1969 as wooden bridges were destroyed by bushfire
Technical
Number of tracks1

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

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

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
Shelbourne Railway Line
Maldon
 Pollard
 Shelbourne

References
  1. VICSIG - Infrastructure http://www.vicsig.net/infrastructure/line/Shelbourne
  2. Harrigan, Leo J. (1962). Victorian Railways to ‘62. Melbourne: Victorian Railways Public Relations and Betterment Board. p. 283.
  3. "Report on the Question of the Laanecoorie District Connecting Railway" (PDF). Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  4. "Pollard". Vicsig. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  5. "Maldon-Shelbourne Railway". The Argus. 7 November 1936. Retrieved 6 February 2014 – via Trove.
  6. Brown, Les. "ROLL 38. A.R.H.S. Excursion to Shelbourne, 20th January 1968". Retrieved 6 February 2014.


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