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Strzelecki
Strzelecki
Overview
Status	Dismantled line
Owner	Victorian Railways (VR) (1922–1959)
Locale	Victoria, Australia
Termini	Koo Wee Rup; Strzelecki;
Continues from	Port Albert line
Former connections	Port Albert line
Stations	9 former stations; 3 former sidings;
Service
Type	Former Victorian regional service
Operator(s)	Victorian Railways (VR) (1922–1959)
History
Commenced	29 June 1922
Opened	29 June 1922
Completed	29 June 1922
Closed	Triholm to Strzelecki on 22 November 1930; Yannathan to Triholm on 7 August 1941; Bayles to Yannathan on 15 April 1950; Koo Wee Rup to Bayles on 4 February 1959;
Technical
Line length	49.653 km (30.85 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) Victorian broad gauge
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	South Gippsland line
	to Dandenong
	South Gippsland line
	to Port Albert
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

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 (South Gippsland line) at Koo Wee Rup Station. The main line branched off the current Pakenham line at Dandenong, extending out into the South Gippsland region.

Construction

The line was constructed with 60 lb/yd (29.8 kg/m) 'D' steel rail, using sleepers 8 ft 4 in (2,540 mm) long, 9 in (229 mm) wide and 4+1⁄2 in (114 mm) deep, with nine sleepers being used for every 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m), or 20 sleepers per 45 ft (13.72 m) length of rail, laid on a ballast of sand 6 in (152 mm) deep. Track speed for passenger and freight services was 25 mph (40 km/h).^{[citation needed]}

Opening and description

The Strzelecki line opened on 29 June 1922, serving the farms of the Strzelecki Ranges. Sheep and/or cattle loading facilities were provided at all stations except Heath Hill, with goods loading and storage facilities at all stations except Athlone.

Two years after the line opened, two goods sidings, situated between Koo Wee Rup and Bayles, were provided: Plowrights siding and Water Washed Sand siding. Narrow-gauge tramlines ran from both sidings to the main Koo Wee Rup drain, and were used for transporting river-washed sand to the main line. Both Plowrights and Water Washed Sand sidings closed in 1931.^[1]

Bayles was the first station on the line, situated in light scrub just south of the township. The following station was Catani, now just a mound of earth where the platform was. Yannathan platform was 11.5 km from Koo Wee Rup, and Heath Hill was a further 2.4 km along the line. Athlone Quarry Siding, 94.14 km from Melbourne, was opened with the line, but closed three years later. Athlone station was 2.4 km further along the line, followed by Topiram.^[2]

Triholm, 106.6 km from Melbourne, became the terminus of the line after the section beyond was closed on 22 November 1930. Beyond Triholm, the line featured steep grades and sharp curves.^[2]

The original terminus station at Strezlecki had a 53-foot turntable. After Strzelecki station's closure, no other station on the line was supplied with a turntable, requiring trains to run tender-first in the down direction and returning to Koo Wee Rup engine-first.^{[citation needed]}

Closures

The Strzelecki line turned out to be one of the shorter-lived lines in Victoria. The section between Triholm to Strzelecki closed due to a trestle bridge developing a large sway every time a train ran over it, with the cost of repairs deemed uneconomical in view of the light traffic. The section of track from Yannathan to Triholm was closed on 7 August 1941, after flooding of the Lang Lang River resulted in damage to one of the four trestle bridges over the river. Next to close was the section from Bayles to Yannathan, on 15 April 1950. The line to Bayles was kept open until 4 February 1959 to serve a butter factory.^[2]

Station histories

Station	Opened^[3]	Closed^[3]	Age	Notes
Koo Wee Rup	11 November 1890	24 May 1993	102 years
Plowrights Siding	1 June 1926	12 May 1931	4 years
Water Washed Sand Siding	19 December 1925	5 May 1931	5 years
Bayles	29 June 1922	4 February 1959	36 years
Catani	29 June 1922	15 April 1950	27 years
Yannathan	29 June 1922	15 April 1950	27 years
Heathhill	29 June 1922	7 August 1941	19 years
Athlone Quarry Siding	October 1922	1925	27 months
Athlone	29 June 1922	7 August 1941	19 years
Topiram	29 June 1922	7 August 1941	19 years	During construction known as Warneet
Triholm	29 June 1922	7 August 1941	19 years	During construction known as Topiram
Strzelecki	29 June 1922	22 November 1930	8 years	Also spelt Strezlecki

References

^ Ramsay, Merilyn (1991). Steam to Strzelecki : the Koo-wee-rup to McDonalds's Track Railway. Melbourne: Australian Railway Historical Society, Victorian Division. ISBN 0858490374.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mitchell, Frank. Strzelecki Railway. Green over Red. Box Hill, December 1968. pp. 4–6
^ ^a ^b "Vicsig – Strzelecki line". vicsig.net. Retrieved 24 July 2024.