Pyalong Trestle Bridges, Vic

One of the major items of railway infrastructure required to be built for any new railway line are the means of crossing waterways, roads or going through hills, and it was no different for the Bendigo to Kilmore line when it was being built in the 1880s. The Wandong, Heathcote, Sandhurst section of the line required the construction of fifty bridges, not counting road crossings. Such bridges were needed to cross small waterways, as well as larger ones like the Mt Ida Creek, the Campaspe River, Axe Creek, Sweenies Creek and Grassy Flat Creek.

McDermott & Sons were contracted to construct two significantly sized pile timber bridges to cross the Mollison Creek (then known as the Pyalong Creek) and the Hanford Creek (or Percival Creek) at Pyalong. Both these bridges would consume a significant amount of timber, their dimensions being considerable. The Mollison Creek bridge’s height and length is impressive at 125 metres with 27 openings at just under 5 metres apart.

This bridge’s height above the creek bed varied of course, having an original height of approx 15 plus metres at its centre (this height increased over the following decades due to scouring of the creek bed taking place). Sleepers on top of this bridge numbered 185 in total, each at a length of 7’6” placed in gravel ballast. Steel rails of 60lb/yd weight (approximately 30kg/m) were separately supplied by the Victorian Railways.


Hanfords Creek Bridge

The two timber bridges at Pyalong are believed to have been completed in 1889, with this section of line opening in mid 1889 and now have survived fairly much visually intact after approx. 130 years. Both remain a tribute to the original 19th century engineers and skilled workers who designed, built and maintained them.

The dismantling of the whole line took place within two main periods, over a 20 year period. For the Heathcote to Bendigo that section of line was officially booked out of service on 3 Dec 1958 due to the construction of the new Lake Eppalock reservoir (construction 1961-64) and its planned water level height. The portion of the line to be submerged by the lake was lifted soon after its closure, early in 1959.



When the ‘Heathcote Railway Removal Bill‘ was passed by the State Government in 1975 to dismantle the rest of the line, it made specific provision for the preservation of the two National Trust classified bridges at Pyalong. The Bill allowed for setting aside an area around both bridges as Crown Land, aand provision made for their maintenance. Sadly, no maintenance was ever carried out on either bridge during the ensuing 40 plus years.


Mollison Creek Bridge in 2008. Photo: Judy Harrison

Furthermore, the Victorian Railways’ original plan indicated that major replacement of structural elements such as piles, walers, cross heads, beams and braces would need to occur in the 1920s & 30s. This work was never completed either.

A full engineering assessment was carried out early in 2011. This assessment found that most of the timber elements of both bridges to had significant reduction of structural integrity. A decade on, both bridges are now in poor condition, the Mollison Crk bridge showing serious signs of imminent collapse, with community apathy turning its back on any attempts to save these classified bridges. The ultimate fate of the bridges will depend upon the community, interest groups, and possible responses by the various levels of government of the day. While both bridges were heritage classified in 1972 and 1973, there has been no action to date by Heritage Victoria or the State Government to prevent the loss of these bridges.

History of the Bendigo to Kilmore Railway Line

The route for this cross country line would begin on the North East line at a site now known as Heathcote Junction, on the now the Victorian Melbourne – Wodonga line. The planned route would to pass through the community districts and towns of Bylands, Kilmore, Willowmavin, Moranding, High Camp, Pyalong, Tooborac, Heathcote South (Argyle), Heathcote, Derrinal (Wild Duck), Knowsley, Axedale, Axe Creek (Longlea), Strathfieldsaye, Junortoun, and end at Sandhurst (North Bendigo) on the Melbourne to Murray River (Echuca) line.

Once it was built, the line was primarily used to deliver timber shafts to the Bendigo mines before it closed in 1968. Wool and sheep were also transported on this line.