Closed Railway Stations
A cross section of abandoned railway stations
St James, Vic
There is nothing special about St James Railway Station - it is just a simple, short, unsealed platform bereft of any buildings - but the town it serves and district surrounding it has many an interesting story to tell - like the birth of the Coles retail empire - which are illustrated by the paintings on its silos which stand silently beyond the platform.
Walkaway, WA
Walkaway, 9 km east of the historic village of Greenough, is a charming, tiny settlement of Walkaway with its railway station, store, hall, school and church. The Walkaway Railway Station is one the State's earliest Government-built railway complexes and the original terminus for Western Australia's northen line. The railway precinct includes the station, platform, goods shed, track levers, ramp, wishing well, weighbridge, cabin and loading ramp.
Marree, SA
Marree, South Australia (formerly Hergott Springs), is located in a remote area, 589 kilometres (366 mi) north of Adelaide at the junction of the infamous Oodnadatta Track and the Birdsville Track. At the heart of the town is a defunct railway station with two derelict Ghan trains waiting patiently. These bullish old locos are the colour of dried blood and have an inverted chevron on the nose. One has a sign: "FOR SALE".
Terowie, SA
Terowie, a desgnated historic town, was once a thriving railway town, but today is a mere shadow of what it used to be. Terowie was the change of gauge junction for the railway north to Alice Springs, west to Kalgoorlie and east to Broken Hill. Each line had a different gauge. It was here, during World War II, that General Douglas MacArthur made his famous promise to the waiting press - "I Will Return".
Hamley Bridge, SA
Hamley Bridge is a South Australian town where the railway had a big impact. In 1869 the line from Roseworthy to Forresters was built and opened. In 1880 the current station was established a few hundred meters north of the original station. Hamley Bridge station was built originally for the Broad Gauge Peterborough line. In that same year, a line from Hamley Bridge to Balaklava was opened and that line later extended to Gladstone. That line was built as a narrow gauge line and Hamley bridge was a break of gauge station until 1927 when the Gladstone line was converted to broad gauge.
North Bundaberg, Qld
North Bundaberg railway station is a closed railway station at 28 Station Street, North Bundaberg, Queensland. It is on the North Coast railway line and linked that line to the Mount Perry railway line. The station was constructed in 1881, and it was to be used as the last stop of transporting raw materials such as copper from the mines to the coast for shipping.
Mount Morgan, Qld
Mount Morgan railway station is a heritage-listed railway station at Railway Parade, Mount Morgan, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the Mount Morgan - Wowan railway line. The station was constructed in 1898 to service the former goldrush and gold mining township of Mount Morgan and its mine. The station was designed by Henrik Hansen, who also designed the Archer Park, Shorncliffe and South Brisbane railway stations.
North Carlton, Vic
When you think "railway station" you expect to see train tracks, or at least something that resembles where tracks once were. Such is not the case with North Carlton station building - the only clues to it being a railway station is its present name - the North Carlton Station Neighbourhood House - and that it is located on the Inner City Rail Trail.
Echuca Wharf, Vic
Echuca is Australia’s most iconic former paddlesteamer port. Its position at the closest point of the Murray River to Melbourne contributed to its development as a thriving river port city during the 19th century. echuca ended up with two railway stations - one served the town and its people, the other was a trasfer point on the historic Echuca wharf for goods arriving by paddlesteamer for transfer by rail to Melbourne.
Tarlee, SA
Tarlee Railway Station was once on a busy railway line but now sits laying dormant like so many stations scattered throught the rural areas of South Australia. Located about an hour and a half’s drive north of Adelaide, Tarlee is a small townwith a small population that hasn't seen much action since the mid 1980s. The railway line came to the town in 1870 and passenger services ran until December of 1986.
Penguin, Tas
The little town of Penguin sits midway between Burnie and Ulverstone on Tasmania's Bass Strait coast. It's one of those pretty places that you can keep coming back to time and time again and never get tired of. The town's railway station was built in 1901. In the early days crowds would fill the platform to watch while teams of horses and bullocks would arrive from the outlying rural areas to unload potatoes to be transported on the train. Passenger trains haven't passed through here since 1978.
Burnie, Tas
In 1875, the Van Diemen's Land Co. began works on constructing a horse drawn tramway from Waratah to Burnie, over a distance of some 70 km. At the coast, the line extended to the port and a station was erected near Spring Street, and a large stable block was built nearby. This first permanent transport solution guaranteed Burnie’s role as a major port for the shipping of West Coast minerals, as well as a centre for rail traffic in Tasmania's north-west.
Cooee, Tas
An elevated platform, once part of the Cooee Siding, is all that remains alongside an abondoned section of railway track on Cooee Point Road, Cooee. The single narrow gauge line linked Burnie and Stanley, and was opened in 1913. Known as the Far Western line, it was later extended as far as Smithton. From Burnie to Wynyard, the line closely follows the coastline of Bass Strait, for the majority of route between the main road and the water, before turning inland and passing through the south of Wynyard township.
Wallangarra, Qld
Wallangarra railway station is a heritage-listed railway station at Wallangarra in the Southern Downs Region town of Queensland. It was built in 1877 along the state border of Queensland and New South Wales It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 March 2003.
Ben Lomond, NSW
The highest town in northern NSW, Ben Lomond is home to the longest hand cut railway cutting in Australia, the highest passenger railway station in the southern hemisphere (at the time of the construction of the railway), and a scattering of old and historical relics of times past. The railway station is also significant as the highest railway station in NSW (1,363m) and for its important historical role in the economic development and community life of Ben Lomond and surrounding districts.
Cootamundra West, NSW
When approaching the New South Wales town of Cootamundra from Wallanbeen, it is easy to miss this wonderful, abandoned heritage-listed railway station located on the outskirts of town beside the Olympic Highway. The heritage-listed former railway complex on the Lake Cargelligo line at Cootamundra, was abandoned as a station because of the change of proposed route for the main southern line.
Boorowa, NSW
Boorowa is a farming village in the Hilltops Region in the south west slopes of New South Wales. It is located in a valley 340 kilometres southwest of Sydney around 490 metres above sea-level. The town is located on the Boorowa River, a tributary of the Lachlan River. The soil in the area is rich volcanic soil washed down over millennia from an extinct volcano known as Mount Canemumbola.
Tenterfield, NSW
The old Tenterfield Railway Station hasn't seen rail traffic for a number of years, but still attracts visitors interested in railway history, now that it is a railway museum. 18km from the NSW/Qld border, the station was the last on the Great Northern Railway before reaching the border and Wallangarra station, which is dissected by it. The museum has an interesting collection of rolling stock and railway memorabilia.
Darwin, NT
The first section of the narrow gauge North Australia Railway from Darwin to Pine Creek opened in 1888. It was extended south to Katherine in 1926 and finally Larrimah in 1929, which was as far south as it got, never linking up to the Adelaide to Alice Springs railway. Darwin had its own railway station and workshops at Parap.
Pine Creek, NT
Pine Creek railway station is a disused railway station and museum on the former North Australia Railway in the Northern Territory. The station is located 235 km (146 mi) from the original Darwin station, and was the southern terminus of the line until 1914. The station precinct is the most complete remaining example of infrastructure associated with the line.
MacDonnell Siding, NT
One of the most popular museums in Alice Springs, the Ghan Preservation Society Museum depicts the history of the original legendary Ghan railway, which ran between Adelaide and Alice Springs on 3' 6" track from 1929 to 1980. The siding at MacDonnell is beautifully and affectionately reinstated and is home to the museum. The station and rolling stock are on display at all times. The 'Old Ghan' runs 30 km down the track to Ewaninga each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Adelaide River, NT
The Adelaide River Railway Siding and Railway Bridge, which are now part of Adelaide River Heritage Centre, were constructed as part of the first leg of the North Australia Railway (NAR) which operated from 1888 until 1976. The centre has an excellent collection of The Ghan railway memorabilia and staff who run it are very happy to explain what the various items on display were for. The Centre is closed during the wet season.