Strzelecki railway line, Victoria

VictorianRailwayLineInfobox
type = vic
name = Strzelecki
yearcommenced =
yearopened = 24 June, 1922
yearcompleted = 1922
yearclosed = Closed in 4 stages 22 November, 1930 7 August, 1941 5 April, 1950 4 February, 1959
fate = Closed
lengthkm =
stations = 8
tracks = Single
users =
servicepattern =
RollingStock =
connections =
formerconnections = Joined South Gippsland line at Koo Wee Rup

The Strzelecki railway line was a steam-era branch railway line in Victoria, Australia. The line opened in 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.

History

The Strzelecki Line was a branch line off the former "Great Southern Railway" (South Gippsland line).

Construction

The line was constructed with 60lbs 'D' steel rail, using 9 sleepers of 8'4" long, 9" wide and 4 1/2" deep with 9 sleepers being used for every 22'6" or 20 sleepers per 45' length of rail, laid on a ballast of sand 6" deep. Track speed for Passenger and Freight services was 25mph.Fact|date=January 2008

Opening and Operations

The Strzelecki line was opened as a branch off the main line at Koo Wee Rup Station, opening on 29 June, 1922. The line served the farms of the Strezlecki Ranges. Upon opening in 1922 sheep and/or cattle loading facilities were provided at all stations except Heath Hill, and Goods Loading and storage facilities at all stations except Athlone. Two further goods sidings were provided upon opening, situated before Bayles station, the Plowrights siding and W.W. Sand siding, with the Athlone Quarry Siding on the Up side of Athlone station being opened later.

The original terminus station at Strezlecki had a 53' turntable. After Strzelecki station's closure no station on the line was supplied with a turntable, requiring trains to run tender-first Down the line and returning to Koo Wee Rup normally.Fact|date=January 2008

Closures

The Strzelecki line turned out to be one of the shorter-lived lines in Victoria. The section between Triholm to Strzelecki closed on 22 November, 1930, due to a trestle bridge developing a large sway every time a train ran over it, and the cost of repairs deemed uneconomicalFact|date=January 2008. This was followed by the section of track after Yannathan to Triholm being closed on 7 August, 1941 following flooding of the Lang Lang River, resulting in damages to one of the four trestle bridges over that riverFact|date=January 2008, Next to close was the section from Bayles to Yannathan, on 15 April, 1950Fact|date=January 2008. The line to Bayles was kept open until 4 February, 1959 to serve a butter factory.Fact|date=January 2008

See also

* List of closed regional railway stations in Victoria
* List of closed regional railway lines in Victoria
* Transportation in Australia