Williamstown railway station, Melbourne

MelbourneRailwayStation1
NAME=Williamstown
IMAGELINK=Williamstown-station-platform.jpg
CAPTION=Looking towards station building and the end of the line
CODE=WIL
DISTANCE=15.5 km
LINES=Williamstown
PLATFORMS=1
TRACKS=1
STATUS=Premium station
FACILITIES=
TIMETABLES=
MELWAY=
ZONE=Zone 1

Williamstown is a railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia located in the suburb of Williamstown, and is the terminus of the Williamstown railway line. Williamstown is classed as a Premium Station and is in Metcard Zone 1.

Facilities

The station is located between Railway Terrace and Ann Street, with station access from the latter. There is a footbridge at the down end of the station which has been restored for public use.

Williamstown station consists of one side platform, with a large timber building in the centre, with an enclosed waiting room, a ticket office and toilets. A large Metcard machine is located inside the waiting room, which is able to dispense most ticketing options available and accepts notes and coins.

History

Work on the line started under the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company, but were taken over by the government in 1856 after work faltered. Builders Kerr, Hodgson and Billings commenced work on the timber Williamstown station building in 1858, the station being opened to traffic on January 17 1859. [ [http://www.vicsig.net/index.php?page=infrastructure&name=Williamstown VICSIG Infrastructure - Williamstown] ] Arched bluestone road bridges were built over the cutting at Thompson and Cole Streets. Until 1987 the railway track used to continue around the bend to the now closed Williamstown Pier railway station. Williamstown was upgraded to Premium Station status on June 18 1996.cite journal
year = 1997
month = October
title = Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station
journal = Newsrail
publisher = Australian Railway Heritage Society (Victorian Division)
pages = page 310 ]

The building is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and is the second oldest railway station in Victoria, behind that at St Kilda. It is also the oldest timber railway station building to survive in the state, and one of the earliest surviving timber public buildings in Victoria.cite web
url=http://www.heritage.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahpi/record.pl?VICH1599
title=Victorian Heritage Register: Williamstown railway station
publisher=www.heritage.gov.au
accessdate=2008-09-15]

The central section of the station building remains today, but was originally flanked by two pavilions: one the stationmaster's residence and on the other refreshment rooms. A now removed timber and iron veranda lined the street side of the station, while on the rail side the original platform canopy extended along the platform much further.

The Ann Street footbridge was installed c1883, and on electrification in 1916 the Thompson Street road bridge arch was removed and replaced with girder spans to provide increased clearance. Railway sidings, a signal box and weighbridge were once located opposite the station, but have been since removed.

References

MelbourneStations
Line=Williamstown line
Previous=Williamstown Beach