St Kilda railway station, Melbourne

MelbourneClosedRailwayStation
NAME=St Kilda
IMAGELINK=St-Kilda-railway-station.jpg
CAPTION=Street side of the station building
LINE=St Kilda
DISTANCE=convert|4.6|km|abbr=on
PLATFORMS=2
TRACKS=2
STATUS=Closed
OPENED=13 May 1857
CLOSED=August 1987

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=-37.859409,144.977163&spn=0.001343,0.004174&t=k&z=18&om=0 Link] |

St Kilda railway station is located in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda, Australia and was the terminus of the line of the same name of the Melbourne suburban rail system. It is the oldest surviving railway station building in Victoria, and one of only three to have a train shed (with Geelong and Ballarat).cite web
url=http://www.skhs.org.au/SKHSbuildings/19.htm
title=St Kilda Railway Station & Metropol Apartments
work=St Kilda Historical Society
publisher=www.skhs.org.au
accessdate=2008-07-05] The building is currently used as retail premises.

History

The line to St Kilda was built by the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company to serve tourists to the seaside resort, with tenders were called for earthworks and buildings at St Kilda on 3 November 1856 and the line opened on 13 May 1857 with a banquet in the station.

The building was of restrained Italianate design, with face brickwork and stucco mouldings, and originally featured a semicircular portico on the south-western face of the station building. The station had a single platform, with the train shed supported by iron columns trimmed with a timber valence, and a bluestone retaining wall ran along Canterbury Road.cite web
url=http://www.aussieheritage.com.au/listings/vic/St%20Kilda/StKildaRailwayStationComplexformer/18431
title=St Kilda Railway Station Complex (former), St Kilda, VIC Profile
publisher=www.aussieheritage.com.au
accessdate=2008-07-05] An engine depot and carriage shed were built later in 1856.

In 1859 the St Kilda and Brighton Railway Company were paid £5,000 to build a loop line from St Kilda to Windsor, the line being extended to Brighton Beach by 1861 on what is now the Sandringham line. However a more direct route from Windsor to the city was built in 11 months later, and the line was dismantled in 1867. In 1878 the private operator of the line was taken over by the Victorian Railways.

Passenger numbers to the station declined by 23 percent when electric tramways opened to St Kilda, so the Victorian Railways opened their 'Electric Street Railway' to Brighton in 1906. The line was unique as it used broad gauge track as used by the railways in Victoria, rather than standard gauge track as used on all other street tramways in the state. The tram terminus was alongside the station building, permitting an easy interchange between modes. [cite web
url=http://www.vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&section=vr
work=VICSIG - Trams
title=Victorian Railways - Electric Street Railways
publisher=www.vicsig.net
accessdate=2008-07-05] The St Kilda line was electrified in 1919, and in the 1920s St Kilda was the second busiest station in Victoria after Flinders Street Station. Facilities at the station during the days of steam operation included a run around road and traverser, coal stage and engine shed, [cite web
url=http://www.victorianrailways.net/signaling/completedia/stkilda1919.html
title=St Kilda line 1919
work=Victorian Railways signal diagram
publisher=www.victorianrailways.net
accessdate=2008-07-05] these remaining until at least 1928. [cite web
url=http://www.signaldiagramsandphotos.com/My_Web_pages/VR/Metropolitan/24'28.htm
title=St Kilda line 1928
work=Victorian Railways signal diagram
publisher=www.signaldiagramsandphotos.com
accessdate=2008-07-05] An unusual feature of the station was a connection between the railway and the tramway tracks, being used to transfer trams from the 'Electric Street Railway' to the Newport Railway Workshops.cite journal | year = 1991 | month = November | title = The Flinders Street Connection | author = Ian R Barkla | journal = Newsrail | publisher = Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division) | pages = page 355 | quote=1906: Trams for the new St Kilda to Brighton tramway service were hauled from Newport to St Kilda ]

On 21 October 1928 automatic signals worked by trains were provided at St Kilda, allowing the signal box at the station to be closed when freight trains not using the yard.cite book | last = S.E. Doorman and R.G. Henderson | title = Electric Railways of Victoria | publisher = Australian Electric Traction Society | page = page | year = 1979 | isbn = 0 909459 06 1 ] The yard was simplified to a platform road and four sidings by 1952, [cite web
url=http://www.signaldiagramsandphotos.com/My_Web_pages/VR/Metropolitan/13'52.htm
title=St Kilda line 1952
work=Victorian Railways signal diagram
publisher=www.signaldiagramsandphotos.com
accessdate=2008-07-05] and the last goods service operated on 18 June 1959. Passenger facilities were also downgraded, with the railway refreshment rooms closed in 1969, the post office closed in 1972, and the booking hall and ladies waiting room closed in 1976. In the final years of the station only two sidings remained, and colour light signals replaced semaphores. [cite web
url=http://www.signaldiagramsandphotos.com/My_Web_pages/VR/Metropolitan/4'81.htm
title=St Kilda line 1981
work=Victorian Railways signal diagram
publisher=www.signaldiagramsandphotos.com
accessdate=2008-07-05]

Closure

In the 1980s, the state government looked at the possibility of closing several lines, or converting them to light rail services, which were perceived to be cheaper. After several inquiries, it was decided to close both the St Kilda and Port Melbourne lines, and convert them both to light rail. The last train service ran on 31 July 1987 with the light rail officially commissioned on 21 November 1987. [cite journal
year = 1997
month = March
title = Rail Passenger Service Withdrawals Since 1960
author = Chris Banger
journal = Newsrail
publisher = Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division)
pages = pages 77–82 ]

The decision was made to retain the station buildings from the St Kilda line intact, and to use them for other purposes. The St Kilda station was ideal for commercial use, as it is situated on busy Fitzroy Street, and was subsequently sold off. On 4 December 1989 the station was badly damaged by fire, but the structural soundness was not affected. A second fire occurred on two days later.

In the late 1990s, developers announced a planned redevelopment of the station site, involving large-scale changes. Despite several protests from the National Trust of Australia and other heritage groups, the development went ahead. The Metropol Apartments were completed in the station forecourt by 2002, with the shops following soon after. The station building was converted into a number of different shops, and the entire platform space was removed. While some resemblance of its former use can still be seen today in the façade of the building, little else remains.

A large portion of the station building was used in the reality television series "My Restaurant Rules" as the site of the Melbourne restaurant, "Seven Stones".

References

VictorianClosedStations
VICORMELB = Melbourne
Line1 = St Kilda line
Next1plain = Terminus
Previous1 = Middle Park
Line2 = St Kilda - Windsor link
Next2 = Windsor
Previous2plain = Terminus