Barnawartha railway station

Barnawartha
Line(s) North East
Platforms 1
Tracks 2
Other information
Status Closed
History
Opened 21 November 1873
Closed 1980s

Barnawartha is a closed station located in the town of Barnawartha, on the North East railway in Victoria, Australia. The station building and platform are on the eastern side of the broad gauge line, with a goods shed located opposite. The standard gauge main line runs the platform.

The station opened with the line in 1873, with a temporary passenger shelter and a large brick goods shed. In 1885, a signal cabin was provided, as well as platform extensions, and construction of a siding to a nearby flour mill. In 1889, the brick station building was erected, and in 1925, the signal frame was made part of the station building. At the same time all tracks in the yard were lengthened for longer trains.[1] Closed sometime in the 1980s, the buildings remain largely intact, but sidings has been removed and the track realigned from the platform.[2]

Barnawartha was the site of a collision between a Melbourne bound goods train and the Melbourne bound Spirit of Progress on June 17 1982. The collision, which happened north of the station and in heavy fog, occurred after the crew of the goods train ran past a red signal, which was protecting the broken down Spirit of Progress, caused by a loss of power to the engine. The goods train ran into the back of the SoP at a speed of 46km/h, killing the crew on board the goods train, and injuring 9 other people. Train controllers in Melbourne could not warn the crew of the danger ahead due to a lack of two-way radio systems on board locomotives at the time.[3][4]

References

  1. ↑ Turton, Keith W. (1973). Six And A Half Inches From Destiny. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). p. 104. ISBN 978-0-85849-012-3.
  2. ↑ "Barnawartha". www.vicrailstations.com. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
  3. ↑ Harrington, Tony; Sides, Carol; Carrick, Michael (1982-06-18). "Two lights merge, and rail crash fears become reality". The Age. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  4. ↑ "General News". Newsrail (Australian Railway Historical Society). February 1983. p. 18.
Closed station navigation
North East line
← Previous station Chiltern | Wodonga Next station →
Closed stations

Coordinates: 36°06′11″S 146°40′45″E / 36.10306°S 146.67917°E / -36.10306; 146.67917

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, May 01, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.