Hamilton
General information
Line(s)Portland
Platforms1
Tracks1
Other information
StatusClosed
History
Opened29 Oct 1877
Closed1981
Services
Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Maroona   Portland line   Heywood
Junction   Balmoral line   Towards Balmoral
Junction   Coleraine line   Towards Coleraine
Junction   Penshurst line   Towards Penshurst and Koroit
  List of closed railway stations in Victoria  

Hamilton is a railway station located on the Ararat - Portland railway in the city of Hamilton, Victoria, Australia. Today the station is now used only for through trains, and the large station building is used only to serve bus passengers, although the disused platform remains in reasonable condition.

History

The railway to Hamilton opened in October 1877, in December that year the line was extended south to the final terminus of Portland.[1] Hamilton became a major railway station with extensive freight facilities and was the junction for several branch lines:[2]

The first two branch lines left the main line at Coleraine Junction, located a short distance south of Hamilton station itself.

By 1934 the station had a main platform facing the main line, opposite a crossing loop, and a dock platform at each end of the main platform. The goods yard had six roads opposite the platform, servicing a goods shed and stock yards. At the down end of the platform was a number of additional sidings, along with a turntable. A signal box and auxiliary frame controlled the signals in the area.[3] By 1958 the yard had been expanded to 10 roads with a larger goods shed, a weighbridge also being provided.[4]

Rationalisation of the station began in 1967 where the signal box was removed;[5] the branch lines to Coleraine and Koroit were closed in 1977, the branch to Balmoral following suit in 1979.[2] The last passenger train between Ararat and Portland was on 12 September 1981, operated by a DRC railcar.[6]

In 1987 a large number of sidings were removed including the carriage docks, in 1988 all signals were removed leaving a minimum of sidings in the yard.[5] The line from Maroona to Portland was closed for conversion from broad to standard gauge in March 1995, being reopened to traffic two months later.[1] Today the station has a platform facing the main line, with two goods sidings opposite the platform.[7]

In March 2010 the State Government announced a $3.97 million grant for the construction of a rail loading facility alongside the Iluka Resources mineral sand separation plant (some distance south of the railway station) for the transport of heavy mineral concentrate extracted from the Iluka mine site at Ouyen and transported via the standard gauge Murtoa - Hopetoun railway.[8] The facility may also be used by the existing El Zorro service carrying containerised processed mineral sands from Portland to Melbourne.[9]

A Victorian Railways K class steam locomotive is plinthed in a nearby park: it is made up of K177's frames and coupled wheels, K174's pony truck and boiler, and K159's tender.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 "VICSIG - Infrastructure - Hamilton". www.vicsig.net. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  2. 1 2 Sid Brown (March 1990). "Tracks Across the State". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 71–76.
  3. ↑ "Hamilton 1934". Victorian Railways signal diagram. www.victorianrailways.net. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  4. ↑ "Hamilton 1958". Victorian Railways signal diagram. www.victorianrailways.net. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  5. 1 2 Alan Jungwirth and Keith Lambert (1996). Weekly notice extracts 1894-1994. Weekly Notice Productions. p. 150. ISBN 0-646-30010-5.
  6. ↑ Chris Banger (March 1997). "Rail Passenger Service Withdrawals Since 1960". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 77–82.
  7. ↑ "Hamilton to Heywood 12/2007". Pacific National signalling diagram. www.signaldiagramsandphotos.com. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  8. ↑ Premier of Victoria (18 March 2010). "Media Release: GOVERNMENT HELPS PUT MINERAL INDUSTRY ON TRACK". www.premier.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  9. ↑ "Rail freight back on Portland-Maroona line". ABC News. www.abc.net.au. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  10. ↑ "Preserved Steam Locomotives Down Under - K159". www.australiansteam.com. Retrieved 22 March 2010.

37°44′47″S 142°01′43″E / 37.74632°S 142.028729°E / -37.74632; 142.028729

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