I took the car out a week or so ago to fill it with petrol. It didn't need too much but we were warned the price was going to rise. It didn't.
I kind of knew there was an old railway line alongside Lorimer Street in turn which runs close to the bank of the Yarra River and I wanted to take a proper look at it. Naturally Marcus Wong had done so before and took quite a few photos. I assumed it was an old line to somewhere, long ago abandoned. Not so at all.
As you can see it was a single track and subsequent research revealed it was only built in 1986 to transport freight from rail terminal west of Melbourne to a shipping facility at Webb Dock, hence it was called the Web Dock Railway Line. It was not electrified and so the freight trains were diesel powered. Aside from Gippsland former coal trains, I don't thing we've ever had electrified freight lines.
Just ten years after opening, the line closed in 1996 for construction of disastrous Docklands development and the sports stadium. The bridge over Yarra River was repurposed as a pedestrian bridge, Webb Bridge I think.
Much of the line still exits. Some parts have been removed and some covered over but I believe the government still owns the land which could be quite useful in the future.
There is even a bit of associated infrastructure left. I am not sure if this will work but these photos were taken where Lorimer Street changes to Todd Road.
Freight terminal bound.
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The legendary train and tram photographer who produced stunning images, the late Weston Langford, documented the line's construction and opening. A link to his photos can be found here.
Maybe in history Marcus Wong will be described as a legendary photographer and documenter of train and tram history. He made a fine start with his coverage after the line's closure, which you see here.
PS. Marcus, the door of the box in your photo entitled Level Crossing Protection has gone, exposing the interior workings.
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The you-tube link was a sad indictment of government wasn't it? Federal and local the world over...
ReplyDeleteEC, as long as we keep noticing and remarking or complaining about such things, we can only hope things stop getting worse.
DeleteIt just much be too much work to pry those defunct rail lines out of the ground
ReplyDeletePrecisely Kirk. If a less train friendly government comes to power that will probably safeguard the right of way if not needed for any other reason.
DeleteInteresting stories and images of defunct railway around the town. It is sometimes worthwhile to trace the railway like a photographer exploring them around the city
ReplyDeleteRoentare, they can be so interesting. A few years ago I walked both the old inner circle railway line and then the outer circle railway. It was fascinating and I would recommend some research before you do as it is easy to miss things.
DeleteThere is something rather sad about abandoned railway lines. I like the ones in the country where they have turned them into walking/biking trails. Mainly cos they are usually flat in hilly areas!
ReplyDeleteCaro, rail trails should only be built when there is absolute no chance of the line being used again. The rail trail from Lilydale to Healesville is probably a mistake.
DeleteAbandoned but not ripped up and disposed of. That's a good thing as it makes for easier reinstatement if needed. Lots of work will be needed to get it running again, but having the lines still there is a start.
ReplyDeleteThat's right River, and with huge residential developments happening in the area, it may get used sooner rather than later.
DeleteA shame the line only operated for ten years. That seems a dubious investment!
ReplyDeleteSteve, the Kennett years. Shut it down, privatise it, money for business and poorly thought out developments, higher taxes on people. It was a nightmare six or so years towards the end of the 20th century.
DeleteWhy was the Dockland Development disastrous, do you think? I have almost never visited that part of the world.
ReplyDeleteHels, although though there was the Docklands Authority to oversee the development, developers were pretty well given a free run to make mega profits. Even now there must be hundreds if not thousands of empty apartments, with landlords and private buyers having lost huge amounts of capital. We personally know of a couple of them. City of Melbourne had no control over what was done there.
DeleteThere is an old freight line / siding in the north side of Alexandria, that dead ends at warehouses that were owned by the Washington Post Newspaper. Paper was shipped in by barge, loaded on trains and sent to the printing plant, it also fed a coal fired power plant, that closed a decade or so ago and is being repurposed.
ReplyDeleteTP, interesting. Double handling is not very efficient but I suppose there were reasons why the paper could not be moved the whole distance by train.
DeleteTrains have always fascinated me and my husband. He booked a private car for our honeymoon from Cincinnati to Washington DC for a change and then all the way to Miami. We drove to Key West from there. Ah... youthful memories. lol Thanks for sharing Mr. Langford's website as well as your cool images.
ReplyDeleteThat must be a great memory Darla. You do have some brilliant long distant train trips, albeit at a slow pace.
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