Whitfield railway line

The Whitfield railway line was a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge railway located in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, branching from the main North East railway at Wangaratta to the terminus of Whitfield.[1]

Whitfield railway
Overview
Status	Closed
Stations	17
Service
Type	Mixed passenger/goods service
History
Opened	1899
Closed	1953
Technical
Line length	30.5 mi (49 km)
Track gauge	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)
Route map North East railway line 0 mi 0 ch 0 km Wangaratta 2 mi 54 ch 4.3 km Targoora 5 mi 11 ch 8.27 km Laceby 6 mi 63 ch 10.92 km Oxley 9 mi 49 ch 15.47 km Skehan 12 mi 30 ch 19.92 km Docker 14 mi 31 ch 23.15 km Byrne 16 mi 34 ch 26.43 km Moyhu 17 mi 68 ch 28.73 km Angleside 19 mi 8 ch 30.74 km Claremont 20 mi 34 ch 32.87 km Dwyer 22 mi 8 ch 35.57 km Edi 24 mi 16 ch 38.95 km Hyem 25 mi 75 ch 41.74 km King Valley 27 mi 49 ch 44.44 km Jarrott 28 mi 51 ch 46.09 km Pieper 38 mi 27 ch 61.7 km Whitfield broad gauge standard gauge narrow gauge

Overview

It was the first of four narrow gauge lines in Victoria. It was unlike the other lines in that it was built through mostly flat, open, agricultural country, following the King River. The 30.5 miles (49 km) line was built as a narrow gauge line because it was thought that it might be extended into the mountainous country to the south, but this extension never happened.

One of the proposed extensions was to Tolmie.[2]

The line was opened in March 1899, and was the first line to close, in October 1953. The line relied mostly on local agricultural traffic, and opened with a daily mixed train. By the 1930s this had been reduced to a weekly goods service, and stayed at this level until the railway closed. There was only one lineside industry, a dairy at Moyhu, and the majority of stations were nameboards at road crossings.

Whitfield to Wangaratta Rail Heritage Trail

The Whitfield to Wangaratta Rail Heritage Trail follows the railway but is an on-road trail, it is not on the actual former railway.[3]

See also

• Narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways

References

1. http://members.optusnet.com.au/~narrow.gauge/whitfld.htm
2. "Railway to Tolmie". Kilmore Free Press (Kilmore, VIC : 1870-1954). Kilmore, VIC: National Library of Australia. 14 January 1909. p. 4 Edition: MORNING. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
3. Railtrails Australia - Trail Description - Whitfield to Wangaratta Rail Heritage Trail