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Moolort railway line
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Moolort railway line
The Moolort Line was a cross-country railway line which connected Maryborough and Castlemaine in Victoria, Australia. The line, now defunct, starts in Castlemaine, passes through Campbells Creek, Yapeen, Guildford, Strangways, Newstead, Moolort, and Carisbrook, before joining the Mildura line at Maryborough.
The Castlemaine and Maryborough railway, known as the Moolort line, was started in September 1872, raising local concerns over the effect trains would have on horses.
Its course and construction of its first section from Castlemaine to Newstead was described in the Melbourne Argus;
The line will be constructed upon economic principles. The width of gauge will be 5ft. 3in., so that although the cost of construction will be greatly reduced even in comparison with the North Eastern line, the railway will not be built upon what is known as the narrow gauge or cheap principle. All the bridges and culverts will be of wood instead of iron or stone. The redgum required for the sleepers and piles will be procured from the Murray district, and the posts and rails for fencing from the Bullarook forest near Daylesford. The contract price of the first section is £19,500 [A$2,492,000.00 value in 2021]. The contractor will have to lay, but not supply, the rails and the stations will form a separate contract. The ruling gradient on the first section is 1 in 50, and the heaviest 1 in 43. Active operations will be commenced to-day, and before the expiration of the week it is expected that about 300 men will be employed. The average rate of wages given will be about 6s. 6d. per day for navvies. It is anticipated that unless something unforeseen occurs, the first section will be completed within 13 months. Mr. Gibbons is the engineer employed by Mr. Doran, and Mr. Wilkinson will have charge of the line for the Government, under the direction of Mr. Green, the resident engineer.
Eight hundred schoolchildren were the first to travel from Maryborough to Castlemaine at the line's inauguration on 26 June 1874. Already conveying freight, the line was opened to general passenger traffic on 7 July 1874. There was agitation for a connection from Daylesford via Yandoit but it was refused.
A derailment of an entire passenger train near Carisbrook, during general floods in the district in 1877, was recounted in the Colac Herald in 1896.
The last passenger rail service operated between Castlemaine and Maryborough on 31 July 1977, just over a century after the line was opened, and the track between Moolort and Maldon Junction was out of use after 2004.
A small number of ballast and grain trains continued to use the line until 2010.
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Moolort railway line
The Moolort Line was a cross-country railway line which connected Maryborough and Castlemaine in Victoria, Australia. The line, now defunct, starts in Castlemaine, passes through Campbells Creek, Yapeen, Guildford, Strangways, Newstead, Moolort, and Carisbrook, before joining the Mildura line at Maryborough.
The Castlemaine and Maryborough railway, known as the Moolort line, was started in September 1872, raising local concerns over the effect trains would have on horses.
Its course and construction of its first section from Castlemaine to Newstead was described in the Melbourne Argus;
The line will be constructed upon economic principles. The width of gauge will be 5ft. 3in., so that although the cost of construction will be greatly reduced even in comparison with the North Eastern line, the railway will not be built upon what is known as the narrow gauge or cheap principle. All the bridges and culverts will be of wood instead of iron or stone. The redgum required for the sleepers and piles will be procured from the Murray district, and the posts and rails for fencing from the Bullarook forest near Daylesford. The contract price of the first section is £19,500 [A$2,492,000.00 value in 2021]. The contractor will have to lay, but not supply, the rails and the stations will form a separate contract. The ruling gradient on the first section is 1 in 50, and the heaviest 1 in 43. Active operations will be commenced to-day, and before the expiration of the week it is expected that about 300 men will be employed. The average rate of wages given will be about 6s. 6d. per day for navvies. It is anticipated that unless something unforeseen occurs, the first section will be completed within 13 months. Mr. Gibbons is the engineer employed by Mr. Doran, and Mr. Wilkinson will have charge of the line for the Government, under the direction of Mr. Green, the resident engineer.
Eight hundred schoolchildren were the first to travel from Maryborough to Castlemaine at the line's inauguration on 26 June 1874. Already conveying freight, the line was opened to general passenger traffic on 7 July 1874. There was agitation for a connection from Daylesford via Yandoit but it was refused.
A derailment of an entire passenger train near Carisbrook, during general floods in the district in 1877, was recounted in the Colac Herald in 1896.
The last passenger rail service operated between Castlemaine and Maryborough on 31 July 1977, just over a century after the line was opened, and the track between Moolort and Maldon Junction was out of use after 2004.
A small number of ballast and grain trains continued to use the line until 2010.