RAILWAYS OF NORTH-EAST VICTORIA
(www.northeastvictoria.online)
BENALLA - YARRAWONGA RAILWAY
The Railway Station at Benalla opened in 1873, as part of the Melbourne - Sydney line (actually the Melbourne - Albury Line, since the gauge changed at the NSW - Victoria border).
What was to become the Yarrawonga broad gauge branch line had its first rails laid along a 32km route from Benalla to St James, and this was later extended to Yarrawonga in 1886.
This was subsequently extended a further 61km, so as to reach the Oaklands wheat-belt and coal fields.
The service from Benalla through to Yarrwonga then ran from 1886 until 1979, and for a number of years there was no service at all on the line. However, the route was eventually re-opened (in 2009) as a standard gauge freight-only route.
In Victoria, the stations on the line were Benalla, Goorambat, Devenish, St James, Tungamah, Telford, and Yarrawonga.
North of the border, the stations were Mulwala, Sloane, Warragoon, Rennie, Sangar, Wangamong and Oaklands.
Whilst much of the original (passenger based) infrastructure is still standing, one of the most endearing facets of the line is the profusion of silo art sites; see for example the descriptions of Devenish and Goorambat.
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COPYRIGHT © 1995-2020, Chris McLaughlin.