Warburton railway line, Melbourne
Encyclopedia
The Warburton railway line
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

just outside Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, was a railway branching off from the Healesville line at the present terminus, Lilydale.

History

The route between Lilydale and Warburton was originally proposed to be built as one of four experimental narrow gauge lines
Narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways
The former Victorian Railways, the state railway authority in Victoria, Australia built a number of experimental narrow gauge railway lines around the beginning of the 20th century. Although all were closed by the early 1960s, parts of two have been reopened as heritage railways.- Background :A...

, however, the recommendation was not accepted and the Warburton line opened as broad gauge
Victorian broad gauge
Rail gauge in Australia displays significant variation, which has been an ongoing problem for transportation on the Australian continent, for over a hundred years.-Track gauges and route km:The most used gauges are Main gauges:...

 railway on Wednesday, 13 November 1901. The length from Lilydale to Warburton was slightly over 37 kilometres (23 mi). The last train ran on Sunday, 1 August 1965, although it was officially closed on 29 July 1965.

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Services

Throughout its life the Warburton line had both passenger and goods services (passenger services generally running as a shuttle between Lilydale and Warburton stations), although passenger services dwindled during the later years.

Current status

While the track was dismantled in the 1970s the Warburton line right-of-way is intact except for a short section leased to Mount Lilydale College, as are all of the bridges except one that previously crossed Maroondah Highway
Maroondah Highway
Maroondah Highway , is a major east-west thoroughfare in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and a highway servicing the lower alpine region Victoria, Australia.-History:...

.However, this bridge is under reconstruction as well. The land formerly used by the line is now used for the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail, a pedestrian, bicycle and equestrian trail.
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