Sandringham Railway Line - History

History

The Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company opened their line from Princes Bridge (later amalgamated with Flinders Street station) to a temporary station on Punt Road in February 1859, then to Cremorne (now closed) in December of that year.

A few days later, the St Kilda and Brighton Railway Company (St. K. & B. R. C.) opened their railway line from St Kilda to Bay Street (now North Brighton) in December 1859. Twelve months after that, the Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company extended their line from Cremorne to Chapel Street (now Windsor) station, on the St. K. & B. R. C.'s line, providing a second route to the city from the Brighton line. The following year, again in December, the St. K. & B. R. C. extended their line to Beach (now Brighton Beach).

The link between St Kilda and Windsor, disused since 1862, was dismantled in 1867, although part of it at the Windsor end was used as a siding for some time afterwards.

In 1865, the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company, who owned the St Kilda line, purchased the Melbourne Suburban Railway Company and became the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay United Railway Company, and subsequently bought the St. K. & B. R. C., which was in financial difficulties, for £99,500. The Victorian Government acquired the United railway company in July 1878.

In September 1887, the Brighton line was extend to Sandringham.

The Sandringham line became the first line in Victoria to be provided with automatic signals, with the line as far as Elsternwick converted in stages from 1915 to 1918. Then in 1919, the Sandringham line became, with the line to Essendon, the first line in the country to be electrified (apart from a test installation on the Flemington Racecourse line). Automatic signalling was provided the rest of the way to Sandringham in two stages in 1926.