History
The Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company opened a line from Princes Bridge railway station to Punt Road (Richmond) and South Yarra in 1859 and extended to Dandenong in 1879. The South Gippsland railway line (also known as the Great Southern Railway) was opened from Dandenong to Cranbourne in 1888 and extended to Koo Wee Rup, Nyora and Loch in 1890, Korumburra and Leongatha in 1891 and Welshpool, Alberton and Port Albert in 1892. The section from Alberton to Port Albert was closed in the 1940s. A branch line was built from Alberton to Yarram and Woodside in 1921.
The line was well known for its sharp curves and spectacular scenery, and was also one of the last lines to offer a 'Mixed Passenger and Goods' service in Victoria. The section from Yarram to Woodside was closed in the early 1970s, with the section from Barry Beach Junction and Welshpool to Yarram closed in 1987 when the mixed goods service closed. From this point until about 1992, the track beyond Agnes received minimal usage, although a short branch leading from Agnes to Barry Beach was used extensively for goods traffic to serve the oil platforms in Bass Strait.
The Barry Beach service ceased in 1992 and with it all usage of the train line beyond Leongatha. This section of track was then dismantled in 1994, requiring the strengthening of the large Tarwin bridge near Meeniyan, next to the South Gippsland Highway, to allow the track machine onto the track to do the dismantling. On Saturday 24 July 1993 the last V/Line passenger train ran to Leongatha. P class diesel locomotive P18 hauled the passenger train from Melbourne to Leongatha and back with a FSH 4 carriage set. The section from Nyora to Leongatha was transferred to the South Gippsland Railway in 1994 and trains have not operated beyond Cranbourne since January 1998.
Read more about this topic: South Gippsland Railway Line
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