Shelbourne Railway Line

Shelbourne
Overview
Type	Branch
Status	Closed
Former connections	Maldon line
Stations	2
Operation
Opened	24 March 1891
Closed	1 January 1970
Number of tracks	1

The Shelbourne line was a continuation of the branch line from Castlemaine to Maldon. Due to the facing junction of the Shelbourne extension, when services to Shelbourne reached Maldon, the locomotive had to change ends in order to run from there to Shelbourne.

The line from Maldon to Shelbourne was opened on 24 March 1891. The line was originally planned to extend about 8 miles (13 km) beyond Shelbourne to Laanecoorie, but work on that section was suspended in 1890. Almost 2 miles (3.2 km) of earthworks and two trestle bridges had been built before construction was abandoned.

The one intermediate station on the line was known as Bradford until some time between 1912 and 1928, when its name was altered to Pollard. In late 1936, a proposal to close the Castlemaine-Maldon-Shelbourne line was met with protests. Consequently, the line was not closed, but services were modified, and some rolling stock was allocated to the Echuca line instead.

A bushfire in 1969 destroyed a number of the wooden trestle bridges between Maldon and Shelbourne, which were deemed uneconomical to rebuild, forcing the closure of the line.

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