Walhalla Goldfields Railway

A train leaving Thomson station

Overview

Type

Tourist railway

Status

Tourist Railway

Termini

Walhalla
Thomson

Former connections

Orbost railway line

Operation

Completed

1910

Closed

1954

Reopened

1994

Technical

Line length

3.2 km (2.0 mi)

Number of tracks

Single track

Track gauge

762 mm (2 ft 6 in)

Route map

towards Moe and the main line

159.54

Erica (Planned extension of tourist railway)

Jacobs Creek

161.96

Knott's Siding (Planned extension of tourist railway)

Boola Rd (cutting filled in)

162.30

O'Shea and Bennett's Siding (Planned extension of tourist railway)

163.43

Murie (Planned extension of tourist railway)

165.58

Platina (Planned extension of tourist railway)

Coopers Creek Road

Trestle bridge

Trestle bridge (dismantled)

168.24

Thomson

Thomson River

Winter Platform*

Cascade Bridge Halt*

170.69

Happy Creek*

Stringers Creek gorge (6 bridges)

171.94

Walhalla

* refers to stations built during the reconstruction of the Walhalla Tourist railway

The Walhalla Goldfields Railway is a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge tourist railway located in the Thomson River and Stringers Creek valleys in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, near the former gold-mining town and tourist destination of Walhalla.

The Walhalla line was the last of four experimental narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways, the Moe-Walhalla railway commenced in 1904, but was not completed until 1910. The railway was expected to be a boon for Walhalla, which was in a state of decline with gold mining operations becoming uneconomical. The largest gold mining company closed in 1914.

After the closure of the Walhalla mines, substantial timber traffic was carried from saw-mills around Erica until the late 1940s. Goods and passenger traffic declined, with the railway closed in sections from 1944 with the final section from Moe to Erica closed on 25 June 1954. The tracks and buildings were removed by 1960, leaving only the roadbed and a number of bridges.

The former station building at Walhalla was re-located to the Melbourne suburban station of Hartwell. The centre span of the National Estate listed Thomson River Railway Bridge was formerly part of a road bridge over the Murray River at .

The railway is a key tourist attraction for Walhalla today, carrying around 35,000 passengers each year. The trains run on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays departing Walhalla at 11am, 1pm and 3pm [no 3pm service in June/July/August], with increased daily services in school holiday periods. The train journey begins departing the Walhalla Heritage Precinct, travelling through the station yard between Stringers Creek and the cliff-face that underpins the Brunton's Bridge Road. The first kilometre and a half is almost entirely built over six large trestle bridges that criss-cross Stringers Creek Gorge in an effort to find anchorage for each bridge abutment.

...
Wikipedia