Railway Archaeology: Ravenhall Explosives Siding

The area today (via Google Maps)

The Ravenhall Explosives Siding was built by the Commonwealth Government in 1943 to store munitions for World War II. It was decommissioned almost immediately after the war, in 1946, so in some ways it had a very short life - but as is often the case, its impact can still be seen to this day. 

The legacy of Ballarat's tramways

The shape of Ballarat's tram network in 1971

On Sunday 19 September 1971, 50 years ago today, the last ever revenue service on Ballarat's tramways ran from Lydiard Street to Sebastopol. The mayors of Sebastopol and Ballarat ceremoniously piloted it back to the depot, and the transition of Ballarat's public transport network to motor buses was complete, with the tramways entering their preservation era. But the legacy of the tramways echoed through Ballarat for many years after, and can still be heard today. 

Railway Archaeology: London Transport Museum

The London Transport Museum is housed in the former Flower Market building in Covent Garden, and I gave it a visit on my trip to London in October 2019 (yes, I am VERY behind on these writeups). 

Goodbye Bungaree Loop

Bungaree Station in 1986 (via @railmaps)

The Ballarat line has been shut down for a month from 28 December, as part of the final push to complete the Ballarat Line Upgrade project. This means that the last train to ever run on the Bungaree Loop ran on 27 December, so let's take a look at the history of the line. 

Ten years of the Maryborough line

Friday was the 10-year anniversary of the government reopening the Maryborough line to passenger trains - so now's as good a time as any to take a look at the history of the line, how it works today, and what should happen for the future.

Railway Archaeology: National Railway Museum, York

In Part 3 of my series on my trip through the UK, we'll take a look at the National Railway Museum in York. The museum is right next to the mainline station, as it's the former site of a large depot and maintenance facility. My first port of call was the Great Hall, which used to be the motive power depot.

Railway Archaeology: Ballarat's Phoenix Foundry

Ballarat's Phoenix Foundry began producing various iron components for local businesses in 1856, moving onto stationary steam engines and eventually steam locomotives in the coming years. Initially one of many foundries in Ballarat, it came to dominate the locomotive business in Victoria and played a key role in transforming Ballarat's economy from being based solely on gold into the more diverse economy it has today. Despite this, it seems to be relatively unknown to most Ballaratians today.

Railway Archaeology: Balaclava

Bothwell Street in Balaclava (via Augustus Brown)

Something happened on Twitter the other day that I thought would provide some insight into how this whole Railway Archaeology thing generally goes. Fellow train nerd @AugustusBrown noticed that Bothwell St in Balaclava looks like it diverges from the Sandringham line just south of Balaclava station, which suggests the street might have been built along the rail alignment. He then traced it out and suggested that it might connect up to St Kilda station since it was only a minor diversion to do so.

Railway Archaeology: The Ballarat Tramways

Trams have become pretty closely associated with Melbourne nowadays - I know when I was younger I thought of them as a uniquely "Melbourne" phenomenon. At 250km of track, Melbourne has the largest tram network in the world, with only a few major European cities even coming close. But things were not always this way - many other cities in Australia had tramways, with Sydney's network being even bigger than Melbourne's. But most of Australia's tramways were ripped up during the 20th Century, and have by and large been forgotten until quite recently.

Railway Archaeology: Ballarat Heritage Weekend

This weekend (May 10th and 11th) is Ballarat Heritage Weekend. One of the many events planned for the weekend is the steam train shuttles between the historic Ballarat Station and Lal Lal, on the line to Geelong. The trains will be run by Steamrail Victoria, a preservation group, and will run with one locomotive at each end, with restored carriages in the middle.

Y112 in 2013

Railway Archaeology: The Buninyong Railway Line