Yarra Valley Railway

Yarra Valley Railway
Line details
Completed 1888
Closed 1983
Stations Healesville to Tarrawarra
Rail transport in Victoria

The Yarra Valley Railway is a tourist railway operating on a section of the former Healesville railway which operated between Lilydale and Healesville in the Yarra Valley area northeast of Melbourne, Australia.

Contents

History

The Lilydale-Melbourne railway was extended from Lilydale to Yarra Flats (now known as Yarra Glen) on the 15th May 1888 with intermediate stations at Coldstream and Yering. Part of the structure included a long timber viaduct with 502 openings near Yarra Glen, spanning the Yarra River and the adjacent flood plains. The extension of the line from Yarra Glen to Healesville required a 1 in 40 (2.5%) climb into a 154.4 metre tunnel with a corresponding descent at nearly the same grade. The Healesville Station opened on March 1, 1889 with an intermediate station at Tarrawarra.

Traffic on the line included timber, livestock, milk and dairy products. Early timetables included regular goods services specifically for transporting milk.

The last regular steam passenger service was hauled in August, 1964. From this time until closure of the line in 1980 passenger services were run using Rail Motors. After December 9 1980 no services operated beyond Coldstream and the line was officially closed to all traffic on March 10, 1983. It was partially reopened as far as Yarra Glen for tourism purposes in 1986 following major bridgework. However, these services ceased by 1990.

Current operations

The railway is currently running a Walker Railmotor RM22 from Healesville to the Tarrawarra Winery, crossing the Watts River, under the Donovan's Road overbridge and through the historic tunnel.

On the 17th July 2010 the official launch of the Walker Railmotor service occurred with the first passenger service to leave Healesville Railway Station in over 30 years. Future goals include reconstruction to Yarra Glen and Lilydale. During major bushfires in February 2009, the line suffered the loss of several large and small trestle bridges, both on the operating and non operating section.

The railway is in possession of a number of locomotives and carriages, including:

 · One Victorian Railways J-class steam engine (J516)

 · W-class Diesel-Hydraulic Locomotive (W250)

 · 153hp Walker Rail Motor (22RM)

 · Diesel Electric Rail Motor (DERM) (62RM)

Line map

The Yarra Valley Railway run on a section of track from Healesville to the Tarrawarra Tunnel. The Rest of the line is yet to be restored.

Healesville railway line
Legend
Line to Lilydale
Tunnel
Donovans Road
Watts River
Healesville-Kinglake Road
Healesville 63km
Panoramic shot of Healesville Station with the railmotor RM22 sitting in the platform

See also

References

External links