Bacchus Marsh railway station
Bacchus Marsh | ||||||||||||||||
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 Station front in May 2008 | ||||||||||||||||
| Location | Station Street, Bacchus Marsh | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°41′15″S 144°26′13″E / 37.6876°S 144.4369°ECoordinates: 37°41′15″S 144°26′13″E / 37.6876°S 144.4369°E | |||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 105 metres (343 ft)[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Owned by | VicTrack | |||||||||||||||
| Operated by | V/Line | |||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | Serviceton | |||||||||||||||
| Distance | 50.86 kilometres from Southern Cross | |||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | Ground | |||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||
| Status | Staffed | |||||||||||||||
| Station code | BMH | |||||||||||||||
| Website | Public Transport Victoria | |||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 10 February 1887 | |||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||
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Bacchus Marsh railway station is located on the Serviceton line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the town of Bacchus Marsh opening on 10 February 1887 as the temporary terminus of the line from Melbourne. On 4 December 1889 the line was extended to Ballan which completed the direct Melbourne to Ballarat line.[2]
A number of sidings opposite the station are used to stable trains. It also has an operations 70' turntable that is mainly used for turning steam locomotives on special trains.
History
The contract for the construction of the station building was awarded in 1889 for £1809/8/11. A 45 lever interlocking frame in a signal box was brought into use in 1890, by this time the station had a main platform with a dock platform at the eastern end, a main line and crossing loop, turntable, and a number of sidings. The station was originally provided with a 53' long turntable. In 1957 it was replaced by a 70' unit.[3]
In the late 1940s, brown coal mined at nearby Maddingley began to be transported in large quantities by rail, dedicated trains running between Bacchus Marsh and the APM Siding in the Melbourne suburb of Fairfield. The coal was used to fire the boilers at the Australian Paper Manufacturers paper mill, with 400 tonnes (440 short tons) of coal per day was transferred in two trains per day. This traffic continued until the late 1970s when the boilers were converted to natural gas firing.[4]
Control of trains on the single track was controlled with the Electric Staff system until 1967, when the Automatic and Track Control (ATC) system was provided. At the same time remote control of the signals Bank Box Loop was provided, the same being done to the track towards Parwan Loop in 1987. Control of the signals at Rockbank station were moved into the signal box in 1990.[3]
As part of the Regional Fast Rail project the control of signals was relocated to Ballarat station,[5] and the platform was extended eastwards in order to increase the speed of trains passing through the curve at the western end of the station. In addition, the curves over the Parwan Creek valley were realigned for higher speeds. In 2008, 160 additional car parks were opened at the station for the use of rail commuters.[6]
Closed station Parwan was located between Bacchus Marsh and Melton, while closed stations Rowsley and Ingliston were located between Bacchus Marsh and Ballan.
Platforms & services
Bacchus Marsh has one platform. It is serviced by V/Line Ballarat, Ararat and Maryborough line services.[7][8][9]
Platform 1:
- Ballarat line: V/Line services to Wendouree & Southern Cross
- Ararat line: V/Line services to Ararat & Southern Cross
- Maryborough line: V/Line services to Maryborough & Southern Cross
Transport links
Bacchus Marsh Coaches operates three routes to and from Bacchus Marsh station:
References
- ↑ VR Public timetable 1960, pg20
- ↑ Bacchus Marsh Vicsig
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Victorian Station Histories - Bacchus Marsh" (PDF). Victorian Railways History.
- ↑ S Cauchi (November 1994). "Closure of the Australian Paper Ltd siding at Fairfield". Newsrail (Australian Railway Historical Society): pages 328–331.
- ↑ Bacchus Marsh Signal Box Vicsig
- ↑ 160 Extra Car Parking Spaces for Bacchus Marsh Parkways Minister for Public Transport 24 January 2008
- ↑ Ballarat - Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria
- ↑ Ararat - Melbourne Public Transport Victoria
- ↑ Maryborough - Melbourne via Ballarat Public Transport Victoria
- ↑ Route 433 Bacchus Marsh DC - Hillview estate timetable Public Transport Victoria
- ↑ Route 434 Bacchus Marsh station - Telford Park timetable Public Transport Victoria
- ↑ Route 435 Bacchus Marsh station - Darley timetable Public Transport Victoria