Noojee railway line

Only a few years after the opening of the Gippsland mainline to Sale, townships along the upper reaches of the Latrobe River began to petition for a branch line to be built to service the area and by 1885 a route had been approved by Parliament from Warragul via Buln Buln. There was some dispute regarding the route, with a deputation meeting the Minister for Railways in 1888 to request the line be built from Longwarry rather than Warragul, following the Tarago River along an easier alignment and providing a shorter route to Melbourne.[1] The Premier, Duncan Gillies, advised that the route could not be changed, and the line opened in sections with Warragul to Rokeby opened on 12 May 1890, and Rokeby to Neerim South on 18 March 1892.[2][3]

Before the year was out, representations were being made to extend the line from Neerim South to Neerim proper.[4] However, the line progressed no further as the Railways Standing Committee found that traffic on the proposed 5-mile (8.0 km) extension would not justify the £19,000 ($38,000) expenditure. Options for a more cheaply built extension, including the possibility of it being built as a narrow gauge railway were to be considered.[5]

With the opening up of Crown lands in the Noojee and Fumina districts in the early 20th century, areas with poor rail and road transport, there was a renewed push for the railway to be completed.[6] Extension of the line to Noojee via Neerim and Nayook had commenced by 1915, and on 27 March 1917 the 8-mile (13 km) long extension was opened from Neerim South to Nayook,[7] climbing from an elevation of 669 feet (204 m) to 1,430 feet (440 m).[8] Construction continued on the final 5-mile (8.0 km) section into Noojee, over which the line descended 669 feet (204 m), and it was opened on 26 April 1919.[9]

There was considerable optimism for the future prospects for the railway. The Argus newspaper reported that in addition to timber traffic paying its way, the line, which extended "into a most picturesque part of Gippsland", would soon develop a profitable tourist traffic.[10]

However, even as the railway was being officially opened, the roads that would ultimately lead to its closure were already on the way. John Mackey, the Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly and member for West Gippsland, announced during the opening ceremony that the Country Roads Board had made funds available for the building of roads into the region and was now awaiting contractors willing to undertake the construction works.[10]

With the completion of the railway into Noojee, timber production in the area boomed. More than 200 kilometres of narrow gauge tramways were built to link the surrounding mills to the railway terminus. At least 28 timber mills were in operation between 1919 and 1926,[11] when bushfires swept through the region and destroyed the township.

Services

Victorian Railways K class locomotive, circa 1922

The line saw the use of Victorian Railways V class 2-8-0,[12] K class 2-8-0[13] and N class 2-8-2 steam locomotives.[11]

Passenger services were relatively slow, as was the case for many branch lines where a mixed goods and passenger train service was provided.[14] Victorian Railways passenger timetable of 1928 shows a travel time from Melbourne to Noojee of approximately six hours for the 88 ³⁄₄ mi (142.8 km) journey from Flinders Street station, which included lengthy stops at Warragul and Neerim South.[15]

Although by 1930 services into Noojee had only been running for just over ten years, Victorian Railways, faced with mounting losses that would result in a record £1 million deficit,[16] announced the closure of the daily passenger rail service from 30 June 1930. It was replaced by twice-daily road motor services, with a journey time reduced by two hours, and additional services were available for market days on Thursdays.[17] Use of the railway line was reduced to the three goods trains per week needed to clear goods traffic.[18]

Preserved Noojee trestle bridge, December 2009

After closure, the tracks and station buildings along the line were dismantled and many sections of the right of way were sold off. The Buln Buln Shire Council purchased the No. 7 Noojee trestle bridge from Victorian Railways for the nominal sum of £1 ($2).[22] This historic eighteen-span structure, 102 m (335 ft) long and 20 m (66 ft) high, was one of three rebuilt in 1939 after the original structures were razed by the Black Friday bushfires. Architecturally significant as the tallest surviving timber trestle bridge in Victoria and a unique and intact example of trestle bridge construction, it is now registered with the National Trust of Australia.[24]

Approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) of the rail formation around the Noojee Trestle Bridge has been converted into the Noojee Trestle Bridge Rail Trail. Further south towards Warragul, approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) of the formation has been converted into the Rokeby to Crossover Rail Trail.[25]

In April 2012, the Noojee and District Historical Society were successful in a bid to relocate J class steam locomotive J550 from Warragul to Noojee for eventual restoration. The bid for the locomotive was part of a project to create an historical park in Noojee, featuring a restored rail line from Noojee railway station to the trestle bridge.[26]

On 24 March 2013, J550 was moved by road to Noojee and placed on a section of track at the site of the former railway station.

Map of the Noojee Trestle Bridge Rail Trail.

Distances from Southern Cross station shown

Noojee railway line
Gippsland line at Warragul station 104.09 km Lillico 107.33 km Buln Buln 110.57 km Bravington 112.59 km Rokeby 117.05 km Crossover 121.1 km Neerim South 128.39 km Neerim 134.06 km Nayook Timber Siding 143.78 km Noojee Noojee Extension

• Fiddian, Marc (1997). Trains, Tracks, Travellers: a history of the Victorian railways. South Eastern Independent Newspapers. ISBN 1-875475-12-5.
• http://www.vrhistory.com/VRMaps/