Serviceton railway station

Serviceton
Former Victorian Railways and V/Line regional rail
Serviceton station in 2006
General information
Location	Elizabeth Street, Serviceton
Coordinates	36°22′33″S 140°59′09″E
Owned by	Victorian Railways then VicTrack
Line(s)	Western standard gauge Adelaide-Wolseley
Distance	461.7 kilometres (286.9 miles) by rail from Southern Cross railway station, Melbourne
Platforms	1
Tracks	1
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Other information
Status	Closed
History
Opened	1889
Closed	1984
Services
Preceding station Australian Rail Track Corporation Following station Lillimur towards Southern Cross Western standard gauge railway line Wolseley Terminus

Serviceton railway station is located on the Western standard gauge line in Victoria, Australia, in the small town of Serviceton, 461.7 kilometres (286.9 miles) by rail from Melbourne. Opened in 1889 and closed in 1984, it has since been leased to West Wimmera Shire Council for use by community groups.

History

The station's unique facilities included two ticket offices operated separately by the Victorian and South Australian railways, and cross-border customs facilities

Victorian Railways mixed train at Serviceton station in the 1910s

The Adelaide-Wolseley line was extended from Bordertown in South Australia on 19 January 1887 coinciding with the opening of the line from Dimboola in Victoria.[1]

The Premier of South Australia, John Downer, wrote to his Victorian equivalent, James Service, suggesting that the new border railway town and station be named Downer after him. Service wrote back and said that as it was in Victoria, it would be named Serviceton after himself, although at the time of construction the land was claimed by both colonies.

As Serviceton was the border station and train crews could only operate within their own state, crews and locomotives were changed between the South Australian Railways and Victorian Railways. A customs house/railway station was commissioned in 1887 with costs shared between the two colonies. The complex of 15 main rooms, including a large refreshment room, was completed in 1889.[2] Reflecting its positioning at the border of two colonies before Australia's Federation, it included customs facilities; similarly there were two separate ticket offices, each operated by the respective Victorian and South Australian railways.

With federation, customs roles finished in January 1901 although trains would continue to changes locomotives until the 1980s.

On 7 September 1951, the westbound Overland service collided with its eastbound equivalent at the station, killing one person and destroying four A2 class locomotives.[3][4][5]

In 1970, the station was listed by the National Trust of Victoria for its part in the border dispute.[6] Victorian Railways DRC railcar services from Horsham to Serviceton ceased in December 1978.[7][8] The refreshment rooms closed in 1981 and the station closed in 1986.[9]

The station ceased to be a crew change-over and train-passing location in March 1984 after a new crossing loop opened at Dimboola[10] and VicRail commissioned a new Centralized Traffic Control signalling system on the Western Line west of Ararat. The station closed on 1 May; Wolseley then became the western limit of the new system.[11]: 1‑651 

In 2011, the station building was restored by VicTrack and leased to West Wimmera Shire Council for use by community groups.[12] Since then it has housed a display of local and railway memorabilia.[13]

The Overland previously called at Serviceton on its journey between Adelaide and Melbourne, but no longer stops there.

In popular culture

American singer Tom Waits included the closure of the station in his song "Town with No Cheer," in his 1983 album Swordfishtrombones.[14]

Gallery

	Staircase to the station entrance		Intricate 19th century brickwork		Walls of Horsham red brick
	The platform, which is now fenced		Station building from Elizabeth Street		Container well cars, typical of present-day rail freight through Serviceton

References

1. Railway History 1880-1899 Australian Railway Historical Society
2. Serviceton Railway Station West Wimmera Shire Council
3. Rail Disaster at Serviceton Barrier Miner 7 September 1951
4. Expresses collide at Serviceton: one dead, passengers shaken Canberra Times 8 September 1951
5. Victorian Expresses in Head On Collision at Serviceton Railway Transportation October 1951 page 11
6. Here & There Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 392 June 1970 page 3
7. Here & There Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 498 April 1979 page 6
8. Rail Passenger Service Withdrawals Since 1960 Newsrail March 1997
9. At your service ABC Western Victoria 2 June 2011
10. Serviceton All But Closed Catch Point issue 42 July 1984 page 11
11. Ramsay, John (2008). "The History of the Australian National Railways Commission, Part 1: 1978–1990". Proceedings of the 2008 Convention. Modelling the Railways of South Australia. Adelaide.
12. Serviceton stn Newsrail August 2011 page 252
13. Serviceton Historic Railway Station Culture Victoria
14. Town with no Cheer lyrics Tom Waits

External links

Media related to Serviceton railway station at Wikimedia Commons