Toodyay railway station

Toodyay
Transwa
Westbound view in March 2014
General information
LocationAnzac Avenue, Toodyay
Coordinates31°33′06″S 116°27′55″E / 31.5516°S 116.4653°E / -31.5516; 116.4653
Owned byPublic Transport Authority
Operated byTranswa
Line(s)Eastern
Distance93 kilometres (58 mi) from Perth
Platforms2 side
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeGround
AccessibleYes
Other information
StatusUnstaffed
History
Opened14 February 1966
Services
Preceding station Transwa Transwa Following station
Midland
Terminus
 AvonLink Northam
Terminus
Midland
towards East Perth
 Prospector Northam
towards Kalgoorlie

Toodyay railway station is located on the Eastern Railway in the Avon River town of Toodyay in Western Australia.

History

There have been three stopping places for railway passengers in Toodyay.

As was the case with other communities in Western Australia at the time, railway routes through established localities caused concern to the residents when the railway lines were in planning stages.[1]

Original stopping point

Location of original stopping point from 1892 PWD plan

The original railway stopping point on the narrow gauge Clackline–Miling line was where a railway platform is indicated on the north side of the track on the Public Works Department plan for that time.[2][3]

Original station

The locality at that time was known as Newcastle; by 1897 the station building was constructed within a short distance west of the original terminus, and was referred to regularly in advertising as being across the road from the Newcastle Hotel.[4][a]

On 6 May 1910, Newcastle was regazetted as Toodyay with the station likewise renamed.[6] The line was extended west, then over the Avon River, and then north in stages, reaching Miling in August 1925.[7][8]

Current station

Although the route was surveyed in the 1940s, it wasn't until the passing of the Railways (Standard Gauge) Construction Act 1961 that construction commenced on the dual gauge Eastern Railway through the Avon Valley.[9][10]

As part of the construction of the new line, Toodyay was provided with a station on the new alignment, opening on 14 February 1966 with the narrow gauge line through Toodyay closed and later removed.[8][11] The new dual gauge line passed through the town of Toodyay with a new station built west of the earlier stations.

The Clackline-Miling narrow gauge line branches off the Eastern Railway at West Toodyay, which was a former marshalling yard, three kilometres west of Toodyay.[12]

Passenger services

Transwa's AvonLink, MerredinLink and Prospector services stop at Toodyay, at least one service each day.[13][14]

Notes

  1. ^ In the two pages of Jack Stanbridge's 70 years of rails & wire in Western Australia, book two,[5] devoted to Old Toodyay Station, the text to a photo of the station confuses some issues - "Copy of opening day of Rail to Newcastle in 1888" against a photo of the 1897 building.

References

  1. ^ "Newcastle Railway Station". The Inquirer & Commercial News. Perth, WA. 14 September 1887. p. 5. Retrieved 10 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ http://aeon.sro.wa.gov.au/investigator/Details/Item_Detail.asp?Entity=Global&Search=newcastle%20railway%20station%20&Op=All&Page=1&Id=4463310&SearchPage=Global - specific set of PWD plans relative to Newcastle railway line 1891-, image found here is number 4
  3. ^ "The Toodyay Agricultural Society's Show". The Daily News. Perth, WA. 27 October 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 10 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Advertising". Toodyay Herald. WA. 25 October 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 10 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ Stanbridge, Jack (1997), 70 years of rails & wire in Western Australia, vol. 2, J. Stanbridge, pp. 4–5, retrieved 16 July 2015
  6. ^ Government Gazette #19 1910 Western Australian Government Gazette 6 May 1910 page 1043
  7. ^ Another Railway, Piawining to Miling Western Mail 20 August 1925 page 15
  8. ^ a b Newland, Andrew; Quinlan, Howard (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 67. ISBN 0-909650-49-7.
  9. ^ Affleck, Fred (1978). On Track: The Making of Westrail, 1950–1976. Perth: Westrail. p. 89. ISBN 0724475605. OCLC 6489347.
  10. ^ Webb Report 1976 Archived 14 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine Australian Transport Research Forum
  11. ^ Clackline to Toodyay Railway Line State Heritage Office
  12. ^ "Toodyay - Toodyay West" (PDF).
  13. ^ "Prospector Timetable" (PDF). Transwa. Public Transport Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.