Lette railway line
Lette railway line | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Status | Closed |
Locale | Victoria and New South Wales, Australia |
History | |
Opened | never officially opened |
Closed | 12 February 1943 (construction officially ceased) |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)[1] |
The Lette railway line was a proposed railway running from Robinvale in Victoria to Lette in New South Wales, Australia. The line from Anneullo to Robinvale in Victoria was opened on 5 June 1924, and a 60-kilometre (37 mi) extension to Lette was planned, being provided for under the Border Railways Act 1922. The extension, part of a scheme to foster closer settlement of the Riverina district of New South Wales,[2] was to serve the locations of Euston, Benanee, Koorakee, Werimble, Mylatchie and Lette.[3]
Construction[]
Work started on the railway in 1926, and the rail-road bridge across the Murray River at Robinvale, built as part of the project, was opened on 14 March 1928.[2] Construction was halted for a time, but recommenced in April 1929, and in April 1930, a special train ran as far as Koorakee. Construction work continued towards Lette, but was never completed, and the section to Koorakee was never officially opened for traffic.
Closure[]
Trains on the line were operated by the Railways Construction Branch until construction was officially abandoned on 12 February 1943. The rail-road bridge was replaced in 2006 by a new road bridge. The lifting span of the former bridge has been placed in a nearby park, as a permanent historical display.[4] The remains of the only other bridge on the line still exist today.[5] The line to Robinvale is still open for freight trains, even though the section between Manangatang to Robinvale was closed in 2008.[6]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "NSW Railway Lines Other Than Standard Gauge". Nswrail.net. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- ^ a b "Developing the Riverina". The Argus. 15 March 1928. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ "Robinvale - Lette Line". Nswrail.net. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- ^ "Euston-Robinvale Bridge". Robinvale-Euston Visitor Centre. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ Baxter, Geoff. "Bridges over Murray River Billabongs - Robinvale To Lette Railway". abandonedbutnotforgotten1.blogspot.com. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- ^ "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
Further reading[]
- McNicol, Steve; Woodland, Tony (2010). Bridging the Murray: A Study of the Rail Crossings. Railmac Publications. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-86477-076-6.
- Dodd, Ian; Dodd, Sophia (2018). Lette, The Railway that Never Opened. Little Catherine Books. ISBN 9780648245254.
- Railway lines in New South Wales
- Closed regional railway lines in Victoria (Australia)