Warburton railway line

Mt Evelyn railway station ~1920

The Warburton railway line just outside Melbourne, Australia, was a railway branching off from the Healesville line at the present terminus, Lilydale.

History

The route between Lilydale and Warburton was originally proposed to be built as one of four experimental narrow gauge lines, however, the recommendation was not accepted and the Warburton line opened as a 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) railway on Wednesday, 13 November 1901. The length from Lilydale to Warburton was slightly over 37 kilometres (23 mi). The last train ran on Sunday, 1 August 1965, although it was officially closed on 29 July 1965.

Warburton railway line
Lilydale Line Lilydale Healesville Line Warburton Line Mount Evelyn Wandin Seville Killara Woori Yallock Launching Place Yarra Junction Junction with Powelltown Tramway Britannia Wesburn Millgrove Warburton

Services

Throughout its life the Warburton line had both passenger and goods services (passenger services generally running as a shuttle between Lilydale and Warburton stations), although passenger services dwindled during the later years.

Current status

While the track was dismantled in the 1970s the Warburton line right-of-way is intact except for a short section leased to Mount Lilydale College, as are all of the bridges except one that previously crossed Maroondah Highway. A new bridge was completed in 2011 allowing the safe crossing of Maroondah Hwy. The land formerly used by the line is now used for the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail, a pedestrian, bicycle and equestrian trail.

See also

• Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail
• The Official website Visit Warburton - Warburton Valley Community and Economic Development Association (CEDA)