Bellevue railway station, Perth

Summary

Bellevue railway station (also known as Bellevue Junction) was a junction station on the Eastern Railway in the Perth suburb of Bellevue.

Bellevue
Station site looking east
General information
LocationRailway Parade, Bellevue
Coordinates31°53′56″S 116°01′40″E / 31.8988°S 116.0279°E / -31.8988; 116.0279
Owned byWestern Australian Government Railways
Operated byWestern Australian Government Railways
Line(s)Eastern
Distance18.8 kilometres from Perth
Platforms2 (1 island)
Construction
Structure typeGround
Other information
StatusDemolished
History
OpenedLate 1890s
Closed31 December 1965
Previous names24 Mile Siding

History edit

On 11 March 1884, the Eastern Railway first route opened from Guildford to Chidlow via Greenmount and Sawyers Valley.[1][2] Bellevue did not initially have a station.[3] On 1 July 1896, the second route opened, deviating from the first route at Bellevue, going via Swan View and Parkerville to rejoin the original line at Mount Helena. The first route remained open.[4][5][6]

Bellevue station was built in the late 1890s on the site of 24 Mile Siding, 2.1 kilometres east of Midland Junction with an island platform.[7][8][9]

On 2 July 1900, a 400-metre line from Bellevue to Helena Vale Racecourse opened. This closed on 17 April 1963.[4][10]

The 17 kilometre section of the first route between Mountain Quarry and Mount Helena closed on 24 January 1954, with the final 4.3 kilometre section from Mountain Quarry closed on 31 December 1965.[10][11] The second route closed on 13 February 1966 to be replaced by the standard gauge third route.[2][3][4]

Bellevue was for considerable periods of its history the terminus of metropolitan passenger services from Perth. Exceptions after the closing of the Mundaring Branch Railway in 1954, were when the Koongamia station construction saw re-use of the defunct Mundaring Branch Railway between 1960 and 1962.[3] It was also served by long-distance trains to Chidlow and Northam.[12]

Operations in the vicinity of the western part of the Bellevue railway station were considered to be part of the Midland Junction marshalling area in later years of operation. Services to Bellevue station were withdrawn on 31 December 1965 and the station closed.[10][11]

Proposed new station edit

As part of the Metronet project, it is proposed to extend Transperth's Midland line services to Bellevue which will require a new station to be built.[13]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Eastern Railway Extension Act 1881 Governor of Western Australia
  2. ^ a b History Town of Chidlow
  3. ^ a b c Watson, Lindsay (1995). The Railway History of Midland Junction: Commemorating The Centenary Of Midland Junction, 1895-1995. L&S Drafting. pp. 66, 67, 121. ISBN 0-646-24461-2.
  4. ^ a b c Quinlan, Howard; Newland, John (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 – 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 64, 67. ISBN 0-909650-49-7.
  5. ^ Westrail A concise history. Perth: Westrail. 1981. p. 5.
  6. ^ Minchin, RS; Higham, GJ (1981). Robb's Railway Fremantle to Guildford Railway Centenary. Bassendean: Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 53. ISBN 0-9599690-2-0.
  7. ^ News and notes : the new station at 24-mile The West Australian 19 July 1897 page 4
  8. ^ The New Station at 24 Mile Western Mail 23 July 1897 page 15
  9. ^ General News The Inquirer & Commercial News 20 August 1897 page 8
  10. ^ a b c Higham (1968). Over the Range. Perth: Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 10, 25.
  11. ^ a b The Avon Valley Deviation Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 362 December 1967 page 256
  12. ^ Western Australian Government Railways timetable 10 May 1937 The Times (Australian Timetable Association) issue 195 June 2001 page 5
  13. ^ "Site chosen for Metronet's Midland Station relocation". Government of Western Australia. 14 January 2020. Archived from the original on 18 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2020.

References edit

  • Affleck, Fred (1978). On Track: The Making of Westrail, 1950–1976. Perth: Westrail. ISBN 0724475605. OCLC 6489347.
  • Elliot, Ian (1983), Mundaring – A History of the Shire (2nd ed.), Mundaring: Mundaring Shire, ISBN 0-9592776-0-9
  • Watson, Lindsay.Midland Junction Railway Station Western Rails, Vol 9, no.4 (July 1987), p. 10-11