Bourke railway station

Bourke railway station is a heritage-listed former railway station in Bourke, in the Far West region of New South Wales. The station opened in 1885 as the terminus of the Main Western line. Passenger trains to Bourke ceased in 1975 when the rail service beyond Dubbo was replaced by road coaches.[1][2][3][4] NSW TrainLink continues to serve the station precinct by coach.[5] The property belongs to the Country Regional Network (CRN), which is owned by Transport for NSW and operated by John Holland Rail.[2][6]

Bourke
Former railway station
Location	Anson St, Bourke, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates	30°05′41″S 145°56′07″E
Owned by	Transport for NSW
Operated by	NSW TrainLink
Line(s)	Main Western
Distance	824.83 kilometres (513 mi) from Central
Platforms	1
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Other information
Status	Closed to rail passenger services Serviced by NSW TrainLink coach services
History
Opened	3 August 1885
Closed	20 September 1975
New South Wales Heritage Database (Local Government Register)
Official name	Bourke Railway Precinct
Type	State heritage (built)
Designated	n.d.
Reference no.	s.170 NSW State agency heritage register
Type	Railway Platform / Station
Category	Transport - Rail
Builders	NSW Government Railways
Location
000 Sydney Central Main Suburban line Main South line to Albury Harris Park 23 Parramatta Parramatta Park Westmead Rogans Hill line Wentworthville Pendle Hill Toongabbie quarry line Toongabbie Seven Hills 35 Blacktown Richmond line to Richmond Doonside Rooty Hill Mount Druitt St Marys Ropes Creek line (now sidings) Werrington Kingswood 055 Penrith Log Cabin Nepean River bridge Emu Plains Limit of suburban passenger services Lapstone Hill Junction Knapsack Gully Lapstone Top wing Lucasville Lapstone Zig Zag points top bottom Lower dead end Breakfast Point Old Glenbrook Tunnel Glenbrook Tunnel Glenbrook original │ present Blaxland Junction Blaxland Warrimoo Valley Heights Springwood Numantia Faulconbridge Linden Woodford Hazelbrook Lawson Bullaburra Rhondda Valley Wentworth Falls Leura 110 Katoomba Medlow Bath Blackheath Mount Victoria Hartley Vale Bell Dargans Deviation Junction Newnes Junction Newnes Junction (original) Newnes railway line Clarence Clarence (original) Clarence Tunnel Ten Tunnels (x 10) Top points Zig Zag Tunnel Bottom points Zig Zag Railway Zig Zag Mileage 92.1 Junction Eskbank 156 Lithgow Lithgow Underbridge Cooerwull Bowenfels Bowenfels viaducts Marrangaroo viaduct Marrangaroo Marrangaroo Commonwealth siding Marrangaroo Deviation Marrangaroo Tunnel (original) Marrangaroo Tunnel Mudgee Road Tunnel Coxs River Junction to Wallerawang Colliery Coxs River bridges Wallerawang Gwabegar line to Kandos Diwana Rydal underbridge Sodwalls Tarana Oberon line to Oberon Arrangull Locksley Wambool Brewongle Raglan Kelso Macquarie River Bridge 240 Bathurst Perthville Georges Plains Wimbledon Gresham Newbridge Athol Blayney Blayney-Demondrille line Millthorpe Spring Hill Cadia Mine line Huntley Bloomfield Broken Hill line to Broken Hill 323 Orange Cullya Clergate Mullion Creek Kerrs Creek Warnecliffe Euchareena Stuart Town Mumbil Dripstone 410 Wellington Macquarie River Maryvale Maryvale to Gulgong line Geurie Wongarbon Eulomogo Dubbo Maintenance Centre Dubbo-Molong line to Molong 462 Dubbo 462 Dubbo Macquarie River Bridge Coonamble line to Coonamble Minore Narromine Parkes - Narromine line to Parkes Trangie Nevertire Warren line to Warren Mullengudgery Miowera Nyngan Bogan River Cobar line to Cobar Summervale Girilambone Coolabah Byrock Brewarrina line to Brewarrina 825 Bourke

History

See also: Main Western railway line, New South Wales

By 1877, there was significant political pressure to minimise the diversion of trade from western New South Wales to Victoria and South Australia via river trade along the Darling and Murray rivers.[7] The town of Bourke had become the key centre for pastoralists in western New South Wales since its formation in 1861. Provision was thus made to extend the line to Dubbo, reaching Wellington in 1880 and Dubbo in 1881. At the time, Dubbo had grown into a town of strategic importance on the stock routes between northern New South Wales and the Victorian goldfields.

Beyond Dubbo, the railway opened up new land to European settlement, and was directly responsible for the development of townships. The line reached the future site of Narromine in 1883, and the railway station was the first building in the future settlement. The line reached the site of Nevertire in 1882, serving the nearby established village of Warren (a branch opened to Warren in 1898). Construction reached the site of Nyngan in 1883, with the nearby coach-stop village of Canonbar moving in its entirely to establish the town of Nyngan. Beyond Nyngan, the line swept across the plains in a straight line for 116 miles (187 km), then the longest stretch of straight railway line in the world. It reached the temporary terminus of Byrock in 1884 before reaching its final destination of Bourke in 1885.[8] The now-gone Station Master's residence was completed in the same year.

A loading bank was built in 1890. A small coal stage, depot and drivers' barracks were added in 1891. In 1965, the station building was destroyed by a fire. It was replaced in 1968, becoming the first station building in New South Wales to be air-conditioned.

The last freight train to Bourke ran 1989.[9][10]

Services

NSW regional rail network

Bourke was served by the Far West Express, which connected with the Western Mail from Sydney Central at Dubbo. The Far West Express was withdrawn by the Public Transport Commission on 20 September 1975 and was substituted by coaches.[4][11]

A NSW TrainLink coach service runs from Bourke to Dubbo.[12] From Dubbo, the Central West Express operates to Central.

In 2018, NSW TrainLink began trialling a day-return coach service from Bourke to Dubbo, as well as from Brewarrina to Dubbo. The service, running on Wednesday and Thursday, travels to Dubbo in the morning and returns in the evening.[13][14][15][16]

Heritage listing

The 1968 station building at Bourke is notable as the first railway station building in NSW to be air conditioned. The site is also significant as one of the more remote railway precincts in NSW.[2]

The Bourke Railway Precinct was listed on the NSW State agency heritage register via s.170 of the Heritage Act, having satisfied the following criteria.[2]

The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in NSW.

The station building has some technical significance as the first railway station to be air conditioned in NSW.[2]

References

1. "Bourke Station". www.nswrail.net. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
2. "Bourke Railway Precinct". New South Wales Heritage Database. Office of Environment and Heritage.
3. "State Rail Coach Services - The Vehicles". Australian Bus Panorama. 9 (3). October 1993.
4. Cooke, David (1984). Railmotors and XPTs. Australian Railway Historical Society NSW Division. ISBN 0-909650-23-3.
5. "Bourke Coach Stop". Transport for NSW. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
6. NSW, Transport for (4 May 2017). "Country Regional Network (CRN)". www.transport.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
7. McKillop, B. "Developing the Inland: The Great Western Railway to Bourke". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin. Vol 53, no 779. September 2002.
8. "Developing the Inland - The Great Western Railway to Bourke" MacKillop, Bob Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, September, 2002 pp328-340
9. Cottee, J. M. (2004). Stations on the Track: Selected New South Wales Country Railway Stations - an Historical Overview.
10. How and why of station names. State Rail Authority of NSW Archives Section. 1993.
11. "900 Class frame". www.railmotorsociety.org.au. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
12. "Bourke to Dubbo". transportnsw.info. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
13. Liberal, Daily (1 December 2017). "Trial of day-return coach link, ideas sought for new service". Daily Liberal. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
14. Transport for NSW, Customer Experience Division. "NSW TrainLink Regional Coach trials". transportnsw.info. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
15. NSW, Transport for (22 November 2017). "New coach services for Dubbo Region trial". www.transport.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
16. "Bourke to Dubbo" (PDF). NSW TrainLink. Retrieved 9 April 2020.

External links

• Bourke Coach Stop Transport for NSW
• Pictures from nswrail.net

Preceding station		NSW Main lines		Following station
Terminus		Main Western Line (closed section)		Marooma towards Sydney