Lette railway line
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]
| Lette railway line | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Status | Closed |
| Locale | Victoria and New South Wales, Australia |
| Operation | |
| Opened | never officially opened |
| Closed | 12 February 1943 (construction officially ceased) |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)[1] |
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]
References
- "NSW Railway Lines Other Than Standard Gauge". Nswrail.net. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- "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.