Railways - Yanac line

The rail motor leaving Yanac for Dimboola in 1975 (from "C.R.S.V.)

Before the Yanac line was built, farmers had to cart their bagged wheat in wagon loads to towns on the main line forming huge stacks. A top-grade bag-lumper could handle 2,500 bags (over 200 tons) a day. In an effort to develop the area north of Nhill, a government expedition  explored the Mallee country to Cow Plains (now Murrayville) in 1908, then lobbying by the secretary of the Lorquon Railway League - James Menzies (father of Sir Bob) to the Railways Standing Committee saw construction of the Jeparit to Yanac line commence. The Yanac line branched west at Jeparit, skirting the southern shores of Lake Hindmarsh, with stops at
Detpa

The concrete silos at Detpa were built 1938-39

The line reached Lorquon in December 1912, where it terminated before the extension to Netherby and Yanac. Below in 1971 - the guard uses the party line phone to tell train control how they are progressing, while the driver does the brakes.

Lorquon (from VR.net)

The abandoned Lorquon sampling shed

  
Construction of the extension to Netherby began in May 1915, and it was officially opened in May 1916, in its heyday it boasted a waiting room, goods shed, weighbridge, stock yards, a large crane, and 3 gangers homes. Wheat was stacked in bags until silos were built in 1938 and bulk handling took over. In 1984 all staff were transferred, the houses shifted, all buildings demolished and the platform removed - the line nearly closed, despite a large harvest requiring the construction of an open bunker for 17,000 tonnes of wheat.

Netherby shed and silos

Yanac station building, 1975 (from "C.R.S.V.)

Yanac the line was extended to the terminus at Yanac in June 1916. The last passenger service ran about 1950, later the station was unstaffed and the station utilised for just grain and super-phosphate. In 1984 a tender was let for the line's removal, and it officially closed in December 1986.

Activity at Yanac in 1971 (from "VR stations & stopping places")

End of the line - the buffers at Yanac

Further information and photographs at

Neville Gee's "VR stations and stopping places" and John Sargent's "Country railway stations Victoria" series and Mark Bau's VR.net site.