Second Class Return to Shenley, Please
Contents |
[edit] The Outer Circle Line - Fairfield Park to Oakleigh
--Bullant 18:59, 22 September 2011 (EST)
See Also : Second Class Return to Lang Street, Please
We doubt you would hear that request at Fairfield Station today, even if there was anyone on hand to ask! And it's almost certainly as unlikely that the staff of 1890 would have been bothered with a similar request back in 1890 with the opening of the disastrous Outer Circle Line linking Fairfield with, of all places, Oakleigh.
The line was constructed in two sections - a northern service from Fairfield Park on the Heidelberg line through the eastern suburbs to Riversdale, and as a direct route from Melbourne (via Camberwell) which linked Riversdale through to Oakleigh.
The plan, even today, seems 'pie-in-the-sky' and the opening of the line coincided with one of the worst economic depressions in Melbourne's history. Much of the justification for the line was to provide services to planned housing estates, few if any of which came to fruition as banks and lenders collapsed and those speculators who had enjoyed the boom times of the 1880s saw their holdings shrivel to a fraction of their former value.
The southern service from Riversdale to Oakleigh opened on 30 May, 1890, with the link to Oakleigh broken forevermore with the closure of the section beyond Ashburton on 9 December, 1895. The line from Camberwell via Riversdale to Ashburton continued to operate (after a brief closure in 1897) and was complemented with new stations and after being extended in 1948 remains operating today as the Camberwell - Alamein service.
The line from Fairfield Park to Riverdale opened on 24 March, 1891, meandering its way across empty paddocks rarely carrying mote than a handful of passengers at most. Predictably it collapsed quickly, the service shutting down just over two years later on 12 April, 1893. Part of the line between Deepdene and East Camberwell (later to Ashburton supported a steam-driven shuttle service from 1900 to 1925, when it was considered impractical to convert to electricy due to the low patronage. Another section from East Kew to Deepdene was later used as a goods service before it too closed in 1943.
Fairfield to Riversdale. 24 March 1891 12 april, 1893
[edit] Fairfield Park to Riversdale
[edit] Fairfield Park (later Fairfield)
Opened 8 May, 1888 as part of the Clifton Hill to Heidelberg service. Dual platform. Originally Fairfield Park, renamed 14 November, 1943.
[edit] Fulham Grange
Opened as part of the Fairfield Park to Oakleigh service (Outer Circle line) on 24 March 1891 and closed with it on 12 April 1893. Fulham Grange was located in today's Chandler Highway south of the Heidelberg Road intersection. It was only around 500 metres from Fairfield Park and was intended to serve a proposed housing estate which collapsed during the economic depression of 1892. Dual platform with a loop of track on the northern side.
[edit] Willsmere
Opened as part of the Fairfield Park to Oakleigh service 24 March 1891, closed on 12 April 1893.The station was named after the estate of early Kew settlers H.S. and Thomas Wills, the latter of whom also had extensive land holdings in Heidelberg.. Originally a dual platform station with a track loop to the south..The area is now parkland in Earl Street, just west of Willsmere Road in Kew.
[edit] East Kew
Opened as part of the Fairfield Park to Oakleigh service 24 March 1891, closed on 12 April 1893. The station re-opened as a goods-only platform on 11 February 1925 as the terminus of a freight service to Deepdene and again closed on 6 September 1943 when the line was shut down. The area is now parkland io the west of Normanby Road, just south of Harp Road.
[edit] Deepdene
Opened as part of the Fairfield Park to Oakleigh service 24 March 1891, closed on 12 April 1893.The station war to the south-east of the corner of Burke Road and Gordon Street in Balwyn and was named after the adjacent Deepdene House. The station re-opened on 14 May, 1900 as the northern terminus of the Deepdene 'Dasher' shuttle service. The area is now parkland and playground and Parts of the platform are still visible.
[edit] Shenley
Opened as part of the Fairfield Park to Oakleigh service 24 March 1891, closed on 12 April 1893. A junction around around 200 metres to the south of the station 15 March 1892 opened as a link to Canterbury station on the Lilydale line but it also closed on 12 April 1893. Shenley was re-opened as part of the Deepdene Shuttle service on 14 May 1900 and closed when the shuttle was shut down on 9 October, 1927. Located to the north of the corner of Canterbury Road and Ruebens Street, the site of Shenley Station is now occupied by the Shenley Grounds sporting reserve. A section of platform is preserved at the Canterbury Road end of the site. Origins of the name are unknown.
From Shenley, the line extended to Riversdale and joined the direct link from Camberwell.
[edit] Later Additions
[edit] APM Siding
Opened 29 July 1919, More correctly a siding than a station, this was just over a kilometre section of track (including part of the disused Outer Circle Line ) that served the Australian Paper Manufacturers (now Amcor Fibre Packaging) paper mill. The siding branched from Fairfield station on the Hurstbridge line and ran south-east to the corner of Chandler Highway, Grange and Heidelberg Roads until entering the factory. Primarily used by two privately-owned trains per day to cart around 400 tonnes of coal and paper pulp into the plant. Usage was discontinued in 1994 with the demise of coal and changes in production methods which removed the need for pulp to be brought in. --Bullant 17:40, 22 September 2011 (EST)
[edit] Riversdale - Oakleigh
The southern-most section of the Outer Circle Line opened on 30 May, 1890. Although technically it was considered part of the Outer Circle Line, the section was also part of the direct Princes Bridge to Oakleigh link which carried by far the bulk of the passenger trade. The section beyond Ashburton closed on 9 December, 1895. The service from Camberwell to Ashburton closed on 1 May, 1897, but was re-opened on 4 July, 1898 after a public outcry. The line now functions as the Camberwell to Alamein service, new stations added at Willison (originally Golf Links, 1908) and Hartwell (Hartwell Hill, 1908) with the extension to another new station at Alamein opened on 28 June 1948, named after the battleground in North Africa and after new housing estate was established to the south of Ashburton to serve returned was veterans.
[edit] Riversdale
Opened 30 May,1890 as part of the first section of the Outer Circle Line . The station was linked on the upside to Camberwell on the Melbourne service and to Shenley on the Outer Circle line. The former service closed on 1 May, 1897 and re-opened just over twelve months later. The northern link closed on 30 May, 1890
[edit] Hartwell (now Burwood)
Opened 30 May,1890 as part of the first section of the Outer Circle Line. In what must have been something of a nightmare, the station retained the name for over two years after the adjacent Hartwell Hill station opened in May, 1907. Common sense finally prevailed and the original Hartwell changed to Burwood on 1 August, 1909. The Hill was dropped from the new station at the same time.
[edit] Norwood
Opened as Norwood as part of the first section of the Outer Circle Line on on 30 May,1890 and renamed Ashburton on 12 December, 1890.
[edit] Waverley Road
Opened as Waverley as part of the first section of the Outer Circle Line on 39 May, 1890 and renamed Waverley Road on 23 June, 1893 and closed along with the service on 9 December, 1895. The station was located around 120 south-east metres of the line crossing Waverley Road and the site is now part of the Malvern Urban Forest. It was also linked to Camberwell Station on 30 May of the same year.
[edit] Oakleigh
Opened on 8 October, 1877 when a service between Oakleigh and Dandenong was established. S service to Caulfield and hence the city opened on 2 April, 1879, the line carrying substantial freight traffic to and from Gippsland.
[edit] The Deepdene 'Dasher' Shuttle
A section of the northern section of the Outer Circle line was re-opened on 14 May 1900 as the terminus of the Deepdene 'Dasher' shuttle service from East Camberwell. The shuttle service consisted of a single steam engine which became one of the last steam locomotives in Melbourne as the level of patronage did not justify electrification.of the line until the reopening of a section from East Kew as a goods service in February 1925. The service was extended later from East Camberwell to Ashburton The section from Deepdene to Ashburton again closed to passenger traffic on 9 October 1927, East Camberwell to Ashburton remained open and was extended to Alamein in 1948.
[edit] Later Additions
[edit] Stanley (later Balwyn and Roystead)
Opened on 14 May, 1900 as part of the Deepdene Shuttle service. Located near the corner of Mont Albert Road and Stanley Grove in Canterbury, the area is now parkland with a pedestrian underpass below Mont Albert Road. The name was changed to Balwyn in 1902 and then in September, 1923 to Roystead after a nearby large Victorian house used by Camberwell Grammar School. It closed when the shuttle service was shut down on 9 October, 1927.
[edit] East Camberwell
Opened 14 May, 1900 as part of the Deepdene Shuttle service and as the junction with the Lilydale line. A three-platform station, the original design had two high-level platforms for the Lilydale trains and a lower level servicing the Outer Circle line, Steps between the platforms allowed interchange between the two lines. The station remains today, but with only basic shelter and facilities after the main building burnt down in the 1980s.
[edit] Golf Links (now Willison)
Only 400 metres from Riversdale, the station opened as a siding known as Golf Links for use by influential members of the nearby Riversdale Golf Club. It was renamed Willison from 23 July, 1936 after the Golf Club moved in 1927. Willison was not part of the original Outer Circle line but was included as part of the the Deepdene shuttle. A study in 2009 suggests that Willison is the third-least station of the metropolitan network, used by an average of only 300 patrons per day.
[edit] Hartwell Hill (now Hartwell)
Opened on 7 May 1906, under the name of Hartwell Hill. Confusingly, the station immdiately to the north was named Hartwell at the time. On 1 August 1909, Hartwell Hill was renamed Hartwell, and the original Hartwell was renamed Burwood. Phew!
--Bullant 17:47, 22 September 2011 (EST) .
