The Belmont Railway Line was a branch

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

that extended from the Eastern Railway at

Bayswater Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

to Belmont near the

Ascot Racecourse Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

. The line closed in 1956. The line was also known as the ''Belmont Branch'', and ''Perth Racecourse Railway''.

History

In November 1885 a branch line was constructed from the Eastern Railway at

to the Swan River near the Perth Race Course, improving access to the Race Course. Initially a ferry service across the Swan River was provided for racegoers travelling to and from the Race Course by train, which was replaced by a narrow footbridge by 1891. The branch line's construction immediately spawned proposals to construct a railway linking the Eastern Railway at Bayswater (via the branch line) to areas south of Perth, including

Canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...

Kelmscott Kelmscott is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, about east of Lechlade in neighbouring Gloucestershire. Since 2001 it has absorbed Little Faringdon, which had been a separate civil parish. The 2011 Census reco ...

, Woongong, Pinjarra, Bunbury, and

Busselton Busselton is a city in the South West region of the state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destination for Western Australians; however, the closure of the Busselton ...

. The various proposals were abandoned following the announcement of the construction of the South Western Railway in 1891 which provided a more direct route bridging the Swan River further to the south. In 1897 the line was extended across the Swan River, and a new station built on the southern side of the Race Course. The new station was opened on 21 October 1897. The railway service to Belmont was suspended in 1926 following floods. Consideration of closing the railway had been publicly discussed as early as 1930. There was a proposal to convert the rail bridge over the Swan River to a road bridge, however this never happened. Instead, the

Garratt Road Bridge Garratt Road Bridge consists of two adjacent bridges over the Swan River, linking the suburbs of Bayswater and Ascot in Perth, Western Australia. The upstream bridge was built in 1935, while the matching downstream bridge was built in 1972. Th ...

opened nearby in 1935. In the mid-1930s, the Bayswater Road Board asked the Main Roads Department to construct a subway at

Guildford Road Guildford Road is a major road in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner-city suburb of Mount Lawley with Guildford in the north-east. The road runs mostly parallel to the Swan River, on its northern side, and is part of State Route 5 ...

to replace the existing level crossing. The Bayswater Road Board considered the level crossing, named Whatley Crossing to be one of the most dangerous level crossings in the area. The subway was never constructed. The Belmont branch line was closed in 1956 following a fire on the bridge crossing the Swan River, and the bridge, line and stations were removed in 1957.

References

{{reflist

External links

Old photosMore photographs
Bayswater, Western Australia Belmont, Western Australia Closed railway lines in Western Australia Railway lines closed in 1956