The Casterton Line was a

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industri ...

running north-west from the Portland Main Line, from the town of

Branxholme Branxholme is a hamlet in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, overlooking the River Teviot, three miles southwest of Hawick, on the A7 road to Langholm. Nearby are Ale Water, Alemoor Loch, Burnfoot, Borthwick Water, Colterscleugh Monumen ...

to the town of Casterton, in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia. Opening in 1884, the line was long and completely single track, apart from at stations.

History

The branch line was initially opened from Branxholme to Henty on 15 February 1884, with the rest of the line to Casterton opening later that year. When the line opened, it allowed for the efficient transport of passengers and local produce in the area to the larger town of Hamilton, as well as the port of Portland. Throughout the early-twentieth-century, traffic on the line grew to the extent that there was a daily goods train to and from Hamilton. In 1927, the

Victorian parliament The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly and ...

authorised the construction of a extension of the line to Nangeela, largely to serve a

soldier settler Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlement ...

estate in the area. With the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

in the 1930s, the extension was never built. Both passenger and freight traffic declined following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and the line was eventually closed completely on 12 September 1977, along with a number of other lines in the south-west of Victoria. Since its closure, the track has been completely removed and the rail reserve mostly sold. The Casterton station building and the goods shed at Henty station remain, along with some traces of the other three stations on the line.

References

{{Victorian Railway Lines, branch Railway lines in Victoria (state) Transport in Barwon South West (region)