Re: Regents Park / Potts Hill Branch Line

[Eddie Oliver <eoliver@efs.mq.edu.au>]

Just to clarify some of the postings on this thread for people who don't
know the area, it might be worth pointing out that there were TWO branch
lines at Regents Park. One was the Potts Hill line, running to the
south-east; the other was the Commonwealth Sidings, running to the
north-west. Some of ths postings actually relate to the latter.

The Commonwealth Sidings considerably outlasted the Potts Hill line. The
branch was perhaps a mile long (someone can no doubt quote a proper
measurement) although most of this length was because it ran in a
distorted U shape - the terminus was only a couple of blocks from
Regents Park station. The line ran into a largely open area in front of
typical wartime warehouse-like buildings owned by (I think) the RAAF.

I remember running tour trains there in (probably) the 1970s. One was
probably the first passenger train on the line. The railmotors were a
source of great astonishment and concern to the guard dogs, who
obviously were not trained to deal with such large intruders. However
they learnt quickly, because on the next visit, they took very little
notice.