wartime crossing loops in Victoria.

[David Langley <del@ancc.com.au>]

There were wartime crossing loops on the North East, Goulburn Valley and

Western main lines. Whilst they all appear to have an in service date
and a closure date, it is believed that none of them were ever actually
used for the purpose for which they were constructed.

The North East loops were at Mokoan 210km (Benalla-Glenrowan), Taminick
224.8km (Glenrowan-Wangaratta), Boralma 246.3km (Bowser-Springhurst) and

Franklin 292.2km (Barnawartha-Wodonga). They were all shown open on 20
August 1940 and closed on 24 June 1947. They were presumably lifted soon

after.

The unused but constructed loop on the broad gauge between Wangaratta
and Springhurst, and was going to be named Bowser Loop,  is in fact on
the down side (by 3 kms) of former Boralma Loop but railway authorities
wished to call it Bowser Loop. I suggest that it could be confusing if
adopted. We after all changed the name of Miakite Loop to Chrome Loop
(on the Portland line) to avoid possible confusion with nearby Myamyn
Loop. The latter loop has since been closed. The relevant distances were

Bowser 239.8km, Bowser Block Point 243.8km, Boralma Loop 246.3km and the

new loop at 249.3km.

The only wartime loop proper on the Goulburn Valley line was at
Boomagong 246.1km (Strathmerton-Tocumwal) which was opened on 20 August
1940 but closed on 24 September 1946. There were, however, two
non-crossing stations (Congupna and Kataunga) that received extended
crossing loops with up and down home signals in 1940 for possible use as

wartime crossing loops. They were however never required and the extra
facilities were removed soon after the end of the war. Strathmerton also

received an extended loop at the down end at the same time and this
lasted until around when the station closed as a staff station in 1989.

On the western line there were never any new wartime loops constructed
but again certain stations received extended crossing loops and signals
in preparation for wartime use which never came. They were - Wail,
Gerang Gerung, Miram and Lillimur - and they all opened in 1940 and
closed in 1949.

The idea of the wartime loops was of course to divide up long staff
sections into two shorter ones and try to even up the section lengths on

the main lines in case of the need to run large numbers of troop and
equipment trains for the invasion of Australia, which thankfully never
eventuated. The use of the Tocumwal and Wodonga lines was to give the
effect of a double line between Melbourne and Sydney something which we
will never see these days.

The loops that are being mentioned in the ng between Ararat and Ballarat

as wartime loops certainly existed but were definitely not wartime
loops. These loops at Kal Kal 150.3km (Burrumbeet-Trawalla), Eurambeen
174.3km (Beaufort-Middle Creek) and Ghiran 196.1km (Buangor-Dobie) were
opened in 1911 (Kal Kal) and 1912 (Eurambeen and Ghiran) and were used
for handling the heavy grain traffic that was clogging up this important

main line. All three were interlocked crossing loops with a signal box
and became electric staff stations on a seasonal basis and consequently
did not have switching instruments. They were little used after the
Maroona-Gheringhap line opened in 1913 and were pulled up around
1916-1917. Of course this brings us on to the subject of seasonal staff
stations that existed on a number of lines in Victoria for handling
grain traffic but that I'm afraid is another story.

David Langley.