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The Altona Line originated as a short branch from the main Geelong railway to serve Williamstown Racecourse in 1885. The line was soon extended to serve the seaside town of Altona by land developers. It remain as a backwater on the suburban system until the 1980s when the line was extended though to Laverton and Werribee services was rerouted along it.
Williamstown Racecourse
The Altona Line started as a 1.1 km branch from the main Geelong line to serve Williamstown Racecourse. The line was first used on April 6 1885, and special services were provided for race meetings. Overhead wiring was provided early in the suburban electrification project, being commissioned on August 27, 1920. Trains ran as required from Spencer Street, until 1935 when they were altered to run from Flinders Street (as with Flemington Racecourse trains). The racecourse was closed after World War II but it was not until May 22, 1950 that the overhead equipment and sidings were removed.
Altona
South west of the racecourse, the Altona and Laverton Bay Freehold and Investment Company was subdividing land. To make the land more attractive to buyers, the company built a private railway running from the Racecourse line though it's land, terminating at a station named Altona Beach, a kilometre west of the current Altona station. The line was signalled as a siding, with the junction located at Williamstown Racecourse.
Opened on November 9 1888, passenger services ceased on August 14 1890 after a lack of interest in property sales. The line remain unused until 1906 when the Victorian Railways came to an agreement with the then owner of the line, Mr. W.H. Crocker, to stable trains on the line during race meetings.
From November 17, 1917 the railways made an agreement with the new landowner, Altona Beach Estates, to work a limited service over the line on their behalf. The terminus of the line was also altered to the current Altona station. The land company incurred losses on the line every year, so by the 1920s sought to dispose of the railway. The Victorian Railways assumed control of the line on October 1 1924, the land company handing over the line free of charge, as long as the line would continue to remain part of the suburban system, and that the debts of the company to the VR would be waived.
A number of coal mines operated in the Altona area from the 1900s until the early 1920s, with at least one of them having it's own railway siding branching westward from Altona station.
Electrification of the line was completed by October 2, 1926. Trains were operated as shuttles from Newport hourly, as they had in the years before except more frequently. On July 11, 1955, two direct peak hour services were provided on the line, with more direct trains provided from May 12 1963, but at the expense of direct trains to Williamstown.
The next major change was track duplication from Newport South on the Geelong line commissioned on October 22, 1967.. The physical junction of the lines was relocated west to the actual divergence of the lines at Altona Junction, and automatic signalling was also provided on the single line section to Altona. Before this time the two lines operated independently to Newport South.
The last round of upgrades followed in the 1980s. The elderly wooden overhead wiring supports were also upgraded to steel, and the line was extended westwards from Altona to Westona on January 20, 1985, and then on to Laverton from April 11, 1985. Suburban services to Werribee were diverted from the mainline to the new link soon after.
Safeworking
The line was initially operated as single Staff and Ticket section from Newport South to the terminus at Altona, but without the use of tickets so only one train was allowed on the line at one time. Signal boxes existed at Newport South, and Williamstown Racecourse.
For race traffic special workings were implemented. The normal train staff was replaced with two temporary Staffs and Ticket boxes, one for the Junction to the Racecourse, the second from the Racecourse to Altona. Due to the long length of the first section and the frequency of trains on the line, the first Staff section was divided into four 'Visual Block' sections by the opening of levers 'A', 'B', and 'C'.
Levers 'A', 'B', and 'C' were small trackside huts, provided with two levers, controlling an up and down home signal. Before clearing the home signal for a train, the signalman controlling the entrance to the section must actually see that the train in front has cleared the home signal in advance. In times of fog Absolute Block Working was brought into use, with block instruments provided at the Junction, levers 'B, and the Racecourse.
When the Racecourse was signalled the Altona line did not see regular passenger traffic, so was signalled as a siding with disc signals, and the Racecourse platform was the main line. Signals at the Racecourse and Levers 'A', 'B', and 'C' were crossed when there was no race traffic, the layout at the Racecourse being set for Altona.
After the closure of the Racecourse the Altona line reverted to Train Staff and Ticket without the use of Tickets, until bidirectional automatic signalling was provided to Altona on October 22, 1967. Today crossing loops exist at Altona Junction, Westona, and Laverton Loop.
Sources
- Electric Railways of Victoria - S.E. Doorman and R.G. Henderson
- Newsrail - September 1988