Rail Geelong - Locations

Midway Siding

The Midway Woodchip Mill had a siding provided in 2003 to allow logs to be brought by rail from Bairnsdale and Wodonga. The logs are turned into woodchips, then transported by conveyor to the adjacent Corio Quay North for loading onto ships for overseas export. The mill itself is located on the side of the former International Harvester factory. Wagons are brought to the siding as a shunt from North Geelong Yard, usually by Y class locos. The logs are unloaded in the siding by front end loaders equipped with grab claws.

The siding itself is dual gauge, but only a broad gauge connection was initially provided to the phosphate sidings and the main line. It was not until the Corio Independent Goods Line was provided in 2008 that standard gauge trains could access the siding. The line crosses both Bayside Road and The Esplanade on the level, before entering the site via a gate, and running about 200m inside the site before reaching a dead end.

In November 2008 the log traffic from Wodonga ceased when the broad gauge line was closed for gauge conversion, the use of a standard gauge train being possible but not done by train operator Pacific National. It also believed that the supply of logs stopped when the timberfellers relocated elsewhere. The log traffic from Bairnsdale ended in March 2009 when Pacific National increased the cost to Midway of running the train. Operation of the train was restarted soon after but on a less frequent basis until around June 2009, running a few days a week rather than daily like before.

Events

Line Opened

Track Amplified

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Photos

9 of 17 images found displayed. Click them to enlarge.

Level crossing on The Esplanade looking down	Main line connection to the siding. Note the dual gauge	Level crossing on The Esplanade looking down
Access gates at the edge of the site	The siding itself and piles of timber	The siding itself and piles of timber
New chipping mill under construction	Looking towards the old chipping mill	Looking towards the old chipping mill

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Sources

• Geelong Advertiser - Freight network goes off the rail - Freight network goes off the rail (March 24th, 2009)
• http://www.vrhistory.com/ - Andrew Waugh - (2009-03-24)
• Additional information is from the Geelong Port - Strategic Land Use Plan, 21/07/2003 by Sinclair Knight Merz consulting.