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Vacuum Oil Coy Siding
Line: Geelong
Distance from Melbourne: 13.358km
Track Diagram: View
Opened: Thursday, 2 June 1955
In 1949 the Vacuum Oil Company opened their new oil refinery at Altona, situated beside the Geelong railway line at Paisley.
Soon after, the company decided to enlarge this facility with a new company, Standard-Vacuum Refining Company (Australia) Pty Ltd formed. The new facility covered 340 acres with the main landmark being the 268 foot high Thermofor Catalytic Cracking Plant. The company also rebuilt the Breakwater Pier at Williamstown for delivery of crude oil which was then piped to the refinery.
The refinery was opened in 1955 by the Prime Minister, R.G. Menzies. Railway sidings were first provided in 1955, and are still in existence. They consisted of a single siding branching off the main line, which faces towards Melbourne. A loop is provided halfway along, before it splits into two either side of a tank car filling gantry, before they reach a dead end near Millers Road.
After 1960 the refinery became known as Petroleum Refineries of Australia, owned 65% by Mobil and 35% by Esso. By 1977/78 only bitumen was despatched by rail from the refinery. By this time the refinery had a production capacity of 4,790,000 tonnes a year. Railway traffic to the siding ceased altogether in the early 1990s. It is now referred to as the Mobil Refinery.
Events
Line Opened
| Thursday, 25 June 1857 | Line officially opened between Geelong and at temporary terminus at Greenwich. A ferry was used the complete the journey to Melbourne |
| Saturday, 3 October 1857 | Temporary Greenwich terminal and stub line closed. Geelong line now connected to the partially completed Williamstown line. A ferry complete the journey from Williamstown to Melbourne |
| Monday, 17 January 1859 | Williamstown line finally completed to Melbourne. Geelong trains can now operate direct to Spencer Street Station |
Track Amplified
| Sunday, 22 October 1967 | Line duplicated Altona Junction - Laverton - Laverton |
Diagrams
NOTE: Diagrams are not to scale.
Photos
2 images found. These will open in a new window
Siding and crossover |
Looking down the siding |