Williamstown Racecourse Station
Williamstown Racecourse was the terminus of a 1.1 km branch from the main Geelong line.
First namesake
The first Williamstown Racecourse station was located on the main Newport - Geelong line, north of the later station. In use by December 26, 1860 it closed in 1885 when the new station was opened on the branch line, much closer to the racecourse itself.
History
The station was first used on April 6 1885 and services were provided for race meetings. Trains ran as required from Spencer Street, until 1935 when they were altered to run from Flinders Street (as with Flemington Racecourse trains).
The line was extended to Altona Beach (near today's Altona station) on November 9, 1888. The line left the racecourse station yard on the western side. About 1911 interlocking and signalling was provided for the station, with the line to Altona line signalled as the branch, and the dead end platforms as the main line. The signal box was located on the eastern side of the main line, at the up end of the platform. When there was no race traffic the signals were crossed, and the road set towards Altona.
The station itself was provided with an island platform, with a platform road and run around loop provided to each platform face. A ladder of points and single slips connected the platform roads to the main line towards Melbourne, with three dead end sidings being provided to the west of the main line, and two dead end sidings and a loop road provided to the east.
Overhead wiring was provided early in the suburban electrification project, being commissioned on August 27, 1920. The racecourse was closed after World War II but it was not until May 22 1950 that the overhead equipment was removed. Today the remains of a few stanchion bases can be seen beside the current line to Altona.
Events
| April 7, 1885 | Opened |
| May 22, 1950 | Closed |
Line Opened
| April 7, 1885 | Line opened Newport South to Williamstown Racecourse |
| November 9, 1888 | Line opened Williamstown Racecourse to Altona Beach |
Safeworking
| April 7, 1885 | Staff and Ticket provided Newport South - Williamstown Racecourse |
| November 9, 1888 | Staff and Ticket provided Williamstown Racecourse - Altona Beach |
| November 17, 1917 | Staff and Ticket provided Williamstown Racecourse - Altona |
Diagrams
NOTE: Diagrams are not to scale.
Photos
4 images found. Click them to enlarge.
 Remaining stanchion basesFebruary 20, 2008 |
 Remaining stanchion basesFebruary 20, 2008 |
 Looking downStation was between the line to the right and the stanchions to the left February 20, 2008 |
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Sources
- Electric Railways of Victoria - S.E. Doorman and R.G. Henderson
- Newsrail - September 1988