Contents

Early proposals


The area Cororooke, Coragulac and Alvie were originally pastoral, but turned agricultural following the break up of squatters estates in the mid-1880s. The new residents agitated for a railway line to serve their farms, with various schemes proposed during the 1890s. The issue was revived in 1914 but outbreak of World War I interrupted, with funding for a line approved in 1921.

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Construction


The original plans for the railway were to minimise costs, with only two stations: Alvie and Cororooke. An additional station was added at Glendenning's Corner and was named Coragulac, while a station at Kenny's Corner was rejected due to a lack of funds.

The line left Colac station then ran parallel with the main line for two kilometres to Dean's Creek, where it turned north-west. 60 pound/yard (30 kg/metre) rail was used with 4 inches (100mm) of scoria ballast. The maximum speed limit was 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) and the D, R and Y 'light line' classes of locomotive permitted on the line.

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Traffic


The Alvie line was worked from Colac, with the yard shunter being used to run trains. 20 minutes was timetabled Colac to Cororooke, six minutes to Coragulac, and eight minutes to Alvie. No turntable was provided at Alvie, so trains ran tender first one way.

Onions and potatoes were the main outwards loading on the line, followed by dairy products from the dairy factories at Cororooke, Wool Wool and Alvie. Little stock traffic went by rail due to the closeness of the Colac saleyards. Inwards loading included firewood, followed by goods for farmers.

The initial timetable had mixed trains ran three days a week - Tuesday, Saturday and Thursday - with a bogie passenger car attached to the goods trains. Two trains ran on Thursday, allowing residents along the Alvie line to visit Colac on market day and return the same day. Additional goods trains also ran during onion season to clear the stockpiles at stations.

Until the 1930s special passenger excursion trains ran on the line to transport Alvie residents to football matches and horse races, as well as school picnics and sporting events. The Duke of Gloucester also travelled along the line on his tour of Victoria, staying the night at Alvie on 1 November 1934. A pilot train ran ahead of the Royal Train.

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Demise


Mixed trains were withdrawn in 1930 due to the Great Depression, with the Thursday trains cancelled, and the passenger carriage removed from the remaining trains, leaving them goods only. In 1933 the service was cut back further to a single train a week on Tuesdays. In 1937 the timetable was abolished completely, with trains running as required on the line., but they were restored for a short period in 1939.

In 1941 the run around loop at Alvie was removed to free up rails for use on military sidings. Further rails were salvaged in 1943 when the branch line track from Colac was removed with junction named Alvie Junction provided at the point of divergence.

The weekly train was cut back to fortnightly in July 1954, and in December 1954 it was announced that the line would close. The last train ran on 17 December. The rails were pulled up in 1957 and the railway land sold off to adjoining landowners.

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Photos


Nine of 43 images found displayed. Click them to enlarge.

Missing section of the embankment leading into Alvie

It was bulldozed by the new landowner after the line closed

January 5, 2009

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Sources