Rail Geelong

• Diagrams
• Photos
• Sources

The Westvic siding is the present terminus of the line from Geelong, serving the container terminal operated by Westvic Container Handling in the Warrnambool industrial area. It is a loop siding headed south off the main line, about long enough for either 60 foot wagons.

The loop siding has a fence around it and is located between Walsh Road and Rooney's Road, with a lockable derail at the up end and a set of baulks at the down end. The line once continued to Port Fairly, being truncated to Dennington in 1977 and worked as one engine in steam, the line being downgraded to a siding in 1988, with the last train beyond Westvic running in 2002.

In December 2007 the line was baulked at the 270.700 km post, on the down side of the level crossing at Rooney’s Road. The hand locking bars on the up and down end points were also removed, and the derail block at the up end of the siding was relocated to the main line of the down side of the Walsh Road level crossing. Locomotives and wagons are permitted to be stabled in the siding.

In July 2008 the media revealed that a grade 3 qualified flagman had been hired to protect workers constructing a sewer main under the disused line at Dennington, despite the baulks being in place further up the line. The works beside the line were planned to last 5 weeks, but three weeks in and a few days after it was made public, V/Line announced that the line would be booked out of use, removing the requirement for the flagman.

The siding was served by Freight Australia / Pacific National until April 2008, when small operator El Zorro took over the contract. El Zorro lost the contract in October 2008, with Pacific National taking over the train again.

Diagrams

NOTE: Diagrams are not to scale.

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Photos

8 images found. Click them to enlarge.

Point lever at the up end of the loop siding, Walsh Road level crossing beyond April 22, 2022	Derailer unlocked at the up end of the siding April 22, 2022	Concrete sleepers used as baulks to mark the end of the line at Rooneys Road April 22, 2022
Looking west from Rooneys Road along the disused line towards Dennington April 22, 2022	Looking past the end of the line at Westvic The tracks across the Rooneys Road level crossing have been removed, track baulks at the down end of the container terminal May 17, 2017	End of the line at Westvic Rooneys Road level crossing October 17, 2008
Looking west from Rooneys Road October 17, 2008	Rooneys Road level crossing, somewhat closed October 17, 2008

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Sources

• Safeworking Circular - SW. 0188/2007 (December 7, 2007)
• Warrnambool Standard - Train watcher off the rails after silly job is exposed (July 26, 2008)
• NineMSN - Trainspotter paid to watch weeds (July 24, 2008)