Wongarbon Station (left) and wheat shed (right) demonstrated neglect when photo-
graphed on 15 November 1974.
N J Simons photo, ARHSnsw Railway Resource Centre, 059187loop at each end were controlled
by two lever ground frames
unlocked by the key on the staff.
The points were very close to
the 276 mile peg and the quarter
mile peg respectively, so the yard
was approximately 400m long.
Loop and siding had dead-end
extensions at the Dubbo end and
were terminated, at white-painted
timber buffer stops, by the need
to keep clear of the road that
linked the village to the Mitchell
Highway via the above mentioned
level crossing. A short dead end
off the Up end of the siding served
the trucking yards.
• Along the siding, in order from
the Dubbo end, first there was
a 15-bay wheat shed. This
consisted of a concrete floor,
corrugated iron end walls and
a corrugated iron pitched roof
supported by 16 pairs of stout
timber posts with cantilevered
props to the roof frame. Along
each side at ground level ran
a continuous sheet of flat iron
extending about 18 inches [say
50cm] above floor level, with a
strip about 3–4 inches [8–10cm]
wide folded down through 135
degrees towards the outside to
deny access to vermin. The lower
edge was hard against the floor
and sunk some distance below
ground level to deter burrowers.
• Next came the loading bank,
facing the siding. It was built up
with soil from the immediate
vicinity to just below floor level
of a four-wheel S truck and faced
with used sleepers. Much freight
was inbound and, with the door of
the S truck dropped on the bank,
it was carried or barrowed onto
the bank. Sometimes, transfer
was carried out just to the south
of the bank where the wagon
door was dropped onto the tray
of a carefully positioned lorry.
Out bound freight, apart from
wheat and livestock, for which
special facilities were provided,
was mainly wool. The routine here
was to bring a motor lorry onto
the bank alongside the empty
wagon and drop the bales over the
side of the wagon. This was a two
man operation, one unloading
the lorry and one manhandling
the bales into position according
to the diagram on the station
wall referred to above. With a
maximum of two bales ‘in play’ at
a time it was slow work, especially
when placing bales above the
sides of the wagon. When full, the
wagon was ‘tarped and roped’,
which required both skill and
strong arms. Before departure, the
ASM, Jimmy Crawford, would slip
a destination docket into a spring-
loaded clip low on the side of the
wagon where it could be read by
any shunter remarshalling the
train en route to its destination.
• Just south of the loading bank, a
loading gauge hung over the
siding to ensure that any open
wagon was not loaded too high to
pass under any structures along
the line. It was supported on a
mast and arm of old rail.
• The least used infrastructure,
except perhaps for the men’s
lavatory, was the goods shed.
Brick piers supported a platform
made from sleepers, upon which
a corrugated iron shed occupied
the rear half to two-thirds. I do not
know its dimensions, but it must
have been a ‘size one’. There was
a large timber door of diagonal
planks front and rear, neither of
which I ever saw unlocked. The
front door opened off the platform
but the back door gave onto a
sudden drop, unless there was a
lorry drawn up to it, in which case
it provided a level crossing. (No,
not that sort of level crossing!)
• Adjacent to the shed was the jib
crane that was used to unloadlarge items—ploughs, headers,
even tractors. Originally of two
ton [2040kg] capacity, it was
replaced post war (1947–1948) by a
five ton job, still hand cranked, on
a somewhat larger concrete plinth.
The crane and loading gauge were
painted ‘Sydney Harbour Bridge
Grey’, presumably for the same
rust-resistant properties. The
level crossing (yeah, that sort),
that gave access to the platform
was adjacent to the crane so that
lorries could stop on the access
track to collect loads.
• Completing the facilities along
the siding were the trucking
yards, with yards and fixed ramps
for sheep and cattle, sheep being
trucked in double-decked vans.
Except for the gates, I believe the
complex was wholly constructed
from sleepers.
• At the junction of the village’s
two main streets there was a
double width timber rail gate in
the eastern railway boundary
fence. Such gates were invariably
painted white with black metal
strap hinges, bracing, etc. Just
north of the gateway was the
weighbridge where any
outgoing freight was weighed
and charges calculated by the
ASM, except during wheat harvest
season when the wheat agent took
over these tasks and also tested a
sample of each load of wheat for
compliance with FAQ: ‘fair average
quality’ in this context.
Because the village was entirely onAustralian Railway History • December 2017 • 7