Many that have browsed WikiNorthia will be aware that the railway line through Northcote and Preston and then on to Whittlesea opened in 1889, then linking for just south of the Merri Creek to the west and via North Fitzroy and North Carlton to eventually terminate at Spencer Street.
Initally just sixteen trains a day ran between Spencer Street and Preston-Reservoir (five on Sundays), but what most of the histories of the railway do not tell us is that there was only a single track between Middle Northcote (today’s Northcote) and Whittlesea, restricting the number of trains that could be used.
Deputations of local dignataries met with the Railways Minister in October, 1907 with hopes of having the track duplicated to no avail. The Railways reiterated that there were no plans to duplicate the line again a year later, but eventually through the efforts of the local M.L.A. James Membrey, plans for duplication were announced early in 1910.
It is not clear whether the work was carried out by the Railways themselves or by a contractor – there is no signs of a tender being issued in the Victorian Government Gazette – but it was announced in April of that year that the work would be considerably delayed.
The Railways Department, pursuing an otherwise admirable policy of using local materials had placed an order for tracks to be manufactured by a mill at Lithgow in New South Wales, albeit at a slightly higher cost than from overseas, but much like the experience surrounding the construction of the Merri Creek bridge some twenty years before, the material supplied locally proved inadequate and had to be replaced by an overseas product.
The Minister for Lands and Railways, Mr. Thomas (late Sir Thomas) Tait announced a new summer timetable for the line in September, 1912 with five extra trains and a promise that the duplication would be completed by 1 December when the new schedule commenced.
The locat Leader newspaper noted a couple of times frenetic work on the project over the following weeks with new platforms required at Croxton, Thornbury and Bell for the duplicated track, and in their final edition before the deadline suggested that around 100 men were engaged on the project with day and night shifts and even gangs working on Sunday.
The duplicated line opened as promised without fanfare or ceremony on 1 December, the Leader noting that at the same time that the M.M.B.W. sewerage system extensions from Northcote into Preston were also nearing completion. South of the city, a duplicated line between Mordialloc and Frankston operated for the first time on the same day.
Somewhat belatedly, the annual Railways Loan Applications Bill was presented to Parliament some three weeks later with the annotation that some of the more important works had been completed.
Of a total budget of just over £2,5 million, a total of £37,714 was allocated as a lump sum towards new station buildings across Victoria, the list including Merri (then Northcote, but not impacted by the duplication), Northcote, Thornbury and Bell, but with no mention of Croxton.
Clifton Hill and Westgarth were included within the group, and on the Heidelberg line, £4,801 was specifically set aside for a new island platform at Heidelberg; £2,653 and £2,425 for new platforms at Fairfield and Ivanhoe respectively.
The Bill also allocated £10,646 for duplication of the line between Northcote and Preston-Reservoir, although there was nothing suggesting alterations to any of the three stations north of Bell. The duplication of the Mordialloc to Frankston line by comparison was put at a cost of £29,834.
The image shows the first A T-Class steam locomotive to Whittlesea in the Rucker’s Hill cutting after the duplicated line was opened.
