On Saturday 25/1/14 my wife and I went up to Walhalla for the day.
Walhalla is an old gold mine town dating back to the 1800's..
While we were there we went for a ride on the W.G.R. ( Walhalla Goldfields railway ) and I was able to get a cab ride.
Quick History of the railway..
A Railway to Walhalla was first proposed in 1883.
Construction of the Moe-Walhalla line started in 1904.
Completed in 1910, it was used mainly 2nd hand materials .
The railway was officially opened by the (then) Premier of Victoria , John Murray on 3 May,1910.
During the first few years of operation, the railway carried good volumes of freight and passengers.
The closure of the main mines in Walhalla in 1914 lead to a rapid fall in population in the township.
Revenues, passengers and freight continued to decline during the 1920's &1930's and eventually the line was reduced to a once a week service.
The Walhalla to Platina section of the line closed in 1944, the final Erica to Moe section closed in 1954.
The rails were pulled up,the track bed reverted to the bush to become totally overgrown and impassable.
The Walhalla Goldfields Railway started rebuilding in 1994 & reopened to Walhalla on 15 March 2002.
In May 2002, just two months after the Walhalla Goldfields Railway was completed into Walhalla a large rock fall on the only sealed road into Walhalla cut off the township for 10 days.
The newly opened railway was pressed into service carrying passengers and goods for the town.
W.G.R is run by Volunteers now..
Also I have added some photos of just a couple of buildings and structures of Walhalla..
www.walhallarail.com.au
