The Hay railway line branches from the Main South line at Junee, and travels west through Coolamon and Narrandera to Yanco and out across the plains to Hay. The first train arrived in Hay in 1882, marking the beginning of the end of the riverboat trade in southern NSW.
At Yanco, the still-open Yanco to Griffith line branches off to Griffith which still sees regular trains. The line beyond Yanco to Hay is closed now although the section to Willbriggie was open for grain until 2004.
Passenger trains between Junee and Yanco through to Griffith ended in 1986 but were replaced ten years later with a weekly loco hauled train which was eventually replaced by a twice weekly Xplorer.
I’m not local to this region of Australia but the idea of a railway line out to such a remote place as Hay has always intrigued me.
Let’s start where the line began, at Junee, in southern NSW.
Junee
Junee station opened in 1878 when the Main South line was extended from Bethungra. Originally known as Junee, it was renamed Junee Junction in 1881 when the Hay line opened as far as Narrandera, before reverting to its original name in 1940.
Junee developed rapidly during the 1880s as an important railway town. Over the next few years, new branch lines were opened around southwest NSW, and Junee became a major rail centre.
The station building is an example of a Victorian Italianate Renaissance style railway station that has an important, built in 1883 under the direction of John Whitton, Chief Engineer of the N.S.W.G.R.
These days, Junee sees a lot of rail traffic. It’s still a major hub for rail freight companies. Passengers, if there are any, are afforded with XPT services in each direction between Sydney and Melbourne, and an Xplorer DMU between Griffith and Sydney.
Junee Roundhouse
Built in 1947, a 42 road, fully covered roundhouse, The Junee Locomotive Depot, was the last steam locomotive depot built by the New South Wales Government Railways.
Junee roundhouse was the biggest roundhouse in New South Wales The locomotive depot serviced, repaired and maintained the largest steam motive power in use in the state for more than 25 years. The depot remained in service for nearly 50 years until 1993 when it was closed. It is currently leased to rolling stock repairer Junee Railway Workshop as well as housing the Junee Roundhouse Railway Museum.
Find out more about the Junee Roundhouse here: https://roundhousemuseum.com.au/museum
Old Junee
Marrar
Coolamon
Brushwood
Ganmain
Matong
Grong Grong
Narrandera
The line opened from Junee to Narrandera in 1881.
For a time, it was the junction station for the Tocumwal railway line. It was built in 1880 by Charles Hardy to a design attributed to John Whitton.
A connecting railcar service was provided at Narrandera for passengers on the Tocumwal line.
Following the arrival of the railway, Narrandera’s prosperity grew. Initially, the main freight moved to Sydney included wool, sheep and some wheat. The station building was extended in 1912 and the Railway Refreshment rooms opened in 1917. A cottage was also built in 1917 for refreshment room staff.
From 1910 to 1950, special trains used to transport football players and spectators within the Riverina district, with women doing the weekly shopping at the same time. Trains also carried passengers to Narrandera for swimming carnivals and the Easter sporting carnivals and cycling races. Special trains were also used to carry passengers to the district railway picnic days.
Narrandera station and yard was at its peak In the 1940s and 50s. A new barracks was built, and the platform extended again
Rail services in the south and southwest of NSW declined during the 70s and 80s, with the Tocumwal line closing in 1988. There is still a flour mill by the tracks here and some old sidings but it doesn’t look like any railfreight comes from Narrandera anymore.
Further locations:
Paynters Siding Road/Canal
Yanco Junction
Whitton
Wilbriggie
Benerenba
Bringagee
Groongal
Carrathool
Uardry
Beabula
Mid-Western Hwy Crossing
Hay
Opened in 1882 and closed in 1989. The last passenger train to leave the station was at the end of 1983.
The facilities at Hay were quite impressive, given the class of the line. The reason is that in 1920 the Commonwealth Railways proposed building a standard gauge line from Port Augusta to Hay via Morgan and Wentworth, and Hay was to be where locos were changed over (nswrail.net).
The station building is now leased by the Hay Shire Council and houses the local community radio station, 2HAYFM, and the POW & Internment Camp Interpretive Centre – Dunera Museum.
Thanks for reading this article, I hope you found it useful. Check out my blog for plenty more like this, or head to my YouTube channel to see the videos.
If you have memories of the line or interesting facts you’d like to add, please feel free to comment.