Consisting of 15 openings, each of 11 foot, with a central 15 foot span, this bridge is 168 feet long, or 51.2 Metres. The bridge has steel spans with a transverse wooden deck. The bridge is in very good condition, and is easily visited, as it is only a short walk down the line from the road crossing on the Healesville - Kinglake Road. It is also possible to get to it, with a shorter path, from inside the Healesville Racecourse, being adjacent to the horse stables.
This is a small wooden bridge over a drain/creek, just to the west of the Healesville Racecourse. It is 5 spans, and is in good condition. Interesting, in that the 3 wooden bridges in the Healesville township all escaped the 'modernisation' that was inflicted on other bridges along the line.
Historical photos of Mount Evelyn in December of 1961 and January 1962, taken by Michael Brudar. These photos are used by permission of Michael, as I may appear in one or two from time to time. In point of fact, I was a bugger of a photo-bomber, popping up when not expected.
Michael and I haunted this station and surrounding districts, as we were not yet able to drive or ride a motorcycle. But we did very soon after. We used to ride the goods trains and travel up to Yarra Junction and Warburton with our bicycles in the Z van.
Michael had a very nice 35mm camera, used to take these shots. I did not have a camera at the time, so I used to amuse myself by getting in shots where I was not wanted.
If you would like to see more of Michaels photography, see his Flikr Page Sadly, Michael passed away a couple of years back. Knowing he only had a certain amount of time, Michael set about scanning his photo collection and putting it up on Flikr.
Mount Evelyn Station viewed from the West end, looking East, in December of 1961.
A Down goods headed up by K188, which was stationed at Lilydale for a long period of time. Michael and I were about to climb on this goods for the trip to Warburton. The Station House can just be seen behind the wagons.
Michael has this photo placed at Mount Evelyn, however I believe it is actually Seville, as it is not on a curve like Mount Evelyn. I can be seen, with my back to the camera, seated on a luggage trolley. I was chatting to the Engine Driver.
This bridge probably sets the standard for bridges on this line. The Lilydale to Warburton Railway was constructed in 1901, and, as such, is a relatively late addition to the Victorian Railways Network. The Lilydale to Healesville Railway had been opened in stages, with the first section to Yarra Glen opened in May of 1888.
There does not seem to be any evidence that I can find, of timber being used for bridge construction, with the sole exception being the road over rail bridge near Woori Yallock. But that bridge only carries a road, not the railway. Perhaps wherever the rail line is carried over a bridge, the construction may have been brick or concrete piers with steel spans from the outset.
I would be interested to know if anyone has knowledge of the bridges being replaced in later years. I rode this line when traveling to Powelltown via Yarra Junction in the early 60s but I don't recall taking much notice of the bridges at the time.
Bailey Road is un-made and the area is very dusty. To the east of the span over the road is Stringybark Creek. The bridge is quite tall, approximately 4 meters to the bottom of the steel span.
View taken from the North side of the bridge, looking South. Stringybark Creek is under the left span.
The bridge deck, looking to the East. The young lady holding the horse at the far end had, quite wisely, dismounted and walked the horse across when no-one else was on the bridge.
Similar in construction to all other bridges on this line, concrete piers with steel spans. At the time of taking the photo, the river was flowing quite full, with substantial rains in previous days.
Side view. The blacks in this shot have been slightly enhanced to show the detail under the bridge.
This is the second bridge in the vicinity of the Little Yarra River, but was dry at the time of taking the photo.
Side view, blacks slightly enhanced to see support detail.
This bridge differs from others I looked at on this line in that the piers are constructed of brick rather than poured concrete. Otherwise, it is an unremarkable bridge consisting of 9 brick piers with steel beams and the usual wooden deck used on rail trails. It is approximately 48 Metres long.
View of North side of the bridge, looking East towards Warburton.
An interesting little historical brief, laminated and attached to a post on the approach to the bridge. It gives a little historical background to Britannia Sidings and the private railway that fed goods to the main line.
A low bridge of steel beams over concrete piers, across the Woori Yallock Creek and it's large surrounding wetlands. It is very likely that this bridge is original, and simply re-decked to make it suitable for a rail trail. It is approximately 176 Metres long, with a second section of 55 Metres.
An oblique view , North side of bridge, looking East towards Warburton.
The main part of the Woori Yallock Creek, rather full and free flowing. View from South side of bridge, looking East towards Warburton.
Complimentary view from the North side of the creek.
This bridge appears to be pretty original. It has steel I beam spans spans on wooden trestles and does not appear to have been 'gentrified' for the conversion of the ROW to a rail trail. It is protected from stock crossing at either end by cattle grids. On the other hand, it may have been modified from wooden spans to steel spans at an earlier time.
Finally out of lockdown and out on the trails again. This time being the first outing for the new bicycle. I had bought a folding mountain bike to ride the trails, but after my cardiac surgery, I found it stressful riding any distance. So I bought a conversion kit and converted the bike into an e-Bike.
I drove to the car park at the old Woori Yallock station, then rode back towards the west to access this bridge, and others along the Warburton Rail Trail.
This bridge is pretty unremarkable, being steel beams on concrete piers, with 3 openings. Pretty much all of the bridges on the old Lilydale to Warburton line are of similar construction. This bridge allows Kylie Lane to pass under the rail line. I called out to Kylie, but she did not answer, must have been off enjoying the lovely Spring weather :-)
Looking along the rail trail towards Warburton.
View of Kylie Lane on the North side of the bridge.
It was too steep to get down to the roadway, so this view is the best I could manage from the ROW.
Fortunately, Deon drove along Kylie Lane and sent me this photo showing the bridge from gound level. Thank you Deon.
Friday, 22 October 2021
Bridge over Percival Creek south of Pyalong - Heathcote Junction to Bendigo Line.
Hooray, finally able to break out of the COVID restrictions, and get on the road again. It has been so long, I forgot how to perform some of the trickier drone maneuvers and also the editing of this blog.
But finally able to go out with the express purpose of investigating this very interesting bridge. I found this bridge originally using Google Earth, by speculating that there should be a bridge at this location, even though the aerial view did not clearly show one there. The fact that there was a creek here pointed to the possibility of a bridge, but it could not be seen.
By using Google Earth instead of the normal Google Maps view, there is a history tool that allows you to rewind the date of the aerial views, and when I wound it back, lo and behold, there was the bridge. As it turns out, a long held friend of mine, John, moved to Pyalong earlier this year, and I was able to get him to affirm the presence of the bridge.
The bridge is quite substantial, it is an estimated 85 Metres long with 19 openings, and is actually in better condition than the better-known bridge over Mollison's Creek, in town. The date on the timbers at the north end suggest that the last maintenance work was carried out in 1949. Like all abandoned wooden bridges, the deck timbers have rotted through in a about 3 places (at time of examination) and there are prominent signs posted warning people not to walk under the structure, plus wire barriers at the abutments to try and keep people off the deck. Otherwise, the bridge is more or less intact.
The people on the adjacent property on the west side claim that they lease the land that the bridge is on, and are a bit sensitive about people wandering onto the site. We found a convenient parking spot on the highway within about 100 Metres of the bridge, just next to an 'Overtaking Lane 400M' sign.
The following photos are taken at the north end of the bridge on the west side, looking back towards Heathcote Junction.
Pyalong - Third bridge, dismantled - Heathcote Junction to Bendigo Line.
My friend John, who lives in Pyalong, had been told by the publican at the Pyalong Hotel, that originally there had been 3 timber bridges in the district, but I had only managed to locate 2 of them. Fortunately, John had found this one on his daily walk routine.
There is almost nothing left of the bridge, it had been extensively excavated, in fact the excavator is still beside the bridge.
This appears to be an example of where a bridge was filled in as an embankment, then later on the local farmer has dug it out again, exposing the bridge remains. This was presumably done to allow stock to move more easily from one side to the other.
According to the VR Grades book, this bridge was originally 6 openings of 15 foot, plus one opening of 20 feet.
Wednesday, 23 October 2019
I had a lovely email from a fellow bridge enthusiast and photographer today, who noted that the last entry was in September of 2018, and asking if I had given up on adding to the blog. The answer is no, I hope to be out and about again very soon. This last year has seen some challenges, the surgery on my back has worked, however I am finding it hard to get out. At the same time, we moved from our property in Garfield in West Gippsland, to a lovely new place at Jindivick, just north of Warragul. The move to the new property has meant I have had to spend some time adapting the place to our needs, but that is mostly done now. The upside is that I am now even closer to the site of the most magnificent chain of wooden bridges between Nayook and Noojee. They are almost in my backyard. I spent many weeks with these bridges back in 1962, and the memories of them are still quite alive for me. Sadly, apart from the well known preserved bridge, there is almost nothing remaining of the best of those bridges. Thank you for looking in, and see you out in the bush....
First bridge of any interest after Lilydale. It consists of eleven 11 feet openings and a longitudinal deck.. It is badly infested with reeds and blackberries and not very easy to access or photograph. Sadly, rather unattractive. Heading from Lilydale to Healesville, via Yarra Glen, this is the first bridge of any interest on the line but situated beside a very busy road where it is not advised to stop for a photo, as there is no place to stop or park off the highway.
My numbering, nothing to do with the railway. This bridge is probably the most interesting one left on this railway line, and the most easily accessed and visible. It consists of ten 15 foot openings plus a single central 20 foot opening. I am guessing it's purpose was simply to let water through under the rail line. Apparently this bridge is known as the 'Humpback Bridge' because the middle is higher than the ends. It is situated alongside the Melba Highway, 8.92 Kilometres from Lilydale Station. It is in pretty poor condition, consistent with being abandoned for many years.
It is not any sort of official numbering, it simply means the third interesting bridge on the line from Lilydale. It is located just at the point where the line spears off across the Yarra River flood plain towards Yarra Glen, departing from the Melba Highway. About the Melba Highway. The day I was there I was quite concerned about being wiped out by the incessant traffic, particularly tip trucks, that buzz along that road. It is not a good place to stop for photographs. This is the last remaining wooden section of what was once a very long and impressive set of bridge sections that crossed the Yarra River flood plain. The trestle sections have been replaced over the years by earthern embankment, and in the accompanying video, you can see where the earth was excavated from long trenches beside the line, now filled with water. Much of the wooden sections, including the river crossing, were wiped out by bushfires. The remaining bridge consists of five 11 foot openings.
I should amend that title, it is not a bridge, but a concrete culvert. It would seem that if you run a 'Heritage Railway' you do not have any obligation to preserve the heritage part of it. There was once a quite respectable wooden trestle bridge across Simpsons Lane, but it has now been replaced by a bog ugly concrete culvert and fill on either side. When David Foulkes and I inspected the wooden bridge, just after the disastrous fires, the only damage to the bridge was a single burnt out pile. I would have thought that would have been a reasonably easy repair rto make. The bridge was lucky to have survived, because the fire burnt out all the wooden sleepers on the Healesville side of the bridge. Even at that time, Simpsons Lane bypassed the bridge, now the culvert seems to simply be there as a drainage measure. Anyhow, this is how it looked then.
This is the ugly scene these days. Very disappointing.
Just to tie up loose ends, here is a photo of one bridge, close to Yarra Glen, that is typical of the approximately 11 bridges that were originally of wooden construction, but have been replaced by a steel and concrete design. The original bridges were either destroyed or damaged by fire, and were replaced in a pre-emptive strike to save them causing problems in the event of future fires.
This is a road-over-rail bridge that once carried Donovans Road over the Lilydale to Healesville railway line, approximately 1.8 Kilometres short of the line's destination at Healesville. It is not in use any longer, having been rendered obsolete by a small road diversion to the west of the bridge to take Donovan's Road across the tracks at grade level. Standing looking at the current arrangement, one is tempted to wonder why the crossing at grade was not implemented originally, as it only involves a short deviation to the road along what probably would have been railway land anyway. The bridge is in quite surprisingly good condition, although I would not like to stroll across the deck (I have a strict rule about not strolling across bridge decks in order to prolong life). I would suspect that it has to be very carefully maintained so bits of it do not fall onto the permanent way. The bridge is at the top of a rise in the track level, with the track gently sloping down either side of the bridge.
The northern end of the deck.
The western approach to the bridge, looking towards Healesville, up the small grade.
South end from track level.
North end from Track level.
Underside of deck.
Eastern approach to the bridge, looking towards the new grade crossing, again down grade.
