Lineside Liaisons #28 Donnybrook

One of the most beautifully restored old railway stations I've come across, Donnybrook, WA.

Every now and then I manage to be surprised by an old railway station that I wasn't expecting to find. Donnybrook Railway Station in Western Australia is one of them. Despite researching the routes of five different abandoned railway lines ahead of my trip west to collate the poems and photos needed for my book Last Train to Bunbury, I'd somehow missed seeing a single photo of Donnybrook's restored 1893 station until seeing it in person during a magical late afternoon highway stop in the summer of 2018. Donnybrook is an apple growing town located an easy half hour drive south of Bunbury along the South Western Highway, and the station still takes pride in a pleasant park-like setting in the heart of town. The town's 1890 English Oak trees inspired my poem Oak Trees and Apples, featured memorably inside my book Last Train to Bunbury.

Lineside Liaisons #27 Busselton

The famous Busselton Jetty Train in south west Western Australia.

What holiday to the Margaret River Region of Western Australia would be complete without a train ride on the famous Busselton Jetty? Mine. Focussing too much on the photo angles I was after for my book Last Train to Bunbury when we arrived in this seaside mecca, I forgot to book tickets for my wife and I to travel along the 1.8 km long timber jetty. After being greeted with a sorry but we're fully booked for the remainder of the day when I finally ambled up to the ticket counter during the peak Christmas Holiday period of 2017, I had to settle for a long lunch in the adjoing restaurant that overlooks the train's departure point. I don't know when I'll next get back to this amazing part of the world, but it did provide me with all the inspiration I needed for my funny take on The Busselton Jetty Train in my book Last Train to Bunbury which you can preview for free here.

Lineside Liaisons #26 Bridgetown

Abandoned Bridgetown Railway Station in Western Australia.

A little under 100 km by car south of Bunbury stands the abandoned railway station and goods yard of Bridgetown. Situated on the South Western Line to Northcliffe, the 1898 station building enjoyed a brief life as the local council Environment and Landcare Centre building until the discovery of asbestos in the walls. As you can see, the station building in the background was fenced off from the public during my visit in 2018. The town got its name from the two bridges that cross the Blackwood River at the southern end of town. One carried the now closed railway line, the other the South Western Highway. The above photo and my visit to this trendy stop on the highway inspired my poem Getting Down in Bridgetown, featured in my book Last Train to Bunbury.

Lineside Liaisons #25 Boyanup

The South West Western Australian town of Boyanup.

Venturing to the other side of the country over the summer of 2017/2018 enabled me to explore the abandoned railway lines of Western Australia's South West Region. The town of Boyanup a short 22 km drive by car south of Bunbury was once the junction point for the railway lines to Northcliffe and Flinders Bay. After the station was closed, a preservation group and museum was formed back in 1985, collecting bits and pieces of former WAGR rollingstock with the aim of seeing these old trains run once more. Today, the museum may be closed to the general public, but the South West Rail and Heritage Centre who now maintain the site schedule several 'open days' throughout the year to view their vintage collection.

Although my visit never coincided with one of these open days, standing on the forlorn platform of Boyanup's now bare station site did inspire the poem Junction of Broken Dreams, featured in my book Last Train to Bunbury, available direct here.

Lineside Liaisons #24 Lowanna

Beautifully restored Lowanna Railway Station, high in the hills on the old Dorrigo Line.

For the final look inside my book Last Train to Grafton, I've included this photo from up in the hills of the New South Wales North Coast. Lowanna Railway Station, (located between the former North Coast Line junction station of Glenreagh and the mountain terminus of Dorrigo), is one of those beautifully restored former railway stations that you rarely come across anymore. Sitting in its original location, tucked away from the world in the hills northwest of Coffs Harbour, this stunning railway station owes its condition to the volunteers of the Glenreagh Mountain Railway. Despite plans to restore the entire line to operating condition repeatedly running into trouble, the station inspired me to write the poem 'Trains that never come' to accompany the many full colour photos featured in Last Train to Grafton.

Next up, I will begin sharing some of the stunning images I collected while back-tracking my way through southwest Western Australia over the summer of 2017/2018 from my forthcoming book Last Train to Bunbury, due later this year. And fingers crossed, there may just be a fourth and final Last Train instalment to follow close behind it. Stay tuned!

Lineside Liaisons #23 Ulong

This surviving little station building in the middle of nowhere is at Ulong, on the old Dorrigo branchline.

Tucked away in the hills of the Orara Valley on the New South Wales north coast, you'll find the abandoned branch line that once climbed west to the town of Dorrigo. Closed in 1972, the Dorrigo branch today has succumbed to the advances of nature, with many sections of the 1924 railway line completely covered by overgrowth. Halfway up the mountain at the tiny town of Ulong, (population just 131), the still standing station building lies hidden off a narrow, dusty road that is skirted by a string of rusting railway wagons, some with trees growing up between them. Although an almost impossible former railway station to find, the sight was enough to inspire the poem Too long in Ulong in my book Last Train to Grafton. Part poetry, part photographic journey through our disappearing railway past, Ulong was just one of the many abandoned railway stations I explored between the Queensland border and the mountain town of Dorrigo.

Taken from the book Last Train to Grafton, available direct here

See also; Glenreagh: Ghosts of railways past

Lineside Liaisons #22 Shannon Brook

Chasing railway ghosts on the North Coast near Shannon Brook, NSW.

Stops only if required

At some stations north of Grafton
The train stopped only if required

In the middle of the night

When the passengers were tired

But there's not a lot to see

Between Grafton and Casino

That you're ever gonna' miss

From the comfort of your window

There was Koolkhan and Dilkoon

And between them Warragai Creek

Lawrence Road was up the line

And so was Myrtle Creek

Both Coombell and Amarina

Disappeared without a look

And you'd have to ask the guard

To alight in Shannon Brook

Sadly they're all dots on a map

From towns now long retired

That in Nineteen-fifty-six

Trains stopped at only if required

Where the sun casts its long shadow

On the road called Summerland Way

And the blinding afternoon sunlight

Washes all the names away

Taken from the book Last Train to Grafton, available direct here

Lineside Liaisons #21 Byron Bay

Storm clouds in the slumber... Byron Bay Railway Station in the summer of 2014/15.

Byron Bay remains one of the most talked about holiday destinations on the New South Wales north coast. An alternative hamlet by the sea, the most easterly point on the Australian mainland, a playground for the rich and famous... while all of these things remain true, catching a train to Byron has not been possible since the last XPT pulled out on the 16th May 2004. For many train-going holidaymakers on their way to Murwillumbah, the town of Byron was a noisy, well populated town that slipped by the train window in the dark of night.

So what became of the former railway station after the last train left town? Well it is still there, and the former railway refreshment rooms on the station's platform are still just as noisy and vibrant as the day that they were leased to a local publican, long before plans were mooted to close the former Murwillumbah Line. While a short section of track to the north of town has now been re-purposed for use by a eco-friendly, solar powered rail car known as the Byron Bay Train, (where else would you find such a thing?), The Byron Bay that I remembered was forever captured in my poem 'Drums and diesel hums' in my book Last Train to Grafton. A photographic and poetic romp through the abandoned lines of northern New South Wales, the 56 page premium colour book is a tribute to the memories of our not-so-distant railway past, and is available now through the links on my Books page.

See also; Byron Bay: cold beer, no trains!

Lineside Liaisons #20 Mullumbimby

Mullumbimby railway station, a decade after the last train had left town.

The North Coast of New South Wales is home to some of Australia's best beaches. Back before the Pacific Highway upgrade turned a horrible stretch of highway into a short hop across the border from Queensland, most visitors made their way north of Sydney by train aboard the Gold Coast Motorail Express. Today, the Murwillumbah Line including the station at Mullumbimby lies dormant, a stretch of rusting railway nestled well back from the coastline at the foot of the Burringbar Range. Memories of the train pulling up at a crowded platform in the late evening while headed south on the overnight XPT to Sydney still flood back every time I see the above picture. I'm glad I had the opportunity to retrace my steps more than a decade after the last train had left town, and capture this photo to which I set the words of the poem The Train to Mullumbimby. And just as thankful to have captured many of the other remaining relics from our railway past that lie forgotten on the North Coast for my book Last Train to Grafton.

I don't know how many more places such as this that I will be able to afford to travel to and record the ghosts of our railway past before they too disappear, which makes Last Train to Grafton such a special collection of haunting railway photography set to Australian bush poetry.

See also; Mullumbimby: Iggy Azalea's Hometown Station

Lineside Liaisons #19 Dunbible

Abandoned railway bridge on the Murwillumbah railway line at Dunbible.

This photo of Dunbible Creek Railway Bridge on the old Murwillumbah Line is just one of the double page portraits featured in my latest book Last Train to Grafton. The 1894 Murwillumbah railway line on the North Coast of New South Wales remains somewhat of an enigma to railfans Down Under. Closed in May 2004, the line has generated a lot of conjecture over whether it should or shouldn't have been closed. The photos that I had taken over the 10 years that followed the closure of this line inspired the railway bush poetry that is featured within Last Train to Grafton, such as the poem Letters From Stokers Siding which was a former railway station located only a short distance south of the attractive old wrought iron bridge over Dunbible Creek.

See also; Dunbible Creek Railway Bridge and Stokers Siding: A little railway art

Lineside Liaisons #18 The Risk

The Risk, the riskiest train watching location in New South Wales.

Believe it or not, this was once a station. In fact, this was once a small village located off the Summerland Way in the far north of New South Wales known as The Risk. Google Maps still has it marked as a locality. In fact, Google Maps still has the Old Risk Road marked as a road. Another fact; it isn't! It's a muddied two-tyre cow track that crosses an electric cattle grid on its way to a solitary farmhouse. I almost got our sedan bogged while taking this photo, and our party of four stranded more than 6 km from the nearest town of Wiangaree, and we won't mention the wheel alignment our car needed after crossing the old timber bridge that was missing a plank after recent flooding. Ah, the places writers find themselves stuck in search of inspiration. It turned out the drive was all the inspiration I needed for the Australian bush poem The Old Risk Road that accompanies the above photo in my book Last Train to Grafton. I do hope you at least enjoy the photo. Its gone down as the most expensive photo I have ever taken!

Lineside Liaisons #17 Glenapp

Paradise in Border Country. Glenapp, Queensland.

Tucked away in the hills of Queensland's and New South Wales's Border Country, is the tiny signal hut located at Glenapp. Just off the Lions Tourist Road that cuts from Rathdowney on the Queensland side of the border, over the hills and past the Cougal Spiral to the New South Wales town of Wiangaree on the Summerland Way, stands this little signal hut that dates back to 1930. The year of course was when the South Brisbane Interstate Line opened north of Kyogle. Today, the line is simply known as the North Coast Line, and is the only railway line in use between Sydney and Brisbane. When word got around that the decommissioned hut was to be bulldozed, brothers Dennis and Rob Sibson sought permission to restore this little beauty to the attractive state that can be seen above. The Boys From Glenapp is not only one of the poems featured in my latest offering Last Train to Grafton, but the Glenapp Boys also have their own following on Facebook, www.facebook.com/GlenappRailwayStationFriends.

Lineside Liaisons #16 Rotorua

Uniquely New Zealand rail adventures.

Across the ditch in the Land of the Long White Cloud, you'll find one New Zealand's most unique little rail adventures waiting for you just outside the city of Rotorua. When I visited Rotorua's Railcruising park in December 2013, I was treated by park manager Neil Oppatt to a rare ride along the rails on the yet-to-be-opened section of track down through Ngongotaha to Kawaha Point. Neil kindly took this posed photo for me crossing Kawaha Point Stream just outside of Rotorua which featured in my book 30 Years Chasing Trains.

Lineside Liaisons #15 Ardglen

Aurizon coal train banker locomotives at Ardglen.

The Liverpool Ranges north west of the Hunter Valley in NSW Australia, is a notoriously tough climb for loaded coal trains on their way to the port in Newcastle. From Chilcott's Creek both Pacific National and Aurizon attach a pair of 4,350 horsepower locomotives to the rear of an 86 car loaded coal train to help shove it up the range as far as Ardglen. Here, the two rear locos release their couplers from the still moving train, and roll to a stop before descending back to Chilcott's Creek once more. For big Australian railroad action, watching this procession of heavy trains grind their way up Ardglen bank is a helluva sight! In perfect morning light, I captured Aurizon locomotives 5042 and 5043 back in May 2016 as they quietly purred back down the range in my book 30 Years Chasing Trains.

Lineside Liaisons #14 Muswellbrook

Chilly morning at Muswellbrook Railway Station.

Muswellbrook Railway Station in the Hunter Valley of NSW, Australia is not the place you want to find yourself standing at 5 am on a chilly winter's morning. But that's exactly where I found myself in May 2016 on a return trip from holidays. What makes this photo from my book 30 Years Chasing Trains special, is the fact that I managed to keep my arms from shaking long enough for the exposure to capture this rush of cold wind as another Hunter Valley coal train blasted by the platform on its way to the port of Newcastle.

Lineside Liaisons #13 Quirindi

92 class on a coal train heading north under blue skies at Quirindi.

Moving on to some modern Australian diesels, and this shot of a C44aci Pacific National 92 class locomotive thundering through Quirindi Railway Station in the north west of New South Wales on an empty coal train, was sheer fluke rather than perfect timing. I visited Quirindi in May 2016 to photograph the historic railway station, and when the distant crossing bells sounded I knew something was headed my way. The resulting shot closed out my book 30 Years Chasing Trains, three decades to the week since I first picked up a camera as a 14 year old boy on a BMX bike to take my first train photo. 30 years later, and I have a 100 page full colour 8" x 10" book as a memento of my lifelong hobby.

Lineside Liaisons #12 Kandanga

A bit of colour at Kandanga Railway Station in Queensland, Australia.

Australia has no shortage of quirky and colourful names when it comes to old railway stations, and Kandanga on the Mary Valley line is not only one of them, but has a pretty colourful old cream shed still standing beside the tracks. I took this photo on my iPhone when passing through in February 2017, and the photo and my accompanying poem 'Biding time in Kandanga' is featured inside my book Last Train to Brisbane. The Mary Valley Rattler train that once called at the station last passed through in 2012.

Lineside Liaisons #11 Willowburn

Looking west to nowhere, Willowburn Railway Station.

Willowburn Railway Station stands just on the outskirts of Toowoomba city centre in Queensland, Australia. Funnily enough, this station was once the preferred stopping point for the weekly Westlander train to Charleville instead of Toowoomba's grand old station in the heart of town. Nowadays, this weather-beaten old weatherboard station is abandoned and at risk of falling down. In fact, selecting an angle to photograph the station building from proved difficult as the interior ceiling had crashed to the floor by the time I visited Toowoomba in May 2017. This shot is from my book Last Train to Brisbane, and not surprisingly inspired the accompanying poem in the book 'Willowburn Station's falling down'.

Lineside Liaisons #10 Allora

Allora Railway Station on Queensland's Southern Downs.

The old railway station at Allora, located between Toowoomba and Warwick on Queensland's Southern Downs, is not only still standing but in surprisingly good condition despite regular train service being suspended since 1995. This photo has become one of my personal favourites and commands a double page spread inside my 8" x 10" full colour book Last Train to Brisbane.

Lineside Liaisons #9 Imbil

Old railway bridge over Yabba Creek at Imbil, Queensland.

I love photographing old railway bridges, purely because in the case of abandoned bridges such as this one over the Yabba Creek in Imbil, Queensland, you don't have to worry about the risk of approaching trains. Imbil was the end destination for the old Valley Rattler tourist train up until the line's closure in 2012, and with plans to re-open the line gaining momentum, this photo taken in February 2017 may well have been my last opportunity to photograph and abandoned railway bridge before it becomes un-abandoned. The above photo inspired my poem Somewhere down the line and is featured in my book Last Train to Brisbane.