Bowser railway station

Bowser is a closed railway station located just north of the city of Wangaratta, on the North East line, in Victoria, Australia. It served as the junction for the Peechelba East and Bright branch lines. The name remains in use today for a block point at the 243.852 kilometre post.^[1]

History

The railway through the station north to Wodonga opened in November 1873, but the station did not come into being until September 1875, when work begun on the branch line to Beechworth. The station opened to traffic as Beechworth Junction on 7 July 1875. It was renamed Bowser in 1922, after John Bowser, a local politician and Premier of Victoria.^[2]

The station buildings dated to 1890, but interchange of goods traffic between the branch and main line was handled at Wangaratta, six kilometres to the south. In 1927, the station became a three-way junction, when the line to Peechelba East was opened. Freight facilities included bulk grain storage, livestock loading ramps, and a fertiliser store.^[2] Passenger facilities were not provided until 2 February 1891, and was closed to passenger traffic on 1 October 1972. Bowser closed entirely on 13 April 1987, when the line from Everton (the last part of the Beechworth line) closed. The signal box was abolished during the same year, along with all points and signals, the former grain storage, and the disestablishment of the station as a staff station.^[3] Despite the line from Everton closing on 13 April, the standard gauge crossing was dismantled in February of that year.^[4] The Peechelba East line had closed a year earlier, in 1986.^[5]

References

Coordinates: 36°19′06″S 146°21′51″E / 36.31833°S 146.36417°E / -36.31833; 146.36417