G’day Modellers!

Wangaratta will be the host city for the 2024 N Scale Convention and we would like to thank Wangaratta Council for their support.

A brief summarised history of Wangaratta’s railway history has been kindly supplied by Daryl M Gregory.

Early bird tickets are now available here plus the committee has kindly put together a list of accommodation options to assist with planning your trip.

Wangaratta, located 145½ miles (234 km) from Melbourne.

The north east mainline from Benalla to Wangaratta opened on 28.10.1873 and extended through to the terminus at Wodonga on 21.11.1873. In July 1875 Wangaratta became the junction station for the Everton line, extended to Beechworth in 1876.

By March 1899, Wangaratta was the junction station for the lines to Beechworth – Yackandandah and Myrtleford – Bright as well as the narrow gauge line to Whitfield. In 1927, Wangaratta became the junction station for the Peechelba East line, although all the broad-gauge lines branched off the mainline at Beechworth Junction, later renamed Bowser.

For many years, Wangaratta had a small locomotive depot, turntable, passenger station with refreshment room, goods shed, Road and Works Foreman’s office, Works Depot, Signals and Telegraph depot, interlocked signalbox and track gang headquarters. Since the 1950’s many changes have occurred to the Wangaratta station landscape following progressive closure of the lines to Whitfield, Yackandandah, Bright and Peechelba East. In 1961, the landscape changed with the construction of the Albury – Melbourne standard gauge line that passes through the cutting (known as “the dive”) in front of the passenger station building, and this will again change with the current ARTC Inland Rail project works that will see a new standard gauge line constructed between the existing passenger station and the goods shed. The Cusack Street pedestrian footbridge that had been on site since 1888, was removed on 03.07.2023, and the Docker Street footbridge will follow in late 2024.

Wangaratta, once a busy junction station fell victim to progressive rationalization of the rail network from the late 1970’s when the de-regulated road transport industry started to make in-roads into goods traffic that had for many years been conveyed by rail. Removal of surplus sidings continued until 1997 when the broad-gauge yard was reduced to three roads serving the broad-gauge passenger station, a run around road and goods shed road. When the broad gauge line was converted to standard gauge in 2009, only the line through the passenger station was converted.

The brick water tower at the Docker Street end of the Wangaratta yard, is the oldest structure in existence, having been constructed in 1873, and prior to the construction of the goods shed and the present brick passenger station building.