Camperdown station on the Warrnambool line only has a single platform, in the middle of a long section of single track railway – but until December 2022 every morning the Melbourne-bound and Warrnambool-bound V/Line services would cross there. The answer is a “reverse cross” – but how did it work?
The “reverse cross”
The V/Line train from Warrnambool would be the first to arrive at Camperdown.
And arrive into the platform.
Passengers would board the train, then the conductor would blow their whistle for the train to depart.
It would then reverse out of the platform, back towards Warrnambool.
The signaller would throw the points towards the crossing loop.
So the train could wait clear of the platform.
The signaller would then throw the points back towards to the mainline.
And change the signals to allow the train from Melbourne to arrive.
Then wait.
Soon enough, the Warrnambool-bound train would arrive.
Pass the waiting Melbourne-bound train.
Passengers for Warrnambool would board.
And then the train would depart the platform.
Leaving Camperdown and the other train behind.
The signaller would then walk to the Melbourne end of the yard, and throw the points towards the crossing loop.
Allowing the Melbourne-bound train to continue on it’s journey.
On the single track towards Geelong.
And today
November 2022 was the last time a scheduled “reverse cross” happened at Camperdown, or anywhere else in Victoria.
Warrnambool line trains now cross at Boorcan Loop, located a few kilometres west of Camperdown.
It was built as part of the $284.7 million ‘Warrnambool Rail Upgrade’ project.
The new loop at Boorcan is made up of a 185m long loop at the up end and a 912m loop at the down end, forming a crossing loop of 1756m total length, and all remotely controlled from V/Line’s ‘Centrol’ train control centre in Melbourne.
As a part of the same works, the crossing loop at Camperdown was downgraded to a siding.
Footnote from the past
A related move once happened at Marshall station, with counter-peak train put into the loop siding so they could cross Waurn Ponds trains in the opposite direction.
And even further back in time, reverse crosses once occurred at Winchelsea for trains operated by West Coast Railway.
Always enjoy your posts, Marcus. A variety of interesting topics and attention to detail.
Thanks!
It was well overdue for such a comically antiquated “system” to be discontinued. It wasn’t just so time-consuming that even with everything working perfectly, a fast timetable was impossible, but it absolutely guaranteed that any delayed train would turn into two late-running trains.
It’s also got the bonus feature that if you’re running late for your train, the train might still be at the station waiting for a cross, but because it’s in the loop road you can’t board it!
A reverse cross used to occur at Lara in the 1960s and 1970s, when the Geelong line was a single track. A mid-morning train to Melbourne would reverse out of the station, after platform formalities had been completed, to allow a Geelong-bound train to use the station.
From the look on their faces, it was obvious that some infrequent travellers on the Melbourne-bound train were disconcerted when they stated to return from whence they had come.
The 6.05am and 6.28am trains from Southern Cross to Waurn Ponds still don’t stop at Marshall, so I assume they still pass away from the platform. And the 6.48am train to South Geelong has a coach connection at Geelong to Marshall and Waurn Ponds. So after the first train of the day stops at Marshall at 6.02am, the next train that stops doesn’t do so until 8.45am.
The first non-stopper at Marshall would be giving way to the 7.21am departure from Waurn Ponds (Marshall 7.26), and the second the 7.40am departure (Marshall 7.45). The 7.20am Southern Cross to Warrnambool service also doesn’t stop Marshall, and probably gives way to Warrnambool to Southern Cross service coming the other way (although that doesn’t stop at Marshall either).
When the Warrnambool trains started to run express Footscray-Geelong a few years ago, the early AM train was supplemented by a SAS to Geelong (I think the SAS ran first). A later timetable had the SAS extended to Waurn Ponds – but it waited at Geelong for a clear path, including for the Warrnambool train behind it to come and go first at Geelong. Looks like sense has prevailed now and the trains run in the right order!
How much easier will it be when the duplication to Waurn Ponds is done and only the single tunnel bottleneck to worry about!
Thank you.
Quality Victorian rail content as always! I travelled down to Warrnambool for the first time in December 2022 right after the upgrade works were done. I spend a lot of time on trains observing through the windows and I might have been quite startled at Camperdown had I travelled earlier! Great piece of history, but glad for the upgrade that saves so much time and resources.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!