Comments on: Ballarat trains looping through Bacchus Marsh

By: On the radio talking trains with ABC Ballarat - Waking up in Geelong

On the radio talking trains with ABC Ballarat - Waking up in Geelong — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 23:02:12 +0000

[…] time around it was ABC Radio Ballarat, who had seen my recent posts on the Ballarat line through Bacchus Marsh and curve easing for faster trains, and thought it would be of interest to their […]

By: Curve easing for faster trains on the Ballarat line - Waking up in Geelong

Curve easing for faster trains on the Ballarat line - Waking up in Geelong — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 20:52:11 +0000

[…] you’ve read my past items on the history of the Ballarat line and the looping section of track outside Bacchus Marsh you know the story by now – the line was born as two single track branch line serving towns […]

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 01:35:17 +0000

In reply to James Dixon. Thanks James! I remember reading that same Newsrail article years ago - many of the deviations were minor ones to avoid the foothills of Mount Langi Ghiran and the like.

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 01:33:12 +0000

In reply to peter flynn.

West of Bacchus Marsh it’s actually an escarpment not just a hill – so you’d have to have an uphill grade in the tunnel to get you back to the surface anytime before Ballarat.

By: James Dixon

James Dixon — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 00:29:40 +0000

Excellent post as always Marcus. This reminded me of a long lost article in Newsrail (which I found – February 1985) which was fairly speculative but suggested if a standard gauge line was to be built to Adelaide it should go via Ballan rather than Cressy. The author suggested that a number of diversions could be built to ease the grades and there were a number of diagrams provided. History went against the author (who isn’t named) but at least one of their suggestions – bypassing the loop through Gordon and Bungaree – came to pass.

By: peter flynn

peter flynn — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 11:44:04 +0000

Easy to blast a tunnel throught that tiny rise just get a few Europeans who know hoW to build straight rail ; What a crock to say hill in the way easy to blow that away these days

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 10:15:10 +0000

In reply to Tom the first and best. Agreed on that point - with all passenger trains stopping at Bacchus Marsh and only a handful of off-peak freight services the need for a bypass doesn't really exist anymore.

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 10:14:02 +0000

In reply to cat. Glad you enjoyed it.

By: cat

cat — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 22:40:37 +0000

Really interesting. Thanks

By: Tom the first and best

Tom the first and best — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 11:58:20 +0000

The Parwan-Horseshoe Bend bypass of Baccus Marsh made a lot of sense, when the line was a major freight route and had long distance passenger trains (Adelaide, Mildura and Horsham/Dimboola) running express through Bacchus Marsh. The diversion of some express services via North Shore, as part of the New Deal for Country Passengers, may not have occurred.

After Kennett`s cuts and Adelaide standardisation via Cressy, it would be less useful (presuming its existence did not cause standardisation to go via this route), mostly used for peak expresses and transferring trains to Ballarat East for maintenance, if it had not been closed. RFR might have used it, instead of upgrading the Parwan curves into Bacchus Marsh, due to its peak express focus.