Serviceton railway station is located on the Western standard gauge line in

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

, in the small town of

Serviceton __NOTOC__ Serviceton is a small town in rural western Victoria, Australia. It is near the Victorian–South Australian border, north-west of Melbourne. Named after James Service, who was Premier of Victoria in 1880 and from 1883 to 1886, it ...

, by rail from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. Opened in 1889, and closed in 1986, today it is leased to West Wimmera Shire Council for community group use.

History

The Adelaide-Wolseley line was extended from Bordertown in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

on 19 January 1887 coinciding with the opening of the

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Art ...

from Dimboola in Victoria. The Premier of South Australia, John Downer, wrote to his Victorian equivalent, James Service, suggesting that the new border railway town and station be named Downer after him. Service wrote back and said that as it was in Victoria, it would be named Serviceton after himself, although at the time of construction the land was claimed by both colonies. As Serviceton was the border station and train crews could only operate within their own state, crews and locomotives were changed between the

South Australian Railways South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Aust ...

and

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

. A

customs house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

/railway station was commissioned in 1887 with costs shared between the two colonies. The complex of 15 main rooms, including a large refreshment room, was completed in 1889. With

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

, customs roles finished in January 1901 although trains would continue to changes locomotives until the 1980s. On 7 September 1951, the westbound '' Overland'' service collided with its eastbound equivalent at the station, killing one person and destroying four A2 class locomotives. In 1970, the station was listed by the

National Trust of Victoria The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's In ...

for its part in the border dispute. Victorian Railways

DRC railcar The DRC (Diesel Rail Car) was a class of railmotor operated by the Victorian Railways on its country rail network in Victoria, Australia. The cars were built by Tulloch Limited in New South Wales, and featured aluminium and steel constructio ...

services from

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

to Serviceton ceased in December 1978. The refreshment rooms closed in 1981 and the station closed in 1986. It ceased to be a crew changeover and train passing location in March 1984 after a new crossing loop opened at Dimboola. In 2011, the station building was restored by VicTrack and leased to West Wimmera Shire Council for community group use. Since then it has housed a display of local and railway memorabilia. '' The Overland'' previously called at Serviceton on its journey between

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and

, but no longer stops there.

In popular culture

American singer

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

included the closure of the station in his song 'Town with no cheer', in his 1983 album '' Swordfishtrombones''.Town with no Cheer lyrics

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Serviceton railway station Disused railway stations in Victoria (Australia) Railway stations in Australia opened in 1889 Railway stations closed in 1986 Listed railway stations in Australia Victorian Heritage Register Grampians (region) Shire of West Wimmera