Wondabyne railway station is a heritage-listed railway station and

request stop In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a bus stop, stop or train station, station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or drop ...

located on the Main Northern line in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. It serves the southern Central Coast area known as Wondabyne and opened on 1 May 1889. It is the only station in Australia that does not have road access. Wondabyne station is mainly used by trail goers on the Great North Walk and the homeowners who live on the other side of Mullet Creek which is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug language, Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle ...

. It a favoured spot of trainspotters. The area has a quarry that is used intermittently and several houses which can only be accessed by boat from a jetty next to the station.

History

Wondabyne station was constructed with the Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge. Between 1888 and 1897, before the bridge opened, and after Woy Woy Tunnel was opened, railway traffic took a ferry from a temporary dead end at Mullet Creek, 400 metres north of Wondabyne station. The station was originally opened as Mullet Creek Junction, after the nearby creek, as the station was built for its development of the quarry. It was renamed Hawkesbury Cabin in 1890 and finally Wondabyne on 15 January 1891 after Mt. Wondabyne close to the railway station across the bay. Wondabyne was also renowned for its maritime transport industry. Along its creek are

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not Land ownership and tenure, own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estima ...

houses which housed fishermen; the area is still used for

recreational fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is occupational fishing activities done for profit; or subsistence fishing, ...

. Wondabyne was once a busy area and had a pub called The Centennial, which closed in 1891 shortly after the Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge was opened. There were also

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

services, which took passengers from Wondabyne station along the

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. In April 1939, Wondabyne station was relocated to the current site. Wondabyne_Railway_Station_View_from_Level_crossing.jpg, View south from the level crossing Wondabyne_Railway_Station_Platform_1.jpg, Platform 1 Wondabyne_Railway_Station_Platform_2.jpg, Platform 2

Platforms and services

Wondabyne has two side platforms and despite the station's short length less than one carriage long it is fully equipped with an Opal card reader, announcements of approaching trains, security cameras, printed timetables and other posters relevant to the railways such as safety messaging. The platforms are classified as SP1r (Alight from last car's rear door). This station is one example of train stations that uses selective door operation due to trains only stopping at this station on request. Wondabyne is serviced by

Central Coast & Newcastle Line The Central Coast & Newcastle Line (CCN) is an regional rail, intercity rail service that services the Upper North Shore, Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast and Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle regions. It connects the two large ...

services travelling from Sydney Central to Newcastle Interchange. It is a

with passengers required to notify the guard if they wish to alight and wave at the driver if they want to board. In both cases the rear door of the rear carriage corresponds with the platform.

References

External links

Wondabyne station details

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is a Government of New South Wales, New South Wales Government transport services and roads List of New South Wales government agencies, agency established on 1 November 2011. The agency is a different entity to the NSW ...

{{Transport for New South Wales railway stations, Central Coast & Newcastle=y, state=collapsed Main North railway line, New South Wales Railway stations in Australia opened in 1889 Railway stations in Australia opened in 1939 Regional railway stations in New South Wales Transport on the Central Coast (New South Wales) Railway attractions in Australia