What Remains of the Belmont Railway Spur?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 มี.ค. 2024
- From 1885 to 1956, the Belmont Spur Line, also known as the Belmont Branch and the Perth Racecourse Railway, ran from the Eastern Line in Bayswater, across the Swan River and terminated at the Ascot Racecourse. It was notable for specially designed carriages that could transport up to 60 horses per train.
Nearly 70 years after demolition, I follow and recreate the former trainline on my bike. What will I discover?
Website: www.brendansodyssey.com
Email: brendansodyssey@gmail.com
Check out my other channel which is all about retro gaming!
/ retrogameon
Sources:
www.flickr.com/photos/wyrmwor...
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belmo...
www.australiaforeveryone.com....
thedustybox.com/2019/05/16/wh...
www.belmont.wa.gov.au/docs/ec...
trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/ar...
www.legislation.wa.gov.au/leg...
Remaining offline sources can be found here: www.brendansodyssey.com/youtu...
Photo Credits:
encore.slwa.wa.gov.au/iii/enc...
purl.slwa.wa.gov.au/slwa_b450...
encore.slwa.wa.gov.au/iii/enc...
encore.slwa.wa.gov.au/iii/enc...
purl.slwa.wa.gov.au/slwa_b163...
encore.slwa.wa.gov.au/iii/enc...
www.railheritagewa.org.au/arc...
Video Credits:
• Ride the METRONET Forr...
• Morley-Ellenbrook Line...
I often watch historic channels about other countries it’s great to see Perth based history thanks
Brendan.
I believe the weird small house next to Gt Eastern Hwy was built as some sort of advertising for a brick or tile company, maybe Midland brick. Another interesting fact is that it was moved from its original location in the early 2000s due to some redevelopment. It was only moved about 100 metres or so. I think there is a car park now where it originally stood.
Yes you are right, the misses says it was Bristile Tiles
@@dixie265 That's correct.
The small house was used for advertising, brick, roof tile's and clay pipe products for Brisbane and Wunberlich which became Britile.
All of the above is in fact correct, it was like an advertisement for building products. My grandfather worked for Brisbane and Wunderlich as a roof tiler and indeed put the roof on that little house. We knew it as the ‘dolls house’ and use to play in it at its former site. Then it fell terribly into disrepair. I’m so glad they didn’t demolish it for the developers! Brendan, I’m really enjoying your obscure historical finds of Perth. It encourages me to get on my bike also and take a look myself. Great stuff!
We called it the fairy house when we were kids in the 50s and 60s.
I’m a member of the local SES and have lost count of the number of times we’ve used that mound on the Bayswater side in rescue exercises. Turns out it was a rail bridge abutment!
Thanks for this fascinating insight into our history.
Thanks for your work for the community. If you were working in 2012 you might have helped find the body of my friend Anto, 543m from that mound, near the Tonkin Hwy. RiP Anto. Great video.
Hi Brendan, I believe it is pronounced , Whot - lee. we lived in some units in Whatley crescent, maylands. Most of the locals pronounced the road as whot-lee. But hey vitimin, vitamin, whichever!
Your local history is really, really good. Keep up the vids.
Ha, yeah. My partner let me know right after I uploaded the video. I should have known better, I live within walking distance of it!
hey cool some original research . old maps, state archives, this was some decent depth. this was nice! thanks for the HOURS of work!
Thanks mate, appreciate it. Sitting in the archive at the State Library is my favourite part about making these videos :)
You should do some more info on the 'lost' stations of Perth railway network.
I plan to. Watch this space!
@@brendansodyssey Could've done Welshpool Train Station but now demolised due to low use :( (also demolished for the Armadale/Thornlie rail elevation and rebuilding stations from Carlisle to Beckenham.
There is a really cool house in Victoria park where the train conductor or person in-charge of the station used to live and a little shop/deli was next door
Am impressed with the amount of background research you put into these videos... I have dug around the SLWA and NLA archives on a few occasions myself, I know how much of a pain in can be sometimes 😎
Really cool to see some content on the history of Perth, especially so local! looks like we ride our bikes in some of the same places haha
I grew up in this area and I was always told that mound near the end of Slade street was where the rail bridge used to be but I never knew there was any part of it left in the water, or on the far side of the river! Well done.
I'm glad youtube suggested your channel. Looking forward to future mods.
I was a bricklayer For Bristile and worked on those kilns. there called bee hive kiln's.
Great video! You've earned a sub. I was so interested in this video even though I'm not from Perth.
I lived in keymer street and remember walking along the old line to go fishing behind the racecourse. I still remember one of my older mates covering a cobbler in black clay from the bank of the river and baking it in the fire. I swear it was the sweetest tasting catfish catfish you could wish for. That was about 1960 or 62. Thanks for the memories.
Love your videos and enjoy your historical research. Keep up the hood work!
Great channel and a very interesting video Brendan. Keep it up 👍
I had no idea this track even extisted. I'm really surprised how they just scrapped the whole lot. I've done some similar things myself with mates, one that might interest you was the Armadale to Jandakot line which ended in Fremantle. That was a real shame they shut that down, just how handy having a line from Armadale to Frematle direct. There is a couple of colvets and bit of things. Surpisingly a large amount of warehouses in Bibra lake and Jandakot still havebits of railway in them. Also for you gaming side, if you are in Armadale, take a visit to the Armadale Retile Center, you will find a little puple dragon surprise. Not sure how how my purple boy is going but I did build him.
Very interesting video Brendan. I’m a Melbournian but enjoy learning about the Perth history with your videos.
Mate - I love your work. Very informative and a nice, laid back style
Great video. I knew about the railway line to the racecourse and always look for some evidence when I bike passed there on some of my morning cycles. It’s seems I was actually looking in the right place but I never noticed the remains on the riverbank. Anyway, really good to watch. Keep it up mate! 👍🏻
Really enjoying your channel!
Thanks mate!
Loved seeing "Maylands Airport" on the old map. 🙂🙂🙂
They would've been the days ...
The hangers are still there. The whole complex is now a police facility
New sub... enjoyed the video... You provide the information in a very easy to follow and understand format.
Really interesting content! Very happy to have found you. Looking forward to seeing more. Keep up the good work. 👍
Great to see these videos. I think it's a pity that WA has lost so much rail infrastructure I hope you get to do some videos of the Kep track, there's a beautiful brick bridge out Wooroloo way on Werribee rd between Rahnie Rd and Allen St.
Any chance you coule share coordinates on Google Maps? I can't quite spot it.
@@brendansodyssey maps.app.goo.gl/qytB4LxDFNNqxAFX8 Hope this works, there's nowhere to park so might be a bit of a hike but the brickwork is worth it
Great videos mate! Keep em coming. Didn't even know about this spur before but my father remembers.
Love to see a future video on the old kilns. My father and grandfather both worked there when they were operating and could give you some snippets of info.
I currently work on the overhead electrical lines in Perth rail so love the rail history.
Damm disgrace to see rail history wiped out like this,but all our others cities have done the same thing.disgrace.great video too.
Great video! Train content from Australia is a welcome diversion. Very curious to know what that little house is.
Really interesting Brendan. I went looking for the remains of that bridge once …. You got way further than me! My interest is in the Aboriginal History of Perth … of course very often these cross paths. There were a number of Aboriginal camps along the railway beyond Bayswater station.
The little house on Gt Eastern Highway (as you probably know) started life as an advert for bricks … I forget which company.
I love the old kilns. Once as we drove past … when my son was a little boy and had been studying Ancient Egypt at school, he asked whether kings were buried there. So from then on the kilns were ‘The Kings’ :)
midland bricks
Great content Brendan, found your channel while researching the Belmont line... in Brisbane. Keep up the good work.
Great video!
Great to see that you're back 😊 I'd only just found your channel and obsessively binged all of your awesome footage only to realise the videos had stopped. I was pleasantly surprised to get a notification letting me know to watch your latest.
I look forward to trying to locate some of the areas that you highlighted. Great footage and historical info.
Cheers Ayen
Have you even metal detected around the Clackline refractory? I was there years ago (just taking photos, not filming) and there was a guy there with a metal detector. It seemed like he was having some luck too, although I can't remember the specifics.
@brendansodyssey Hi, no, I haven't, but thanks for the tip. I'll research the area. I'm still new to the researching side of detecting, so I'm always happy to learn of areas to check out
I love the video. So cool to learn more about my home city
Lived in Keymer st. in the 60's played on the old siding there was a creek that ran down to the river along where the old line was.
I believe that the same creek is still there but you can't really see it in the video. It didn’t look too healthy, unfortunately.
There was a Belmont branch line in Newcastle NSW. It closed in the 1980’s and has been made into a cycle path for the whole length, with a new section to be opened to Swansea. The line was built for the coal mines at Dudley and Redhead, plenty of infrastructure to see, and a great ride!
this is wa
Brendan, I'm wondering if that little brick house might have once been built by Bristile. They used to build little houses like that years ago (1960s) to advertise their products.
Hmm was not expecting this to be about Perth and was delighted when I clicked and it was. Its a shame they decommissioned this spur as I have always felt that transport in that area could be improved with a spur and didn't realise one existed... Very interesting :)
When I saw Belmont I thought it was the railway(tramway) from Norman PK to Belmont in Brisbane Qld
i enjoyed this. ive got some suggestions for lost railways. armadale to freo. it followed armadale road then forrest road. the weston langford site has some photos of it. or how about the timber tramway from the darling ranges along bickley road to the canning river. or the railway from freo to rockingham and woodman point.
love vids mate finly some wone shoing off the history of perth have you look at the amobunkers in woodmints point
I remember the Kiln chimneys over on the other side,Maylands.And an old Hangar,i found out the main airport for Perth was located there but couldn't see it on your maps.
Hey mate that area that’s vacant is the old Bayswater tip they are unable to build houses ontop of it due to ground pollution levels
Good detective work 🔍 Quite interesting.
I'm supposed to be studying... now I'm procrastinating thx lol...
If you cross Goongoongup Bridge (between East Perth and Burswood) and look down into the river, just south of the bridge is the foundations of what appears to be an earlier bridge. In good conditions you can see that the foundations stretch some way across the river, and may be why the 'navigable' section under the Goongoongup Bridge and Windan Bridge is close up to the western bank. This may be the bridge across the river shown on your map at ~15:10 into your video, but that appears to be farther north than this. I've often wondered when this bridge was around, and was it just demolished when the Graham Farmer Freeway was built.
It's probably this: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunbury_Bridge
the Ascot Water Playground is also nearby all that other Ascot/Belmont history, I wish there was something left of it now but I'm pretty sure only the carpark remains
Not much at all these days, I had a walk through the site about 6 months ago. Some of it has been developed for housing. Here are some photos I took when it looked a bit more interesting: breakingintotheindustry.blogspot.com/2014/06/abandoned-ascot-water-playground.html
Yeah, we used to take our kids there in the early 90's - time sure flies ... 🫤🫤
Great interesting video, thanks:) I think I had seen old footage where old steam engines had been buried somewhere between Bayswater and Ashfield stations? Be interesting to know and if you had time, to see if they could still be there buried there, or maybe were later removed for scrap and for all the developments. With our sandy soil, maybe they still be there and not too rusted :)
I know they were scrapped, unsure about the burials.
Wow dude, you found the algorithm!
Fyi whatley is pronounced like you say what ..what lee.good research 👍
Thanks, that's an interesting video. Do you have any plans for a video about the old zig-zag line to Kalamunda?
Yes, and in the meantime check out my video on Statham's Quarry. That was linked to the zig-zag by a spur line.
There was also a line direct from Armadale to just south of Fremantle. I wonder if that's worth a bike ride?
~smiles~
the elevated track embankment was the in the late 60 plus the remains of the concrete parts of the bridge
It was for Bristile.
Maybe EC on the map meant Electrical connection for things like signalling information from a signal box nearby
Checks out
It's probably Electrical Cabinet
E C in the old days was Earth Closet or what we call the outside dunny or Toilet. Used for the male workers and or public mainly
The cross section diagram near bottom of plan shows the section through the station with the two platforms of 10ft 9 wide with a row of sleepers forming the front face of the platform and level with top of rail.
@@kenedge Yes. It's the non-water (maybe a "long-drop") version of the W.C.
Really curious to know more about those Ascot kilns..
They've been restoring them for quite a while now. I plan to make a video once they're done.
Pretty sure it’s an old brick works
cool, where do you get those old aerial photos?
Landgate Map Viewer
EC = Electrical Cabinet?
Fun Fact: I am as old as electric trains in Perth !!!
Shame the line isn't there. This section of Perth could do with a heavy rail line.
Isn’t Western Australia lightly populated?
11:40 - classic Perth driver in the right lane
classic old person thinking he can do whatever he wants lol
Watley? It’s what ley…. Do you say wat is this that ?
🤦♀️🤦♀️ it’s not just the English that race horses.
What was up with that guy?? I guess its ironic. Cyclists cause that to cars. Still bit rude.
He did have headphones in, but I'm surprised he didn't spot a 6.2 foot guy on a bike in his periphery. Just focused on the walk ahead, I guess.
Awesome video! I imagine it's "wotlee" like Whatley Cr is pronounced
It's disgraceful that so much of our passed moments in time historical buildings sites have been lost due to bad records etc from government and industries.
It's very nice 😅