Fremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia

The Leighton rail-freight marshalling yard

As a follow up to yesterday's essay on Leighton Beach, today I'm including some material of the adjacent and now redundant Leighton rail freight marshalling yard.

Probably ever since there has been trains in the Perth metropolitan area there has been facilities for freight trains near the port. In the 1950s when I was a kid the trains could be diverted onto both the Fremantle wharves. As kids we rode our bikes anywhere almost with impunity. Those freedoms have well and truly gone.

There was a freight line junction in North Fremantle which also serviced the oil terminals. I can remember seeing the steam trains and relatively small fuel wagons which must have delivered petrol and diesel to many rural locations via the narrow gauge rail network.

The Leighton marshalling yard was developed in the late 1950s to early 1960s. It was a huge rail complex stretching along the coast from North Fremantle to Mosman Park. Its establishment coincided with the completion of the standard gauge railway line from the eastern states. It quickly became very busy. The steam trains vanished to be replaced by diesel electric locomotives.

The Fremantle to Perth passenger line had its diesels too. They seemed very modern at the time, but gradually became smokier and dirtier. Now the passenger line is electrified and the rolling stock looks very fresh and modern too, despite the concerted efforts of the graffiti vandals.

The freight yard has now become redundant. Superseded I suspect by the more efficient container handling facilities on the North Wharf and the dominance of foreign motor vehicle imports by ship. One of the common sites in the Leighton marshalling yard in the 1960s and 70s was long trains, each carrying hundreds of cars manufactured in Australian factories in the eastern states. The wagons would be shunted into the northern end of the yard for eventual unloading.

The first picture I've put up today is one I took last week from a pedestrian bridge built to allow public access from Stirling Highway and Leighton Station to the nearby beach. The bridge is still open, but the trains no longer stop at Leighton. Instead beachgoers alight at North Fremantle for an 800 metre trudge to the ocean. It was taken facing in a southwesterly direction. There is an electric passenger train heading towards Perth. In the background is a white factory which is the Dingo Flour Mill. In the far distance is the suburb of East Fremantle. The Swan River which is in between, lies hidden.

The second photo is from the same position, but taken in the opposite direction. The same passenger train is approaching the northern perimeter of the now redundant freight junction/marshalling yard. The next station is Mosman Park, about a kilometre further on. In the foreground piles of stone track ballast can be seen. This is reserved for maintenance of operational lines. Passengers have a splendid view of the Indian Ocean and Rottnest Island along the stretch from North Fremantle.

The third photo is of the redundant traffic control facility or signal box for the Leighton marshalling yard. I've tagged it as a heritage structure, but in the past there has been a ruthless lack of consideration for preserving many much more interesting railway buildings than this one, so I suspect its days are numbered. The western end of the freight yard has already been redeveloped for urban housing, and I'm sure it won't be long before something similar happens to the northern end.

The fourth photo is of another redundant feature which is probably also doomed to eradication. It's the entrance to an access tunnel which allowed railway workers to safely get across to the signal box shown in the previous image. The graffiti is a sign of the times. Railway facilities, both old and brand new have been a major target of vandals.

The fifth and final image is of the last remaining light tower which illuminated the marshalling yard. I think there were three in total. They were a conspicuous glaring feature of the Fremantle night sky for decades. I have an idea that they have occasionally been mentioned by US astronauts. The lights have been removed from this last tower. I expect that it will eventually be dismantled and sent to China as scrap.

© MMVIII Paul R. Weaver.

When there are multiple image links in my essays, it might be easier to simply go direct to the cache at my Panoramio website. All the images there can be enlarged even more by clicking them.

About the writer

Click here to see our backyard.

Check out each month's subject index on the Calendar Page for my "common-man" monologues about survival in 21st century Australia – plus a little history occasionally. An original essay is added most days as part of an undertaking to write at least couple of million words. Zzzzzzzz!

Advertisement