Wallangarra railway station was on the only railway route between
Main Northern line. Wallangarra was the terminating point for the Sydney Mail, with passengers transferring to the Brisbane Limited for the remainder of the journey to Sydney.[2][3] In 1930 New South Wales's North Coast line from Sydney to Brisbane was completed; as it used only standard gauge for the whole route, it was a more efficient route than travelling via Wallangarra, leading to the decline of Wallangarra station. However, Wallangarra continued to be served by passenger trains until the services from Brisbane and Sydney were truncated at Toowoomba and Tenterfield respectively on 1 February 1972.[4]
History
Wallangarra railway station opened on 14 February 1887, when the Queensland Railway's 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Southern line was extended from
break-of-gauge, the Wallangarra railway station was built astride the state border with a single island platform with one building, with the western side for by the narrow gauge line from Queensland and the eastern side by the standard gauge line from New South Wales. Each side of the building sported the awnings and signage of Queensland Railways and New South Wales Railways respectively. Even though the two lines shared a common station at Wallangarra (which sits astride the border), the New South Wales side of the station was initially named Jennings after the town on the New South Wales side of the border but ultimately became known as Wallangarra.[6] Temporary buildings were first erected with the permanent buildings being erected from 1887 to 1890.[1]
The first section of Queensland's Southern and
Main Range section of the railway. Further westward extension of the Western line from Ipswich to Dalby was completed in 1868.[1]
The Southern line serving the southern part of the Darling Downs to
Gowrie railway station, and running south via Westbrook, to save on construction costs.[1]
The discovery of tin south of Warwick at Stannum Creek, and around present day Stanthorpe, in 1871 encourages a rush of miners to the area. The first agitation for an extension came from miners and people on the tin fields wanting closer communication with Brisbane and its port. A large amount of goods was also transported over the inter-colonial border and shipped from Northern New South Wales, whilst ore was also treated at a special smelter built in Brisbane. It was hoped that railway connections with Brisbane would secure this traffic for Queensland.[1]
A trial survey undertaken from Warwick to Stanthorpe in 1873 identified difficulties that would be experienced in construction of a railway line through the Granite Belt, the cost of which prevented any action being taken. Two more surveys were completed in 1876 and 1877, and importantly these surveys continued beyond Stanthorpe through to the Queensland/New South Wales border. Construction from Warwick to Stanthorpe was approved in August 1877. The section from Warwick to Stanthorpe was divided into two sections and work commenced in 1878 being completed in 1881.[1]
In March 1878, Queensland railway engineer
New South Wales Government over a suitable route for a future railway interconnection between the two states. At that time, there were plans to extend the NSW railway to Tenterfield, so they agreed a route that followed the old Ballandean road from Stanthorpe to Tenterfield with a border crossing point at (what would subsequently become) Wallangarra.[7] In May 1878, Queensland surveyor George Phillips and New South Wales surveyor Mr Francis agreed the best place for the two railways to meet was at the border at the location that is now Wallangarra.[8]
In 1884, after confirming the border crossing location with the New South Wales Government, the Queensland Parliament approved plans for extension of the line southwards from Stanthorpe to the Queensland-New South Wales border via Ballandean.[8] In August 1884, Queensland's chief railway engineer Stanley travelled to Sydney to meet with the New South Wales authorities having prepared designs for the railway station on the border that would meet the need of both colonies. Recognising that the Queensland railway extension towards the border was more advanced than the New South Wales extension, it was agreed that Queensland should construct the border railway station and that New South Wales would contribute to the cost.[8]
In April 1885, the Queensland Government awarded the contract for the 25 miles 19 chains (40.6 km) extension of the railway to the border to the railway contractors George Bashford and Company for £140,885/8/2, with an expected completion date of June 1887.[9] In May 1885, the Queensland Government announced the sale of land in the new border township of Wallangarra, with 179 town lots to be auctioned at a starting price of £8 per acre.[10] On 29 June 1885, the sale of the land was an "extraordinary success" with all lots sold for prices ranging from £26 to £131 per lot (about £500 per acre).[11]
In February 1886, Queensland provided New South Wales with the detailed plans costing £28,000 for the railway station at Wallangarra, but in March 1886 New South Wales declared the cost too expensive. The New South Wales Premier, Patrick Jennings, then proposed that Tenterfield rather than Wallangarra should be the meeting point and break-of-gauge for the two railways.[8] There was considerable support for the Tenterfield proposal in New South Wales, mostly arguing that Tenterfield was an established town whereas Wallangarra was, in the words of New South Wales Premier Henry Parkes, "nothing but a desolate wilderness".[12] Even within Queensland, there was support for Tenterfield with the Brisbane Chamber of Commerce arguing that a Tenterfield break-of-gauge would open up new markets for Queensland in northern New South Wales (as the transhipping cost at Wallangarra would be avoided).[13] In October 1886, the New South Wales railway extension to Tenterfield was opened; only the gap between Wallangarra and Tenterfield remained to be complete and that remained subject to the break-of-gauge dispute.[14]
However, even as the issue of the location of the break-of-gauge was still being hotly debated in the newspapers, the Queensland Government pushed on with constructing the railway according to the original agreements. The Queensland Commissioner for Railways gave instructions on 18 November 1886 for a smaller permanent station to be constructed wholly on the Queensland side of the border at Wallangarra at a cost of £6,000 but with the platform and station yard layout designed to incorporate the eventual extension of the New South Wales standard gauge lines to the border. .[1] On 14 February 1887 the Queensland railway line was opened to the border. On 26 February 1887 the contract for the building of a station master's residence, goods shed, and removal of the carriage and engine sheds from Stanthorpe to Wallangarra was awarded to George Bashford and Company for £2509.[1] In May 1887, Premier Parkes accepted that agreements entered into by his predecessor Jennings had "hopelessly committed" New South Wales to accept Wallangarra as the break-of-gauge location.[15]
The New South Wales government completed its railway line to the Wallangarra station in January 1888, although it did not erect awnings over its platform until 1890. On 17 January 1888, the first Brisbane-to-Sydney service left Brisbane.[16]
The transhipping station and yards of the Wallangarra railway station lead to the creation of two townships on the border, Wallangarra on the Queensland side and Jennings on the New South Wales side. Several years after the railway station was opened linking the two state railway lines, the border township of Wallangarra was described as being of "quite a pretentious appearance consisting of butchers, bakers, blacksmiths and with an aerated water factory".[1]