The line from Toowoomba reached Warwick in 1871. A magnificent station building dating back to the 1880’s, and was constructed from local sandstone and survives in good condition. Once a busy junction station (for the South Western Line) now overlooks an large and empty yard, which once boasted an elevated signal cabin to control the movements through the yard.
There were two other branches in the vicinity that diverged off the Southern to the north of Warwick, being the Killarney Line which closed in 1964, and the Maryvale line (aka the Via Recta) an uncompleted ‘shortcut’ to Ipswich that closed in 1960.
Warwick station is also the site of an infamous incident in 1917, when the then Prime Minister, Billy Hughes was addressing a crowd. A member of the audience threw an egg at the PM, dislodging his hat. This incident eventually lead to the formation of the Australian Commonwealth Police.
The old locomotive depot site is now occupied by the Southern Downs Steam Railway. Four bays of the original seven bay roundhouse have been rebuilt, including excavating the old pits. The pits were filled in and the buildings demolished in the 1970’s, however SDSR have rebuilt the part roundhouse on the original footings. Some recent images showing the great work being done by the SDSR are included in the Gallery.
Some images from the state library of Queensland are included in the Gallery, and are annotated in accordance with their publishing guidelines.
Australia
