Geelong Racecourse railway station
Former railway station in Breakwater, Victoria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Geelong Racecourse (sometimes stylised as Geelong Race Course and also known as Breakwater) was a railway station on the Geelong-Warrnambool railway line in the Geelong suburb of Breakwater, Victoria. It was located on a loop siding off the main line and was only used for special events at the nearby Geelong Racecourse.
Geelong Racecourse | |||||||||||
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Southbound view at former station site in April 2026 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Other names | Geelong Showgrounds (1910–1915) | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 38°10′35″S 144°22′05″E | ||||||||||
| Lines | Geelong, Warrnambool | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Status | Closed | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 14 December 1910[1] | ||||||||||
| Closed | 1 March 2011 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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History
In 1910, the Geelong Racing Club, the Geelong Agricultural Society and the Hibernian Society together paid the Victorian Railways £1000 to have the station built. It was first used for the race meeting held on Wednesday 14 December of that year.[1] The new station replaced one on the Queenscliff railway line, which was further from the racecourse.[2] When it first opened, it was known as Geelong Showgrounds.[3] It was renamed Geelong Racecourse in March 1915.[3]
By the start of 1918, an electric staff instrument was provided. In 1942, a dead-end extension at the down end of the station was abolished,[3] and in 1956, the electric staff instrument and a switching facility was abolished.[3] In 1962, all signals at the station were abolished.[3]
By December 2001, the loop was booked out of service, and was only booked back in service once a year, for the Geelong Cup.[3] The last V/Line service to stop there was for the 2005 Geelong Cup.[4] In 2005, the points from the main line were spiked,[5][6] preventing trains from accessing the platform. In May 2007, a small timber hut, which was the only building on the platform, was demolished.[3]
In February 2011, the loop siding was disconnected from the main line, in conjunction with the re-sleepering of the main line.[4] On 1 March of that year, the loop siding was abolished, effectively closing the station.[3]
