Stawell

The next two stations after Horsham are Murtoa; (another major grain receiving station), and Stawell. Stawell was/is a gold mining town, and this is reflected in the impressive brick station that use to serve the town. Associated with the main building is a small brick goods shed. There use to be two impressive signal boxes and had a nice set of operating road crossing gates: now all gone.

The rather unloved brick goods shed at Stawell.

 

 

I have a nice set of photos taken in the 1980's on slides. Will post later.

Tale of a mill

There was more to Horsham station than just the railway infrastructure. At the western end of the yard are the remains of the Noske Flour mill complex. Part of this is currently now used as a furniture factory. The mill, built in 1873, was purchased by T.J Noske, in 1895, when the Union mill collapsed financially;  founding the flour-milling firm of Noske Bros. Ptv. Ltd. in Horsham, then establishing mills at Nhill, Charlton and Murray Bridge (S.A .).
In 1907 a new brick mill was built to replace the old galvanized iron building. This building was added to, by the building a another story when the mill machinery was upgraded during the 1920's. This part of the mill has since been demolished. Photographic evidence shows the building standing in 1985 but gone by the early 1990's.
In 1919 a 125000 bushel silo was constructed, and it was probably around this time the mill was extended with a concrete and brick addition, which survives today.

 

Broad gauge track leading into mill complex.

125000 bushel silo north of the mill.

From a railway point of view, siding three and four connected  to serve the mill. The track remains in the road and into the mill complex. This was later altered, with siding three been lengthened to run down the side of the mill, with siding four leading to the mill,  now being crossed the new siding number six and oil siding number seven.

Mill remains from the rail side.