The railway reached Echuca in 1864 and transformed the town into a major river port, with a famous wharf and substantial urban growth in the 1870s. In 1876 the Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company opened its 71 km (44 mi) private railway northwards to Barnes and Deniliquin, and the line at Echuca was extended across the Murray River into Moama to join the railway. This section was taken over by Victorian Railways in 1923, as part of the 1922 Border Railways Act. Barnes station was closed in 1979. Deniliquin railway line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deniliquin_railway_lineDigital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP3 black and white negative transparencybarnes railway station, echuca, george coop collection, moama

The railway reached Echuca in 1864 and transformed the town into a major river port, with a famous wharf and substantial urban growth in the 1870s. In 1876 the Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company opened its 71 km (44 mi) private railway northwards to Barnes and Deniliquin, and the line at Echuca was extended across the Murray River into Moama to join the railway. This section was taken over by Victorian Railways in 1923, as part of the 1922 Border Railways Act. Barnes station was closed in 1979. Deniliquin railway line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deniliquin_railway_lineDigital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP3 black and white negative transparencybarnes railway station, echuca, george coop collection, moama

Barnes station building photographed in November 1962. The railway reached Echuca in 1864 and transformed the town into a major river port, with a famous wharf and substantial urban growth in the 1870s. In 1876 the Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company opened its 71 km (44 mi) private railway northwards to Barnes and Deniliquin, and the line at Echuca was extended across the Murray River into Moama to join the railway. This section was taken over by Victorian Railways in 1923, as part of the 1922 Border Railways Act. Barnes station was closed in 1979. Deniliquin railway line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deniliquin_railway_lineDigital TIFF file Scan of 35mm Ilford FP3 black and white negative transparencybarnes railway station, echuca, george coop collection, moama

THE RIVER PORT OF REDBANK During the 1870s, Red Bank would have been one of the busiest ports on the Murray River. When the railway line was being built from Melbourne to Wodonga all the railway material was brought up river from Echuca by paddle steamer and barge and unloaded at Red Bank. The material was loaded onto horse teams or bullock wagons and taken along the route of the spur line. During the 187 MacCulloch & Co. handled 3000 tons of railway material here' The port was operational from approximately 1870 until 1874. THE FIG TREES The fig trees and a small bank of gravel are the only visible reminders of where the spur line from the wharf at Red Bank met the main line. It was at this point that all the material for the mainline was transferred from the small locomotives and wagons from Red Bank. It would have been carried by bullock wagons and horse teams and unloaded at different places as the line progressed. After the line was completed in 1873 the fettlers from Wodonga would patrol this length of the line.These images are significant because they document an important stage in the development of transportation in North East Victoria.Images of the River Port of Red bank near Wodonga on the Murray River. 1. The wharf 2. All that remainsred bank port, historic wharf wodonga, river transport

The A2 class was an express passenger locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1907 to 1963. The 996 arrived at the Port of Echuca in 1968 from Newport and was donated to the City of Echuca by the Echuca Lions Club & the Rotary Club who had purchased it for 1250 pounds. the A2 996 is displayed at the Echuca Wharf Railway Siding.A2 996 is one of the later batch of sixty A2 class express passenger locomotives built with superheating and other design enhancements including Walschaerts valve gear. it was constructed at Newport Workshops in 1916 and was among the last few A2 class remaining in service when taken off register by the Victorian Railways in November 1963. Steam Locomotive made of steel & wrought iron with black livery. Front- A2 996 /. Rear - 996a2 locomotive, echuca lions club/rotary club, wharf, echuca loco shed, shire of campaspe, newport workshop, rollingstock collection, steam trains

Built in 1866 in Echuca, the PS Adelaide is the oldest wooden hulled paddle steamer still operating as a passenger vessel in the world. Engines made in Melbourne by Fulton and Shaw. JG Grassie was the original owner who was looking for a wool carrying boat as a commercial venture with the arrival of the rail at the Port of Echuca making the future look bright. Seutonius and Charles Officer of Murray Downs Station joined Grassie in financing the venture and they used the boat for 6 years before David Blair and partners (Echuca sawmillers) bought the Adelaide in July of 1872 and she began her long working life as a logging boat providing a shuttle service between the forests around Barmah and the mill, usually towing up to 3 or 4 barges. The paddle boxes were rebuilt from round to a square configuration in approximately 1924 by Charles Felshaw, local Echuca shipwright. The Adelaide had unusual strength for her size. Her career ended in the mid 1950s where she lay idle tied up near the mill at Echuca wharf. For a short time she was sold to Mildura but fortunately the Apex Club raised funds to buy her back to be a reminder of the riverboat days at the Port. She was lifted out for safekeeping into Hopwood Gardens where she remained on show for nearly 25 years. After restoration by Port shipwright Keven Hutchinson OAM, she returned to the waters of the Murray River on Sunday March 4th 1984 at 5.20pm. After further restoration, in 1985 the Prince and Princess of Wales re-commissioned PS ADELAIDE in a ceremony on their tour of the region. The world's oldest wooden hulled paddle steamer still operating as a passenger vessel today built in Echuca in 1866. It is often considered the flagship of the operational fleet of the Port of Echuca given its age and known provenance to Echuca. The Adelaide is an iconic symbol of the riverboat timber and cargo trade that worked on the Murray River from the mid 1800s. Remarkably, PS ADELAIDE still operates with its original Fulton and Shaw engines.Composite hull, side wheeler with two single cylinder steam engines, producing a total of 36hp. Currently cream and burgundy moored at the Echuca Wharf. 49 passenger capacity.P.S. Adelaide signage on wheelhouse and port and starboard bow.p.s. adelaide, paddle steamers, echuca boat builders, charles felshaw