Historical information

St Albans Railway Station has one of the most layered histories of any suburban station in Melbourne’s west, beginning as a speculative land‑development stop in 1887, rebuilt in 1959 to ease traffic congestion, modernised in 2002, and finally transformed into a below‑ground station in 2016 as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project.

These photographs, taken by The Advocate in 1990, highlighted the ongoing problems faced by the Department of Transport as trains stored overnight at St Albans Station were repeatedly targeted by vandals tagging carriages, breaking windows, slashing seats, and causing other damage. In response, 2.9‑metre‑high security fencing topped with barbed wire, along with high‑powered spotlights, was installed to protect the yard.

Significance

These photographs capture the station when the suburban electrification line ended at the St. Albans Railway Station on the city side of Main Road West and when trains were stored there overnight.

Physical description

Digital scans of black and white negatives

Inscriptions & markings

St. Albans Station 207.2