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Wimmera River Rail Bridge

Location Wimmera Highway crossing (beside),, QUANTONG VIC 3401 - Property No B6910 File Number B6910 Level State

[1/16] B6910 Wimmera River former 12 [2/16] B6910 Wimmera River former 12 [3/16] B6910 Wimmera River Rail [4/16] B6910 Wimmera River Rail [5/16] B6910 Wimmera River Rail [6/16] B6910 Wimmera River Rail [7/16] B6910 Wimmera River Rail [8/16] B6910 Wimmera River Rail [9/16] B6910 Wimmera River Rail [10/16] B6910 Wimmera River Rail [11/16] B6910 Wimmera River Rail [12/16] B6910 Wimmera River fmr 12 [13/16] B6910 Wimmera River fmr 12 [14/16] B6910 Wimmera River fmr 12 [15/16] B6910 Wimmera River Rail [16/16] B6910 Wimmera River Rail

Statement of Significance

What is significant? The Wimmera River single-track railway bridge at Quantong is the surviving remnant of an earlier much longer eighty-seven span rail-over-river bridge built in 1887, as part of the Horsham-Noradjuha spur line. This line of just under twenty miles in length was authorized under Duncan Gillies' 'Octopus Acts' of 1884, later becoming the Horsham-Goroke-Carpolac line. Some bridge sections were converted to earth embankment in the years after World War 1, leaving three independent timber bridges conforming to the standard Victorian Railways fifteen feet timber-beam design of the original bridge. The bridges were of 29, 12 and 5 spans, and since 1996 the smallest has disappeared entirely and only the piers remain of the 12 span bridge. The remaining bridge has a deck length of 133 metres, the others were of 55 metres and 23 metres. The simple pile and beam structure provided an economic rail-over-river crossing for the largely-seasonal wheat traffic on which the area depended.
This section of the line was closed in 1986.
How is it significant? The Wimmera railway bridge at Quantong, is of historical, technical and aesthetic significance at the State level.
Why is it significant? The Wimmera railway bridge at Quantong is historically significant as the surviving remnant of a much larger eighty-seven span rail-over-river bridge built in 1887, the major engineering feature of this section of railway.
This is the last timber railway bridge to survive intact over the Wimmera River, and the largest intact timber railway bridge surviving in Victoria's north-west.
The Wimmera railway bridge is of historical significance, symbolizing the pioneering past of Victoria's western wheat belt. The western Wimmera could not have been successfully opened up for intensive agriculture without timber-beam bridges providing essential infrastructure for wheat trains to cross country near Noradjuha that was almost impassable to road traffic during wet periods.
The Wimmera railway bridge is of technical significance as the remnant of one much larger rail-over-river bridge at this site, and represents the standard type of Victorian Railways fifteen feet timber-beam structure which was commonly used at major rail-over-river crossings in the late 19th century.
The Wimmera railway bridge is of aesthetic significance. It is in relatively good condition, and readily accessible adjacent to a major highway on public river-side reserve, in an attractive setting over a major river and its floodplain, among spreading river red gum trees.
Classified: 06/07/1998