IN THE days when a train ran to Whittlesea, residents could flag it down in stretches of the semi-rural district, according to railway historian and train driver Robert Aquilina.
Many of the so-called “rail motor stopping places” were simply nameboards beside the railway line at convenient access points.
At rail motor stopping place number 39, near the new South Morang station, there was no platform, and passengers would board from ground level, Mr Aquilina said.
“They would wave to the driver to stop the train, or if they were returning, they would tell the guard when they wanted to get off.”
The nearest station was the old South Morang version – two kilometres along.
Mr Aquilina, 50, was born three years after the line closed but has spent most of his adult life documenting the Whittlesea train line’s history and campaigning for its restoration.
“The rail tracks are still there in all the level crossings in Whittlesea. They are covered with concrete but they are still there,” he said.
Mr Aquilina, who joined the railways 30 years ago, lobbied the state government and transport authorities unsuccessfully in 1989 for a plaque to mark the centenary of the line’s opening.
The self-published book he wrote in 1999, The Whittlesea Railway, sold 3000 copies and is about to be updated. Mr Aquilina, who drove the first train to the South Morang station, gave a public talk on the history of the Whittlesea line at the council offices last week.
He said the state government still owns the land where the track once was. “The government can still put the train back if they want to,” he said.
