On the Rails Again … With Bill

Filmed at Bill Wellington's scenic property in Seville, east of Melbourne, Australia. This video was actually filmed on March 19th 2025. Bill was the stationmaster at Bayswater Railway Station for 29 years! He then transferred to Croydon Railway Station where he worked until his retirement. The video features Bill and Frank Beckers. Bayswater Railway Station, located on the Belgrave line in Melbourne, Victoria, serves the suburb of Bayswater, about 27 km east of the city center. It opened on December 4, 1889, when the railway extended from Ringwood to Upper Ferntree Gully. Originally named Macaulay after a nearby post office, it was renamed Bayswater in 1894, reflecting the name of Bayswater House, a property owned by James John Miller, which itself was named after his birthplace in London. The station saw significant upgrades over time. In 1957, the line between Bayswater and Lower Ferntree Gully was duplicated, followed by further duplication to Ringwood in 1982, when a ground-level island platform was introduced. Boom barriers were installed at nearby level crossings—Mountain Highway in 1970 and Scoresby Road in 1982. The station handled cement freight services until 1987, when operations moved to Lyndhurst. A train maintenance center and stabling facilities, covering 2,850 m², opened in 1998, replacing Jolimont Yard. That year, the station’s signal panel was decommissioned and control shifted to Ringwood. Bayswater was upgraded to a premium station in 2001. In 2016, a major rebuild transformed it into a below-ground station with an island platform, removing level crossings at Scoresby Road and Mountain Highway for improved safety and traffic flow. This involved excavating massive amounts of soil over a 37-day construction period. Today, the station connects to eight Ventura bus routes and remains a key hub, with a new substation planned to enhance power reliability for the Belgrave and Lilydale lines. Links https://www.google.com/search?client=...