Mt Evelyn

Mt Evelyn. Highest Station on the Warburton Line. The Misnamed Station , This is the site of Mount Evelyn Station which opened as 'Olinda Vale', an Unattended Platform, on 13 November 1901. The name was misleading as the station was the highest point on the Warburton line at 738 feet (225 metres) above sea level. In 1907 the name was changed to 'Evelyn', the prefix Mount being added in 1907., Bringing in the Outside World , The railway brought the outside world to Mt Evelyn. The town became popular as a holiday destination, with guesthouse, camps and holiday shacks. The Age reported in January 1941 that early 2000 people had travelled by train to Mt Evelyn, which was gaining in popularity every year. Jim Renouf recalled, 'We used to love to go down to the station to see the people off the train ... see who's getting off'. Returning visitors packed the station and piled into the trains, laden with sprays of heath and gum-tips., Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh travelled on the Royal Train to Warburton on 6 March 1954. Thousands of people turned out to wave to the royal visitors., In 1962 a train transporting Wirth's Circus could not make the grade up to Mt Evelyn and had to be divided into three sections to continue its journey., The railway also brought tragedy. There were fatal accidents in the station yard in 1902 and 1905. The worst accident along the line occurred on 18 April 1912, when a Melbourne-bound train struck a rail trolley on the Stringybark Bridge, killing four workmen. Collisions occurred at the level crossings on Monbulk Road (1926), York Road (1934) and Birmingham Road (1954)., The Stationmaster's residence (Station House) was built in 1911. Assistant Stationmaster Fitzgerald established a garden, and received an award for beautification of the station in 1912. Stationmaster J.A. Paterson won 1st Prize seven years running (1942-1955) for 'Management, Maintenance and Tree-planting'., During construction et Silvan Reservoir in the 1920s and 1930s, materials were unloaded to a siding at Mt Evelyn station and carried via flying fox to the dam site., The Last Train , The Warburton line was running at a loss by the 1960s. Regular passenger services ceased after 13 December 1964. A nostalgic 'Last Train to Warburton', organised by the Australian Railway Historical Society, ran on 1 August 1965. The Last Train marked the end of an era for Mt Evelyn and other communities in the Yarra Valley., Surviving station relics include part of the original platform wall, a pair of cypresses at the platform entrance, the Station House (Community House), and the reconstructed south end of the platform with cypress trees.