Glenreagh West Station

The passenger station presently being erected at Glenreagh West started life in 1915 as Moorland Station, on the then North Coast branch line (at that time, the min line to Brisbane was via the Main North line via Wallangarra).

This view is of the station while it was in use. When the station was closed, as were a number on the North Coast, the building was relocated to a property nearby, and stood there for many years.

By chance, when the RTA designed the Moorland bypass section of the Pacific Highway, this building was in the path of the proposed road. As the building had been heritage listed, the RTA was obliged to relocate the building to another location where it would be preserved as a heritage structure. The RTA donated the building to Glenreagh Mountain Railway, and provided the funds for its relocation to our site at Glenreagh West, and also for its restoration.

 During the heritage assessment, Railcorp produced the Statement of Cultural Significance reproduced below. PArt of the restoration process involved the appointment of heritage architects, who oversaw the reconstruction at Glenreagh West, including specification of the paint colours to be used in that restoration.

Once the contract has been done with the RTA, several members armed with various trailers and tools descended on the building in Moorland, and removed ,any small parts for relocation to Glenreagh West, as well as generally making the major part of the building ready for travel. At the same time, temporary footings were prepared at Glenreagh West to allow the building to be unloaded in its final position. It had been decided that the building was to perform as the centrepiece of the public passenger facilities, and as such, it was decided to allow for the construction of a platform, at standard platform height, to service a future loop to be added to the track at Glenreagh West. Once all the preparatory work had been carried out, a house mover wan contracted to relocate the major part of the building to Glenreagh West.

The building arriving at Glenreagh West	The building being unloaded	The building being unloaded	The building on its temporary footings	The building on its temporary footings

Once the building was in place on its temporary footings, a dedicated team of volunteers descended on it to firstly, jack it up to its final height, build the permanent footings, and commence restoration. The restoration involved replacement of some timber that was too rotten to restore, and preparing and repainting all external and internal surfaces.

As part of the integration of the station building into our passenger facilities, a number of other structures are required, such as an access steps and ramp to allow wheelchair access, and, of course, a platform. The latter is well in hand, using modern materials with a steel structure and concrete slab surface. At the time of writing, the first stage of this platform has been constructed, apart from the concrete slab, and the progress of these works is shown in the accompanying photographs:-

On Thursday, 12th February, the concrete platform was poured successfully. This job has made an enormous difference to the overall feel of the development, and the following pictures tell the story:

On Thursday, 26th Feb, Ron and his crew commences the erection of the fencing around the platform, and the access steps. These are vital in allowing the station to open as a "mini museum" prior to our regaining of accreditation, and the recommencement of operations. The following photos show the progress so far:

The view as will be seen by and arriving visitor	The train drivers view