"Bridging the Murray - A Study of the Rail Crossings"
By Steve McNicol & Tony Woodland
Paperback cover 40 pages black/white photos
INTRODUCTION
Why did the Victorian Government, through its railway administrations and Public Works Department, seem to cross the Murray in contrast to the railways in New South Wales?
In the days before Federation each colony had its own laws and trade system. The south western part of NSW produced increasing amounts of wool and crops which were exported through the use of the Murray system, through South Australia as well as Victoria. To get a larger share of this river trade the railways from Victoria crept to the border and often over. In 1876 the Moama and Deniliquin Railway actually crossed the river to establish a trade route that still exists, albeit unused in recent times, for rice and other produce.
By 1885 most of the lines that survive today had already been constructed. The line to Mildura, with a proposed bridge to connect to NSW, the Moama and Deniliquin Railway crossing from Echuca to Deniliquin (built as a private line under an Act of Parliament), and the connection from Wodonga to Albury.