Sale
The railway reached Sale on June 1 1877, it was the terminus of the line from then until May 8 1888 when the line to Stratford Junction was opened. Sale was one of the very few dead end stations, on a through line, on the VR and it might be surmised that when built, the line extending past Sale was not envisaged. Trains travelling beyond Sale had to arrive at the dead end station, the loco had to run around its train and then depart in the same direction it had just arrived from. In Nov 1983 the dead end station was abandoned and a new station was bought into use on the through line. The former station site was quickly sold off to developers, the old station building and yards demolished, and a shopping centre built.
ABOVE: Looking east, a pass departs, it could be going to Melbourne or towards Bairnsdale, impossible to tell. circa 1910.
ABOVE: Looking west circa 1910, the buffers would be behind the photographer, the loco shed can be seen above the roof of the CE guards van.
ABOVE: T 403 departs Sale on the Sale to Melbourne leg of the "Gippslander" July 23 1983. (photo courtesy Warren Banfield)
ABOVE: A DERM on an Rail Tourist Association special sits in the carriage dock prior to a trip on the Sale wharf line. June 1982.
ABOVE: View of the interlocked gates photographed from the signalbox, the area where the fertiliser shed is was where the loco depot was, 1983.
BELOW: The same view, 30 years later, in 2016.
ABOVE: The view from a train arriving from Melbourne, the next track over was the line from Stratford and the track next to the Stratford line was the line to the Cattleyards.
ABOVE: T 409 departs old Sale on an enthusiast special. Feb. 22 1969 (photo courtesy Andrew Hennell)
BELOW: The railway from Melbourne crossed the Thompson river about a mile west of Sale station by means of this impressive bridge. This photo was probably taken when the line opened in 1877, although there is no way to be certain.
