Eagle Farm Railway Loop
No.3 Base Ordnance Depot Loop
- Type
-
Supply facility
- Region
Brisbane City
Soutter Street, Eagle Farm 4009
The Eagle Farm Rail Loop was built for military purposes in 1943 as a limited extension to the Pinkenba line. It provided a rail supply connection to the Allied supply bases that had been established at Meeandah and Pinkenba.
History
Before World War Two, the Meeandah Station was the passenger terminus for the Pinkenba line. Beyond Meeandah the rail line handled only commercial traffic that ran to the Pinkenba wharves. In 1943, a rail loop situated further east of Meeandah Station was built at Eagle Farm by the Queensland Government’s Railways Department for the RAAF. The new track crossed Eagle Farm Road (now Kingsford Smith Drive) necessitating the construction of a level crossing.
The rail loop was built to service the new military supply bases that had been established close to the Pinkenba wharves. In particular, the loop was provided with an extension that led to a dead end that became the siding for the Australian Army’s No.3 Base Ordnance Depot. The loop was also by the US Army Service of Supply that had established a large supply base designated the US Army Meeandah General Depot.
To ensure that there were no delays in loading and unloading of military supplies, a stop signal was provided so that supply trains could shunt during daylight from Whinstanes Station to the rail loop, without the need for rail staff to be placed on an engine.
Source/comments
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