Minto Railway Station
- Weekends and public holidays:
- 1,443,930 (year)
- 3,956 (daily) (Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink)
| Preceding station |  Sydney Trains
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leumeah towards Macarthur
|
Airport & South Line | Ingleburn towards City Circle
| ||
Minto railway station is located on the Main Southern line, serving the Sydney suburb of Minto. It is served by Sydney Trains' T8 Airport & South line services.
History
These days, Minto Railway Station is nothing more than another stop on the timetable much like its adjacent stations of Leumeah (south) and Ingleburn (north). However, this station has a detailed (and busy!) history.
On 29 October 1856, it was announced that the Great Southern Railway was to be extended [single line] from Liverpool to Campbelltown and it was to pass through the Minto Parish. This rail line was subsequently opened 4 May 1858 with stations between Liverpool and Campbelltown yet to be determined.
Progressively, stations began appearing between Liverpool and Campbelltown with Glenfield, and Macquarie Fields having been already added by 1874.
Initially, a temporary platform had been erected next to Campbell Fields for the use of the nearby encamped Volunteer Force on the weekend of 23–25 May 1874 with a service scheduled for the Friday before that weekend. A newspaper report on the activities of that weekend described Campbell Fields as having a "commodious" siding. The Minto Parish was often used as a training ground for the Volunteer force and this platform provided facilities for visitors to alight from Sydney (and elsewhere) to observe the activities. But its future was not guaranteed as the New South Wales parliament debated on its continued existence. In the meantime, the platform was being used by the public at least on an “excursion” basis.
It seems the platform’s future was looking bright as, in October 1876, it was published in the Great Southern Railway timetable as, Campbellfields (although some newspapers, and even government publications, published this name as Campbell Fields) acquiring the name from the nearby property of Dr. William Redfern’s “Campbell Fields”. Initially, the platform was the recipient of three Down services and three Up services (with an additional Up and Down service on Saturdays). Passengers alighting here were to notify the guard of the train at the previous stopping station as this platform only picked up and set down when required. Travel time was approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes from Sydney (via “Parramatta Junction”, Fairfield, and Liverpool).
The future of this railway location received a significant boost when, in 1877, the NSW Parliament Legislative Council stated, "the traffic manager had recommended a new platform and waiting shed for Campbellfields.
By 1882, at some point between February and March, Campbellfields was renamed to Minto. For a period of time, this platform was referred to as “Minto (late Campbell Fields)” in various timetables and government gazettes.
Minto now received four down and four up weekday services with an additional up and down service on Saturdays. Despite additional stops being added to the timetable, travel time from Sydney varied little from the previous 1 hour and 25 minutes.
It seems the platform was important to the community with an 1883 article in the Campbelltown Herald focusing on the duties of the Traffic Inspector at the station where they more than earned, “a fair day’s work for a far day’s wage.” At the time, Minto received goods from the surrounding area such as firewood, and was an offloading point for cement.
The importance of the platform to the community continued to grow and in 1885, a Post Office was established. It was noted at the time that farmers in the vicinity "find the platform very convenient for forwarding their produce".
On 2 December 1890, the NSW Department of Railways issued a tender for "Erection and completion of Waiting Sheds (wood) at Glenfield, Macquarie Fields, Ingleburn, Minto, Leumeah, on the Great Southern Line.". This tender was subsequently won by Le Breton & Son 30 December 1890.
By June 1891, the line between Liverpool and Campbelltown had been duplicated (with some exceptions). It is not clear if Minto possessed a second platform at this time or if it was to receive one at a later date as, “At Glenfield, Macquarie Fields, Ingleburn and Leumeah there will be a second platform, but no other alterations or additions of importance are to be made.” There are indications there were multiple platforms by at least 1895. It is unclear when Minto started to be referred to as a “station” although by 1884 this term was occasionally attributed to the structure.
Throughout the 1890s, Minto continued to be the scene of goods loading (such as firewood, potatoes, mushrooms, lucerne/hay, block wood, fruit, sheep, cattle, and milk) from the surrounding area and transported to Redfern markets for sale. The surround bush provided a large quantity of wood (sourced mainly from along St Andrews Road) such that consignees of goods at the station were complaining of their ability to access their goods from the shed. Adjoining the goods yard was, "an enormous [sawmill] and every day two or three trucks of block wood were consigned to the city market."
In the morning, the goods train locally known as the "Minto Truck", would arrive from Sydney, be unloaded, and the trucks shunted off to the siding. Fruit, when in season, would then be loaded into the trucks for collection later in the day. The milk train from Picton (also known as "Milk Pot") would arrive and be loaded with milk cans from the local area. As many as 40 carts would, "back up to unload milk and some had to pull out to let late arrivals unload." These milk cans were, "all consigned through to Sydney for the Dairy Farmers and Fresh Food & Ice Companies."
On 23 January 1902, government announced that land was to be acquired for the construction of a gatehouse on the eastern side of the railway line along Minto Road as well as an expansion of the rail yard. Additionally, the government awarded tenders for the construction of the gatekeeper’s cottage.
Due to the increasing population of the area, in 1903, a movement began to relocate the Post Office from the station to somewhere more accessible while also avoiding the need for people to cross the rail line. The majority of the population, at the time, was located on the eastern side of the railway line.
Meeting minutes from the Minto Progress Committee indicates there being a Goods Shed at the station. The Committee resolved to ask the railway commissioners for a weighing machine and the raising of the milk cart stand.
In 1905, Minto station witnessed the start of a conflagration that allegedly began from a spark from a railway engine and “spread with great rapidity, and covered some miles of country in its course”
Newspaper articles indicate that the rate of firewood stored at the station did not decline over the previous years. And with Minto station being no stranger to it, on 12 September 1907, a fire occurred in the sawmill, [again] allegedly started due to a spark from a locomotive located in the railway yard (although an alternate theory is from a "swaggie's" fire). The fire began in a stack of about 150 tons of firewood in the railway yard resulting in over 1500 tons (spread over an acre) of firewood having been burnt. The fire required a locomotive with tanks full of water to assist with controlling the blaze which burned for weeks. The sawmill ceased operations as a result of this fire.
From one extreme to another, during March 1913, Minto railway station was the scene of a washaway as a result of storms hitting the area. A washaway nearly occurred again in March 1914 where, “The water is over the railway at Minto, and there is a possibility of a washaway occurring if the rain continues.”
