Normanton Railway Station

Great tourist attraction with various ride options

The railway complex at Normanton consists of the major buildings of an important inland railway terminus of the Normanton to Croydon railway line connecting the port of Normanton with the goldfield at Croydon.A railway line between Normanton and Cloncurry had been discussed as early as 1883 and was approved by Queensland Parliament in 1886. This was a difficult stretch for carriers and a rail link would have been valuable to pastoral stations in the area and would also have served the Cloncurry Copper Mine. It was at the time intended to eventually link the new line with the Great Northern Railway connecting Charters Towers and the important port of Townsville. However, in November 1885 a major gold strike was reported at Belmore Station, 145 km east of Normanton and by the end of 1886 the population of the Croydon field was 2000 and 6000 in the following year. Transportation was a major problem and access to this field became more important than the link to Cloncurry. It was decided to divert the line to Croydon. Tenders were called in July 1887 and the first section to Haydon began in May 1888. The work was designed and supervised by George Phillips and this section opened on 7 May 1889. The current route of the line was finalised in 1889 and reached Croydon on 7 July 1891, opening on the 20 July.In 1867 Phillips had taken part in the exploration of the country around Normanton with William Landsborough, working for him a surveyor. Soon afterwards, he surveyed the area chosen as a port to become the town of Normanton. The country was difficult for conventional railway tracks due to flooding, lack of suitable timber and voracious termites. In 1884 Phillips patented a system for taking railways across such country which utilised special U section steel sleepers laid directly on the ground. During floods the line could be submerged without washing out the ballast and embankments normally used, so that it could quickly be put back into service when the waters subsided. The steel sleepers were also impervious to termite attack, and although initially more expensive than timber sleepers, were cheaper to lay and maintain. It was this system that was specified for the Normanton to Croydon line and Phillips was engaged to supervise the construction. After the railway was completed he maintained an interest in the area, serving as Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Carpentaria, inspecting artesian bores and writing a report on ports and railways in 1909.The station building and carriage shade were designed under Phillips direction by James Gartside, a draftsman for the department. and were built about 1889. The line was opened in 1891. At its peak, the complex at Normanton consisted of a station building containing a telegraph office, station master's and traffic manager's offices, clerks' room, waiting room, parcels and cloak room, booking office, and a ladies' room with a ramp to ladies-only earth closets. Attached to the station building, and sheltering the platform and three tracks, was an arcaded carriage shade with a curved roof .The terminus also had a large goods shed with a crane and because the line was isolated, a workshop area comprising a maintenance store, suspense stores, a timber shed, tanks, locomotive store, fitting shop, carpenter's and blacksmith's shops, timber shed, gantry and engine shed.. There was also a horse and carriage dock, porters' and lamp rooms, closets, and a tool house nearby. Residences for the station master, enginemen and guard were located south-east of Landsborough St. The traffic manager's house and stables adjoined where the wharf line departed for the Margaret and Jane landing on the Norman River.

Gulflander is a nice little train didn't take a ride this time. If you do take a ride in the second carriage, it has a great old leather smell. The station has a lot of interesting memorabilia well worth time spent there

Did a ride on the RM60. It was fun. 45 minute ride with a too speed of 45km. Young & old loved it.

Had a fabulous day on the Gulflander travelling from Normanton to Croydon.Well done the Staff of the Gulflander !

This is a must visit. The Gulflander is excellent and well worth riding. The staff are very helpful and will show you around the whole site including inside the workshop.This is the main reason for visiting normanton. I have wanted to visit the gulflander for 20 years.

Loved this little gem Normanton Gulflander railway station museum packed with local and railway items and freindly staff only to happy to help with information and the Grandchildren lover the steam engine at the entrance.

Very informative museum about the local history of the railway, in particular the Gulflander. A self guided visit with 15 plaques of information to read.

Called in to have a look. Very nice lady called Ann showed us around the station and other trains.Unexpected so thank you. We really enjoyed it.