FORMER BEAUFORT STATION MASTER’S RESIDENCE
24 PRATT STREET BEAUFORT, PYRENEES SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
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FORMER BEAUFORT STATION MASTER’S RESIDENCE - History
Beaufort Railway Station was constructed in 1874 to be included on the North Ballarat junction line which terminated at Beaufort. An extension to the line was constructed in 1875 to Ararat. The station was closed in 1994 before being rebuilt in 2004 and brought back into service as a commuter line between Ararat and Ballarat. Between the lines opening and the original decommissioning of the station, a number of features of the original train station have been removed, including a turntable.
The Ararat line was established as a steam locomotive line, and remained serviced by steam locomotives for approximately a century. The Victorian fleet of locomotives reached their peak in 1918 with 817 steam locomotives. Diesel locomotives were introduced in the early 1950s, which lead to the gradual retiring of all steam locomotive engines from service. By 1965 there were 220 steam locomotives operated by VicRail. The last two steam locomotives were withdrawn from regular service in April 1972.FORMER BEAUFORT STATION MASTER’S RESIDENCE - Interpretation of Site
Ash pits (otherwise known as de-ashing pits) were located at train stations in order to collect ashes which have been cleaned from locomotives fireboxes. Ash pits tend to be located within locomotive sheds where locomotives return for cleaning or dropping of fire. They can also be located at stations in places where the locomotives collected water for de-ashing. Typical ash pits were to be rectangular in shape and be as long as required for the particular locomotive to remove the ash. Figure 3 1 is an example of an ash pit in use in the United States, form and function did not vary significantly between countries. De-ashing involved clearing the fire grate and smoke box to clear all the ash from the grate into the pits. At this time any fuel still burning in the firebox was removed and thrown by the side of the track to cool (known as fire dropping). The still burning coals may have been placed into a small wagon or extra pit to the side of the track. It is typical that locomotives were de-ashed at the end of a day, before they were cleaned and returned to service for the next day. In addition to the ash pits, a number of other demolished features were identified within a 1923 plan of Beaufort Station. This plan shows the location of the turntable, which would have been associated with the station when it was situated at the end of the line from Melbourne. Additional features associated with the use of Beaufort Station have also been recorded. A construction date for the Station Master’s Residence is not known. It may be associated with the original construction of the Station in the 1870s. If this is the case, there is potential for the remains (if they are present) to contain additional information of what it was like to live within a station in rural Victoria. The location of additional features such as the turntable, while important to understanding the layout of the site, can be discerned from plans. Additional ad-hoc feature may be present at the site, such as work shed constructed from wood or galvanised iron, but the ephemeral nature of these structures would likely suggest archaeological signature is low or shallow.
Heritage Inventory Description
FORMER BEAUFORT STATION MASTER’S RESIDENCE - Heritage Inventory Description
Standing and demolished buildings and features associated with Beaufort Rail Station. The site consists of two ash pits which are located in the vicinity of Beaufort Station • Pit 1: 6 metres from the UP end (Melbourne end) of the platform, in the centre of the track. • Pit 2 – 6.8 metres from the DOWN end (Ararat end) of the platform, in the centre of the track. The ashpits have been removed to their base course. The following features have been identified from historical plans: no on site investigation has been conducted to confirm or deny their potential retention at the site: • Turntable • Station Master’s residence, • Cart dock • Loading platform and platform deck • Sheds • Crane and tank locations
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