This line branches out from Junee on the Main Southern Line. It passes through towns and locations such as Coolamon, Ganmain, Narrandera, Yanco, Whitton and Wilbriggie. The weekly train to Griffith runs via Cootamundra, Junee and Narrandera.

If you have any further information or photos, please email me.

Above: Junee. August 4, 2004.

It is widely accepted that 'Junee' is a Wiradjuri (Aboriginal) word meaning 'speak to me'. Initially known as Junee Junction, it was renamed 'Loftus' in 1883 after the current governor of NSW but was gazetted in 1885 as Junee. In 1878 the railway arrived, though it passed 6 km east of the established village to take advantage of the flatter ground. Junee’s elegant Railway station was built in 1881 in the French Renaissance style under the supervision of John Whitton, Chief Engineer of the NSW government railways, and features a cast-iron entrance verandah. After the opening of the branch line to Hay in 1881, Junee became an important Railway town. Repair facilities from Wagga Wagga moved to Junee in the 1880’s. The locomotive roundhouse contains a giant turntable and 42 repair bays. Construction of the Junee Roundhouse commenced in 1942 and was officially opened on Friday, 29 September 1947, although it had already been in service since January 1947.

Above: Old Junee. December 26, 2004.

Above: Marrar. December 26, 2004.

Above: Coolamon. December 26, 2004.

Coolamon takes its name from the Aboriginal word for 'dish or vessel for holding water’. It is known as the 'hay and chaff' capital. When the southern railway began to approach a township was surveyed and established. The station opened in 1881 as Cowabbie Road but was changed to Coleman a week later and to Coolamon in 1895. The railway enabled transportation of local wheat, wool and timber.

Above: Brushwood. December 26, 2004.

Above: Ganmain. December 26, 2004.

Ganmain is a farming district producing wheat, canola, barley, oats and other cereal crops, as well as hay. Wool, lamb and beef are also important products of the area with emerging agricultural enterprises including the production of emus, ostriches and turkeys. Ganmain was the name given to a sheep run and is based on an Aboriginal word meaning ‘tattooed man’.

Above: Matong. December 26, 2004.

Above: Pamandi. December 26, 2004.

Above: Grong Grong. December 26, 2004.

Above: Narrandera. December 26, 2004.

The name Narrandera is said to derive from a local Aboriginal tribe called the 'Narrungdera'. This word in turn is said to mean 'jew-lizard', 'place of the goanna or lizard', or 'caught frill lizard'. The railway from Melbourne (via Tocumwal) arrived in Narrandera in 1884.

Above: Yanco. December 27, 2004.

Yanco derives from an indigenous word said to mean 'the sound of running water'. American architect, Walter Burley Griffin, who had recently designed the city of Canberra, designed Leeton, like Griffith, in 1914. Leeton was named after C.A. Lee, the minister for public works when the irrigation scheme opened. When the railway arrived in 1882 a township, 6 km south of present-day Leeton, began to develop around the station as the station master and fettlers settled nearby. Later that decade the name of the settlement was changed to Yanco in accordance with local spelling. The railway arrived at Leeton in 1922, thus ensuring the decline of Yanco's importance.

Above: Gogeldrie. December 27, 2004.

The name Gogeldrie is said to come from an Aboriginal word meaning ‘canoe fashioned from a hollow tree’.

Above: Whitton. December 27, 2004.

In the early days Whitton was called 'Hulong'. In 1881 the railway arrived and the town became a railhead. Four years later it was gazetted as Whitton after the first engineer of NSW Railways. 

Above: Wilbriggie. December 27, 2004.

Above: Carrathool. December 27, 2004.

Above: Hay. December 27, 2004.

The Narrandera to Hay section opened July 4, 1882. First known as Lang's Crossing,  the name "Hay" was given when the town's design was approved in June 1859. John Hay was the local Member of Parliament. The Railway Station celebrated its centenary in 1982 and the last passenger train ran in 1983 after 101years of service. The goods service was closed in November the following year. The Hay Shire Council currently leases the Hay Railway Station from State Rail. Hay Tourism & Development Inc, Centrelink, South West Arts and 2HAYFM, the local community radio then sublease the station. The Railway Station was restored in 1992 to its original heritage colours, and in 2003-2004, State Rail renovated the exterior roofing and paving of the platform. The Hay Railway Station is also home to the POW & Internment Camp Interpretive Centre. The Willbriggie – Hay section has not been used since 1985.