Townsville Railway Station and North Yards Railway Workshops

The Townsville Railway Station and North Yards Railway Workshops complex is located about 1km south-west of the Townsville CBD, stretching along the western end of Flinders Street. The dominant feature of the property is the imposing three storey 1913 brick and stucco railway station, designed by draftsman Vincent Price, reflecting the design of the great railway stations of Europe. The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was progressively built west from Townsville from 1880. The line initially accessed the gold mines of Ravenswood and Charters Towers from 1882 and became the most profitable line in Queensland. To the south west of the station, the workshop site includes stores, goods sheds, weighbridges, turntables, wagon sheds, a machine shop, bolt shed, tool shed, engine shed, coal store, blacksmith, gatehouses, canteen, strong room and bicycle shed. Despite the completion of the Sunshine Route to Cairns in 1924, Townsville remained the northern limit of most modern engines until the 1950s, because of track limitations on larger engines. The railway was integral to transport services during WWII when Townsville was a major military base. The station closed in 2003 when a new station opened on Charters Towers Road and the city tracks were removed.