[1] By the late 19th century, colonial rivalry between Victoria and NSW, particularly with regard to the competition for wool trade from the Riverina, was the catalyst for the rapid expansion of rail networks in both states in the direction of the Victoria/NSW border.

The policy included the Great Southern Line and was in response to the threat that wool from the Riverina and the west would be diverted to Melbourne via river boats and the Victorian railway.

The line finally reached the border with the extension across the Murray River on 14 June 1883 as a single track, the contract being awarded to Alex Frew on 1 May 1882.

Designed in an Italianate style under the direction of John Whitton, the grandeur of the new building stood as a symbol of NSW's colonial pride.

[7] The New South Wales Government Railways were built to the standard gauge, which meant travellers in both directions had to change trains at Albury.

Other changes at Albury in the late 19th century included alterations to the barracks (1890), provision of a furnace for heating foot warmers (1890), provision of a special booking office on the platform for sleeping berth tickets for passengers from Victorian trains (1890), new drivers' barracks (1890), interlocking of the North Yard (1891), and the extension of the platform (1892 and 1902).

[5][1] Major improvements were made to railway infrastructure at Albury and Wodonga during, and immediately prior to, World War II.

The importance of improving railway links between states had been understood by military planners since Federation and became more acute after Japan entered World War II.

The increased volume of traffic and the military presence at the border had significant implications for Albury with the Australian defence forces virtually commandeering the station for the duration of World War II.

[6][1] In April 1962, a new standard gauge line to Melbourne's Spencer Street station opened, and thus the Intercapital Daylight, Southern Aurora and Spirit of Progress began to operate without the need to change trains.

[10][1] A grand symmetrical Victorian Italianate style station building with a tall central tower topped with a decorative cupola.

The building features load bearing brickwork with face brick and stuccoed and painted detail for pilasters, arches, quoins, pediments, string courses and architraves.

The road-side of the building features the clock tower and two verandahs between the projecting bays supported on double cast iron columns.

The platform side has a series of gabled roofs running at right angles to the main building; all supported on trusses over cast iron, decorated, fluted columns.

[6][1] Internally the building is arranged along the platform with a central booking hall and ticket office which contains most of its original cedar detailing and panelling.

The building has an asymmetrical design with a projecting bay at the front and a two-storey verandah with decorative cast iron railing and detail to posts.

The built fabric at the site is an historical record of outstanding importance as a tangible expression of how the Australian nation was forged with the bringing together of sovereign colonies.

The connection was a long-heralded and much-vaunted engineering achievement, which was crowned with the architectural triumph of Albury Railway Station Building.

It is still symbolic that the concepts of national unity in Australia did not receive any dramatic boost until the driving-in of the last spike in the Sydney Melbourne railway at Albury on the border of our two dominant colonies.

The break-of-gauge was a strategically important as an impediment when Japanese submarine activity virtually halted coastal shipping, and the nation prepared to resist a possible invasion during the Second World War.

Illustrative materials in addition to Drysdales works indicate a high level of regard for the site and rail connection as national cultural capital.