Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company

[2] The rich Riverina district of New South Wales, which lies between the Murray and the Murrumbidgee Rivers, was handicapped in the middle of the 19th century by its distance from the seaboard.

Echuca lies on the Murray River, which forms the border between Victoria and New South Wales.

However, the Government of New South Wales was adamant in its refusal to construct a railway which, to a large extent, would have only served Victorian interests.

[1] In a weak moment during March 1874 and under considerable political pressure, the Government of New South Wales passed an Act which enabled the construction by a private syndicate of a 1600mm gauge railway from Moama to Deniliquin.

The initial crossing of the Murray was made over a temporary trestle bridge, 1,700 feet (520 m) in length and built from red gum piles.

[1] John Whitton, the Engineer-in-Charge for the New South Wales Government Railways, was not impressed by the construction standards.

"Although this line will be perfectly safe for public traffic so long as it is properly maintained, I regret that I am unable to certify that it has been completed to my satisfaction, and for the following reasons.

No care appears to have been taken in selecting the timber for the bridges, as many of the beams in almost every structure are very much split and have large dead knots, worm holes, and gum veins in them.

The driving of the piles has been most erratic; they are leaning in all direction, and are rarely driven throughout any bridge at equal distances from the centre line of roadway.

"[4] On 4 July 1876, Moama celebrated the opening of the line with great gusto; a whole bullock being roasted and eaten in honour of the event.

"Frequently, passengers from Echuca would cross the river in a boat and board the train at Moama rather than risk what appeared to be a very perilous journey across the bridge.

[7] In 1877, The Riverine Herald noted that 'Were it not for this line, traffic between Deniliquin and Echuca would almost be suspended, owing to the scarcity of feed along the route.

As the River Murray has not been navigable for some months, and as it will not be for a few weeks to come, the people of the outlying districts of Riverina would have had to suffer considerable hardships had the railway not been completed.

In fact the advantages accruing to the inhabitants of these parts from the railway at the present time are legion in number.

'[9] In 1888, a reporter noted 'It may not generally be known that the traveller can leave Deniliquin by the early morning train and go by Echuca to Seymour and there catch the express from Melbourne which will take him either to Albury by eleven o'clock the same night, or Sydney by noon the next day, thus saving a dreary coach drive to either Hay or Jerilderie or a railway ride via Melbourne with the at least twelve hours loss of time in each case.

[11] In 1878, for the fifth half yearly review Charles Lilley, the Traffic Manager, reported 30,843 operational miles, 15,451 passengers, 12,021 tons of freight, 234,000 sheep, 8,520 cattle, and 21,000 bales of wool.

The chairman noted that 'as the lambing has been good, and there is abundance of grass and water all over the district, better returns may be looked for.

The chairman Mr S J Staughton said he was sorry the company had come to an end, not only because it was a good financial investment, but because it was always a pleasure to him to visit Deniliquin and to know the very satisfactory way the staff had always helped to make the business a success.

All four of the Company's locomotives were built to the design of the Victorian Railways T class 0-6-0 tender engine of 1874.

Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company owned a number of fixed-wheel passenger carriages and guards vans.

A variety of four-wheel rolling stock was also acquired by the VR when they took-over the Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company in 1923.