This was a difficult stretch for carriers and a rail link would have been valuable to pastoral stations in the area and would also have served the Cloncurry Copper Mine.

It was at the time intended to eventually link the new line with the Great Northern Railway connecting Charters Towers and the important port of Townsville.

However, in November 1885 a major gold strike was reported at Belmore Station, 145 kilometres (90 mi) east of Normanton and by the end of 1886 the population of the Croydon field was 2000 and 6000 in the following year.

The country was difficult for conventional railway tracks due to flooding, lack of suitable timber and voracious termites.

In 1884 Phillips patented a system for taking railways across such country which utilised special U section steel sleepers laid directly on the ground.

During floods the line could be submerged without washing out the ballast and embankments normally used, so that it could quickly be put back into service when the waters subsided.

Attached to the station building, and sheltering the platform and three tracks, was an arcaded carriage shade with a curved roof .

The traffic manager's house and stables adjoined where the wharf line departed for the Margaret and Jane landing on the Norman River.

By the early 1900s its output had dropped considerably and after World War I when widespread mining diminished, it was obvious that the field would not recover.

This was because the Phillips system worked well and the track could be put back into use almost immediately after flooding, whereas roads stayed impassable for much longer.

In the 1930s, all weather roads made the railway less important, but until the late 1960s the rail remained a vital transport link in the area.

[1] The station building is rectangular in plan with offices on either side of a central arched passage and is constructed of corrugated iron and timber on a slab laid on the ground.

The terminus was intended eventually to serve lines to Cloncurry and other centres, so that its scale reflects the prosperity of the area at the time and its prospective importance.

In a flat and open landscape, the scale, form and skilful use of vernacular materials make the terminus a striking and important component of the townscape of Normanton.

In a flat and open landscape, the scale, form and skilful use of vernacular materials make the terminus a striking and important component of the townscape of Normanton.

The railway itself, with its use of low level submersible track and Phillips patented steel sleepers, was an important technical innovation which has proved remarkably durable.

The terminus has strong associations with the life and work of George Phillips, who helped to explore and survey the area, served for several years as its Parliamentary representative and designed and supervised the building of the railway.