Only the old timers (like me) would remember the overhead road bridge and ramp at Station Pier. Used it twice each week day in the early 1980s. We see the branch line that led off to the BP oil tanks then located at Beacon Road. Who then would expect poor old Port to become affluent and trendy 5 - 10 years later with hundreds of medium density houses on the ex rail land and later hi rise apartments? A historic video in many ways. Thanks.

I remember back in the mid 1970 to early 80', as a trainee engineman then driver, this line was still operational with goods trains & the local shunting yard pilot (Y-class loco), dreadful 3 Am start @ dynon depot, ran goods trains from Melbourne yard to Jolimont yard then changed over with the loco back onto the opposite end of the train and onto Port Melbourne yard, those level crossings if I remember correctly, sill had hand gates with the gate man to swing them! Some ships were still been unloaded/uploaded at the dock and some times we would go all the way onto the end of the pier along the rail tracks with the loco, to place or remove goods wagons next to the ships. Also recall the track that swung around from the top end of the yard and led to the BP oil terminal and mainly 4 wheel tankers we would bring out of that oil storage terminal. The large number of empty 4 wheel GY trucks in storage waiting for the next wheat season Also remember the old VR electric L-Class Locos, with goods straight through to Gippsland, i think some of it was brown coal briquettes However, most of the yard and freight was beginning to wind down, I also recall the numeous large old customs goods sheds and the large rolls of paper that were unloaded for storage in those old sheds for the Herald & Age news paper companies, and wool bails, including the Kraft Cheese factory near the station and factories and a lot of passengers on the trains at North Port going to work, then from around 1982, , it started declining and the obvious closure of the goods yard & severe decline in patronage to & from Flinders Street up till Premiere John Cain, and his Transport Minister ('Snappy' Tom Roper closed the line down for light rail. Never been there since, thanks fort the live video from the cab, lost count of the numerous runs to Port Melbourne and St Kilda from Flinders Street Station Thanks for the memories

as a blind guy, i love these old train sounds. love full trips. hitachis had my most loved sounds but the taits witch were before my time had great sounds, i have recordings of them.

I never got the opportunity to ride this route on a train before it was all converted to light rail. I never got to travel over the Yarra River and through the bit where the casino got built. This is as close as I will get to doing any of this. And Melbourne looked so much better back in those days compared to the ugly concrete jungle that it is now. These memories are priceless.

I miss old Port and loved seeing this footage. I was really surprised to see my younger self standing at Graham st station, although the film is a little grainy I can recognise my mop of black hair and my then favourite top and jeans. Thanks for uploading!

Wow, never thought I'd see something like this, as a kid growing up in the nineties I'd always wondered what this looked like...

A great piece of history. Only 4km? It seemed like a million miles when I was a kid. I did the trip hundreds of times ans still remember a Migrant Train locomotive derailing on the Pier. It was amazing watching four guys get her back on the rails again. The light rail does a wonderful job, but every time I went to Port Melbourne it was on "Dog Boxes" with swinging doors. Well done. Loved it!

Damn, not only a drivers view of a closed line but a refurbished Harris at that! Wow!

So awesome. Thankyou. I drive the 109 tram and always wondered what it looked like. Hoping you might have footage of what is now the 96 too

I never thought I would see a video of the Port Melbourne line prior to conversion..... thanks for the upload.....

I’m so grateful to you John for uploading this video. I travelled on this line many times as a kid back in the 70’s. Standing in the open doorway of the old Red Rattlers as we crossed Sandridge Bridge. I was hanging out for the end of the line as I fondly remember the flyover at Port Melbourne with the ramp down to Station Pier. My dad would park down the side of the ramp in the shade as we spent many a day at the beach in Summer playing under Station Pier. The area was very industrial back then..you wouldn’t recognise it now. Love the sound of the old train horns..brings all those memories flooding back. Thankyou!!

Wow thanks for sharing, I'm too young to remember these lines. I was 4 when they closed.

Some nostalgia here that's for sure. Used to get on the Port train to go down and watch the Burragh play at North Port Oval back in the day. I Remember the old black bridge that crossed the Yarra carrying both the Port and St Kilda lines near the old Allen's lolly factory there too - where the Crown complex is nowadays. Even back then it was a dirty and grungy part of town and I'm glad it's been cleaned up significantly to what it once was. I cycle the path these days from Clarendon St down to Port. It's a great ride!

That train looks like a Cyberman 😀 Awesome video, miss that sleepy quiet Melbourne.

I miss the Port Melbourne Train Line and all the Station's Montague,North Port,Graham Street, Port Melbourne & Station Pier

It's SO different back in pre-1987!!! This is the 1st time I've seen the old Port Melbourne line via it's throwback trainage!! So gentrified now and leveled up via the current tramline!! And Port Melbourne with a Y-class and that bridge near the end of the station!!!! OMG!!! Priceless seeing this, it's everything I had hoped it was back then?!...Surpassing all expectations.

Wow, thanks John. Nostalgia there! I used to catch the Port train many dozens of times in the late '60s when working on Fisherman's Bend (Dog Box then of course). Two things always struck me - 1. For a line that was dead straight on the earliest maps - apart from the curve into Sandridge station and the curve off the Yarra bridge, its amazing how many curves it had by the end, and, 2. Why did they not have a station near the St Kilda/Port diverge? Flinders St to Montague was half the length of the line but with no intermediate stations; then in the second half of the line, Montague to Port there were two intermediate stations. With all those factories around at the diverge point there be plenty of clientele every morning and afternoon. - Phil

After the bridge at Graham it's unrecognisable. I've only ever known the current layout so it's great to see how it used to look. Sad to see it change as a Railfan but certainly an improvement for the locals.

I worked in Port Melbourne for 14 years from 1989-2003! Always wondered what the Montague North Port Graham and Port Melbourne Railway Stations looked like! I've got a few Railway DVDS which show little bits of the Port Melbourne line but not all the Stations!🙂🚇🚃🚃🚃🛤️

This is wonderful to see, I used to go fishing at Station Pier if the fifties and sixties with my father and the terminus brings back happy memories for me and also used the train occasionally in 1966 to get to work. The area didn't change all that much up till 1987 and then of course everything happened.

Thanks for the upload. Ive riden the tram down to st kilda many times but ive always wondered what the st kilda and port melb lines use to look like when they were train lines.

Fascinating, as I never travelled this line - great to see!

thoroughly enjoyed this. the good old days. dad used to mainly drive this and the st kilda line. he used to let us ride in the cab with him on the first train on sundays as an enticement to convince us to go to church. however we used to wag going to church.

Wonderful - Slow rail - this is meditation at its best. Can't wait to share with my Port Melbourne neighbours! Great to see the change in the parklands along the rail ... sad too ... the last two old elm trees at North Port (city side on Evans Street) are to be chopped down this week! Thanks so so much John.

That brings back memories thankyou mate

Great to see. As kids (14 year olds) we would come into the city then get the train down to Port Melbourne then spend all day at Station and prince's pier vising ships. Those days was red rattler train that ran there (late 60's) Thanks for posting.

i remember 1979 i was running away from home i hang around the train all the times and the driver ask me do you want you to drive the train i say yes and i drive the train about 10 times and i love it one of the driver very nice to me and the last one i rove the train was in epping and back and never heard from him again

This was a flash back, worked Port melbourne one shift. Then hearing the gaurds bell bleeding hell they were the days.

Great video, thanks for sharing. 👍

You brought back many old, lost memories my friend. Thanks for sharing. This was my childhood era. What year is the film taken?

Great footage mate =]

Great video John.

I worked in the railways 84-88. One Saturday night was working at Sth Melbourne station. I received a complaint that a couple were making love on the down side. What to do ,I did nothing. I have fond memories of my time in the railways.

I did ride on this Railway Line in 1986! Got off at Graham Railway Station from memory! 🙂🚇🚃🚃🚃🛤️🏖️

Well done . I drove trains to Port Melb. a thousand times …. St Kilda as well. We did many pilot jobs there too… plus we ran the daily direct Warragul goods with L class electrics ! Pity the locals objected to the extension proposal from Graham to Garden City. The line to there and StKilda would still be there today if they had approved the project.

Very beautifull catching 👍👍💚👍👍

And the tram/light rail is even slower than the train was. To be fair, the tram does not go into Flinders Street station, but even if it did, it is not as quick as even the old swing door trains that used to run to Port Melbourne back in the day.

Montague had been "shortened" due to safety concerns around 1983-1984 when the Taits were 3 car runs on this and St.Kilda lines..some runs were still 6 cars long in peak hour though nearing their end.

As per usual it's great to see the old crossing signals and teardrop bells. What we got after the conversion to light rail was interesting - normal traffic lights at the tram crossings, with carpark-style boom gates and Barker Technics E-bells (which are really not in good shape now sadly)

I remember those in the days ,But transport back then was great! Now it's the the tram! As i used to buy a Passmaster ticket and ride the rails all day back in the late 70's -80's?

00:52 EM100 in orange. Today known as IEV100

That was awesome thank you very Much 😁🍺

Great video John

I remember when the Clarendon Street Bridge was demolished in 1990! Very sad!😞

Looks like the platforms at Montague had been fenced to only be four cars long.

the difference is absolutely stunning, i walked down this entire route to make a video on it and theres very little resemblance

I first rode on it in 1962.

You can see the newly constructed elevated part of the Westgate freeway.

Thank You for this upload, like other commenters I would never have thought I'd see this perspective again. One of the few areas of Melbourne that has actually improved over time, I'd forgotten what a mess it had been down by station pier. Now days there'd be no change out a million dollars or more for a little townhouse in that exact same area.

Been there drove that.....quite a few times before the closed it off to trains.

Please please please if you have the Port to Flinders run would you mind upoading that one? I use to ride that train every day going from Graham into flinders then out to Albert Park for school back in the early 80's

The footage i want to see is of the springvale cemetery line

Thats cool.

I take it those people getting on at Graham were returning to the city?Only other scenario would be a trip to PM to do the shopping.

Will you doing a Flinders Street service from Port Melbourne?

Great but would be nice to see this in original 4:3 aspect to retain detail and quality

you've uploaded the st kilda line in both directions. have you got the port line going up?

Did you drive these? Miss the guards bell. Worked Port a couple of times..great shifts

That is where the route 109 goes.

Wonder when this film was taken?🤔

We ran goods down the from Melbourne yard

Really wish the saint killda railway station was operational aging

I have a question: when did IEV get owned by V/Line?

The silver ghost and the bell.

Boy it looks empty without Southbank depo lol

Just before Port Melbourne got yuppified. A house might have sold there pretty affordablly then .

Nearly everything even the buidling are all gone, barely recognise it today

i've got a story for your viewers. if anyone else can remember. someone found a blue plastic container (about a 15 litre size) full of money under the down side montague station about 30 years ago. i'm sure it was after i moved to perth in 1987. as kids we used to play under the platform and wonder where the infamous "montague gang" hid their shanghais( a.k.a. slingshots). blue plastic containers hadn't been invented then. anyway, they handed the container plus contents in to the cops. and then returned to look for more. and they found, i think, 3 more and handed them in as well. anyway, it got on the news and everyone was turning under the platform upside down looking for more. there were no more reports of any more being found. there were no genuine claims for the blue jars full of cash so the finders got to keep! i have not been able to find anything about this on the internet. can anyone else remember this?

Funny how your mind plays tricks ton you. I always thought it became a single line AFTER Graham Station

Lovely, but I can totally understand why it was de trained and made into a tram.

Port mebl

Although it is nostalgic to watch, port melbourne looked terrible back then.

Look at all those lines. Almost all gone now and with expanding Melbourne we are worse off for it :(

Not one for viewing the past with rose coloured glasses I must say I miss Centenary Bridge. However the gunzel in me is less charitable - I'm aggrieved the rail infrastructure at Port Melbourne is gone and the whole area was turned into a 'resort' for cashed up retirees. Yuk! It was far nicer before - at least it wasn't pretentious.

It should never have being converted to light rail