About SideTracked Caches
This cache belongs to the SideTracked series. It is not designed to take you to a magical place with a breath taking view. It's a distraction for the weary traveller, but anyone else can go and find it too. More Information can be found at the SideTracked Website.
The Rockbank railway station is a railway line in Victoria, Australia. It links the state capital of Melbourne to the cities of Ballarat and Ararat via the Regional Rail Link.The station consists of two side platforms with a total of two platform edges. A pedestrian bridge links the two platforms. The bridge's brown colour represents the earth surrounding the station.
History
The current station is entirely different from its original state, as both platforms were demolished for the new station's construction in 2018. The station has 350 car parking spaces and 26 bike cage facilities (known as Parkiteers). To meet accessibility needs, the station has lifts and ramps.
Rockbank railway station initially opened as "Mount Atkinson" on 2 April 1884, then it was given its current name of Rockbank in November 1889.
The station was established to serve the local farming communities of Rockbank. Being on a single track railway line, it was used as a crossing loop, and continued to be used as such until 2021, when the single-track section between Deer Park West and Melton was converted to dual track.
By 1914, the station had a rail yard with three tracks. The south track housed the passenger platform, and the north track had a goods shed. With a chaff mill established in 1908, and a recreation reserve located nearby, the station became the focus of the Rockbank community.
In 1960, the crossing loop was extended to accommodate trains up to 730 metres long, and a short platform was provided on the loop road. By the 1970s, the mill siding was no longer in use. The station building was later demolished in 1985.