The Ballarat Cattle Yards branchline was opened in 1886 to service large livestock sale yards built to the south west of the city. This line branched off the Western line at Linton Junction (controlled by Ballarat D Box) and then ran parallel with the mainline before turning south through the Ballarat Golf Course. The line continued 2.5km south of the Western Hwy / Avenue of Honour before swinging around a curve to run due east before terminating in the vicinity of Gillies Street. Here large cattle and sheep yards were built.
On the layout I didn't have room to model the Linton Junction or the branch other than the terminus at the cattleyards and the industrial sidings at Redan. On the layout these branch off the Maryborough line (not the western line but are otherwise operated as per the prototype in the early 1980s). Each weekday a number pilots operate out of Ballarat to the Ballarat cattleyards and to the industrial area at Redan. These are worked by W class or Y class based at Ballarat. A railtractor is also based at the end the branch, usually for shunting the industrialsidings at Redan, but on livestock sale days, its used to shunt M cattle wagons for loading and unloading at the cattle ramps.
I'm yet to model the Cattleyards although the sidings are ballasted and the tin shed at the Junction for the Redan industrial sidings has been built. The cattleyards sidings have been truncated at the Gillies Street gates which are modelled against the backdrop.
Cattleyards is the only remaining area on thr layout with bare baseboards, and will be the last area to be sceniced. I plan to build the cattleyards on a lift out board as I need to use this area as a handrest when I need to access the hidden sidings which are situated directly behind the sidings. I'm hoping to work on this areaover the next few weeks while on leave and post progress photos.
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