Lineside Liaisons #21 Byron Bay

Storm clouds in the slumber... Byron Bay Railway Station in the summer of 2014/15.

Byron Bay remains one of the most talked about holiday destinations on the New South Wales north coast. An alternative hamlet by the sea, the most easterly point on the Australian mainland, a playground for the rich and famous... while all of these things remain true, catching a train to Byron has not been possible since the last XPT pulled out on the 16th May 2004. For many train-going holidaymakers on their way to Murwillumbah, the town of Byron was a noisy, well populated town that slipped by the train window in the dark of night.

So what became of the former railway station after the last train left town? Well it is still there, and the former railway refreshment rooms on the station's platform are still just as noisy and vibrant as the day that they were leased to a local publican, long before plans were mooted to close the former Murwillumbah Line. While a short section of track to the north of town has now been re-purposed for use by a eco-friendly, solar powered rail car known as the Byron Bay Train, (where else would you find such a thing?), The Byron Bay that I remembered was forever captured in my poem 'Drums and diesel hums' in my book Last Train to Grafton. A photographic and poetic romp through the abandoned lines of northern New South Wales, the 56 page premium colour book is a tribute to the memories of our not-so-distant railway past, and is available now through the links on my Books page.

See also; Byron Bay: cold beer, no trains!