Doon Ayre

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Type : Platform
Line : North Coast Line
Distance from Sydney : 330.380km
Opened : 3 March 1941
Closed : 29 June 1975
Status : Closed
Name meaning :  Doon-Ayr [aka Doon-Ayre or Doon Ayre] - believed to be a combination of two Scottish names chosen by the first settler;
Doon: After the River Doon in Scotland located in the County of Ayrshire
Ayr [Ayre]: After the town of Ayr in the County of Ayrshire Scotland.
Notes : The 2.4 metre long platform was on the Up side

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Lorraine Jones:


The Doon-Ayr platform served three functions:
1. The road from Bundook to Gloucester in the 1940 to early 1960's era was little more than a one lane dirt road prone to washaways in the hilly sections and flooding from the numerous creeks running down the adjacent hills to the river after rain. The dairy farms in the area either transported their milk in cans to the nearest station or in the case of Doon-Ayr have a small platform constructed at the property owner's expense to allow the cans to be picked up by passing trains and dropped off at the Gloucester Co-Op milk factory for later return also by train. This applied to both the Wirradgurie and Doon-Ayr private platforms.
2. There was no school bus service in those days and the area was served by a number of one-teacher schools where the pupils either walked or travelled on horse-back to and from school. Pitlochry one-teacher school was close to the Pitlochry station and this is why I went there instead of the closer Bundook school due to better before and after school train services.
3. We received our food, mail and other items from Gloucester by train whenever there were no family members going into town by car.
Hope this explains why we had a private platform.



Graeme Kirkby:


Doon Ayre was a short platform of just eight feet in length, situated on the Up side of the line at mileage 205-23 chains (km.330.380) in use from 1941 to 1975. From the 1957 timetable the only trains that would have stopped there under normal circumstances, were No.5, M.,W.,Th. 3-35pm, and No.6, Tue, Th., and Sat. 11-0am. It was an "a" stop, meaning passengers wishing to alight had to previously advise the Guard, and those wishing to board

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Graeme Kirkby
....an afternoon view from the cab of NT-25, "Grafton XPT" approaching Doon Ayre on 29-4-1994.

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Lorraine Jones:


Here is the only photo I have of the Doon-Ayr platform which is behind the driver of the tractor - this would have been taken in the mid to late 1950's as the driver is the wife of a share farmer who worked for my father in the 1950's.
The trailer behind the tractor was used to bring full milk cans from the dairy to the platform for pickup by a train for delivery to the Gloucester Milk Factory.
The empty cans were returned on a later train and taken back to the dairy in the trailer.

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Lorraine Jones:


This is the sign at the entrance to Doon-Ayr from Bundook Road.

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Lorraine Jones:


Despite the railway line at Doon-Ayr being fenced, bulls will be bulls especially when it is mating season.
Reminds me of an old joke about a young bull and an older more experienced bull together in a paddock:
The young bull seeing a group of heifers in the next paddock excitedly says to the old bull "Let's race down and each of us can service a heifer".
The old bull looked at the young bull, shook his head from side to side and said " No - let's walk down and do the lot!"
Newspaper item is dated 3rd January 1945.



Graeme Kirkby:
Lorraine Jones . Yes, "stock on line" was an all too frequent occurrence on our N.S.W. tracks and particularly on the North Coast line. I have hit a few with locos or XPT but no derailments, just a stinking mess under the train which attracts the flies at every stop and has to be sprayed off at the depot before the men can service the train underneath the locos and cars.


Lorraine Jones:
Graeme Kirkby The lack of derailments is possibly due to the design of the lower front apron of the XPT locomotive units which "rolls" the animal during impact unlike the buffer beam and leading bogie on a steam engine.
My partner remembers discussing animal impact with the Comeng engineers during the XPT project following his experience on CPH rail motors from hitting sheep on the unfenced line between Hillston and Griffith in 1961/early 1962.
He was told this had been a consideration right from the beginning of the British Rail XPT project due to the consequences of a high speed animal impact.
Reply20 wEdited


Graeme Kirkby:
Lorraine Jones . In the case of CPH railmotors, yes, they could be more prone to derailment due to their light weight. In the case of the XPT, the front cowling was only relatively thin fibreglass and smashed/broke up very easily. And yet, I once hit a very large prize bull head on ( he was in middle of track, head down approaching) at 115km/h near Wellington and there was very little damage to the train apart from the mess. The bull was obliterated.


Lorraine Jones:
Graeme Kirkby Lorraine's partner here - further to this, there was a story, true or not, that the UK InterCity125 front driver's window was tested for bird impact resistance using the same technique used for testing aircraft cockpit windows where a chicken carcase is shot from a cannon against the window and the window could not crack let alone shatter for obvious reasons.
When the first test of the supposedly "shatter-proof" glass locomotive front wind occurred, the window literally "exploded" with glass fragments going far and wide much to the engineers' shock. This result was transferred back to the aircraft testing facility who responded by asking what type of chicken carcase was used for the test. "Frozen" of course was the British Rail response.
The aircraft centre responded "When did you last see a frozen bird in flight?" followed by "We always use fresh carcasses which have not been frozen."
Needless to say, the next test of the aviation standard safety glass was successful.


John Treuren:
Graeme Kirkby RIP bull 🙁


John Treuren:
Lorraine Jones sounds like an Irish joke.


Graeme Kirkby:
Lorraine Jones . I seem to recall reading about windscreen tests or standards to be met, in John Dunn's book concerning the XPT, in his history of Commonwealth Engineering, volume 4. One evening back in early 2000s, some mentally challenged individuals threw a large lump of concrete from the Marlborough road overbridge near Flemington. It hit smack-bang in the middle of the Dubbo XPT loco windscreen which shattered completely but never broke through. The train was travelling at 80km/h. Small chips and shards of glass peppered the Drivers face and neck but thankfully not his eyes. It said something for the strength of the glass screen. I know each pane cost many thousands of dollars and needed a crane with four suction caps to lift such a screen.


Lorraine Jones:
Graeme Kirkby From memory, it was from one of the Comeng engineers who went to the UK on a study trip to British Rail to evaluate the British Rail Intercity125 express trains for the forthcoming new NSW XPT fleet tender.
One of the engineers whose name I have forgotten used to drive steam express trains between London and Bristol on the Great Western Line before coming to Australia. Whilst travelling in the cab of the locomotive car, he began to call the speed limits and track directions. The GW driver asked how he knew the track and he replied he used to drive the route on scheduled passenger services.
Next thing was the driver offered him the opportunity to drive the Intercity125 which he reportedly accepted with alacrity as he could assess what characteristics were incorporated in the GWR design for later use when designing the NSWGR version.
Some of the characteristics unique to the NSW XPT fleet are a direct consequence of this experience and his knowledge of the NSW rail network.

[Lorraine Jones]

UP NT32 from the Doon-Ayr Homestead 15th April 2020

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UP NT32 from the Doon-Ayr Homestead 15th April 2020




(for those that couldn't read it )

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Vicinity of Doon Ayre (Peter Ware, Oct 2005)