In the early days there was a block post, on the Down between Border Loop and Glenapp, which included a signal. I can't recall the name of the place now.
It was probably operated in conjunction with divisible miniature electric staff working, and it may have been a Qld idea. The signal would normally be set at clear. But if a train left the Border on the ticket half of a divisible staff, it would stop at the signal and set it to "stop". A following train on he staff half of the divisible staff would stop at the signal, ring Glenapp, and if the line was clear, they would clear the signal and proceed.
New one for me
Type : Block Post
Distance from Sydney : 882.121 km
Opened : 29 May 1942 (as Lantana)
Closed : 28 July 1953
Status : closed
Name meaning : unknown
Notes : Opened per WN 23/1942 with an incorrect mileage of 584 miles and 10 chains (corrected in WN 38/1942 to 548 miles and 10 chains and reinforced in WN 39/1942). Renamed "Taboon" in WN 38/1942. Interestingly the 1947 WTT notes " Not a goods station, only small consignments which can be loaded in the brake-van can be accepted. **Freight must be prepaid.**" (who was accepting goods delivered here ?). WN 21/1945 1945 amendment specifying **"during daylight for Up trains"** Closed 28 July 1953 when Divisible Electric Train Staff Working on the section **Border Loop–Glenapp** was dispensed with - The State Railway Authority Archives (North Coast Branch Lines) confirms this as Taboon's closure notice. The location was referenced as late as 1961 in a Speed Board sequence and again in WN 4/1970 - This 1970 entry is the last reference to Taboon in the Weekly Notices collection. Seventeen years after its closure as a block post (1953), the site name was still being used as a section boundary point in speed board tables.
Pics of Taboon
Peter Cokley:
Re Taboon; More research showed need for extra editing. Taboon needs sorting out and will look at this in a few days unless someone else sorts it out first. Found Taboon renamed from Lantana (WN 38 of 1942.) The State Railway Authority Archives, Nth Coast Branchlines states Taboon closed as per WN 30 of 1953 and that WN states Divisible Electric Train Staff Working-Maitland-South Brisbane line, Border Loop to Glenapp, Amendment; On Tuesday, 28th July, 1953, Divisible Electric Train Staff working on the section, Border Loop-Glenapp will be dispensed with.
WN 4 of 1970 lists Taboon as a speed board loacation between Border Loop and Glenapp, so site still identified.
The renaming WN was WN 38 of 1942 which stated Lantana (North Coast)-Change of. Name--The telephone block post at Mileage 548m 10ch, between Border Loop and Glenapp, at present known as Lantana, is to be known as "Taboon."
Diagram of the location
Judging by the signals, the Taboon block post operated in both the Up and Down directions.
# Taboon / Lantana (North Coast Line — Border Loop–Glenapp section)
## Entries from NSW Government Railways Weekly Notices, 1942–1970
---
**Type:** Block Post (Telephone Block Post)
**Line:** North Coast Line (Border Loop–Glenapp section)
**Distance from Sydney:** 882.121 km
**Mileage (Working TT):** 548m 10c
**Between:** Border Loop and Glenapp (closer to Border Loop)
**Originally known as:** Lantana
**Renamed:** Taboon — W.N. 38–1942
**Opened as Lantana:** Unknown — first documented as Block Post 29 May 1942 (W.N. 23–1942)
**Closed:** W.N. 30–1953 (Divisible Electric Train Staff Working dispensed with, Border Loop–Glenapp)
**Final Reference:** W.N. 4–1970 (speed board location between Border Loop and Glenapp)
**Status:** Closed
**Name meaning:** Unknown
---
> **Notes:** Taboon (formerly Lantana) was a telephone block post on the Divisible Electric Train Staff Working section Border Loop–Glenapp, operating for **Up trains only during daylight**. It was not a public station — only small consignments that could be loaded in a brake-van could be accepted, and all freight had to be prepaid (1947 reference). The renaming from Lantana to Taboon occurred in W.N. 38–1942, with a mileage correction issued in the same sequence in W.N. 39–1942 (correcting "584m 10c" to "548m 10c" — an OCR error in the original naming notice). Closed when Divisible Electric Train Staff Working on Border Loop–Glenapp was dispensed with on 28 July 1953 (W.N. 30–1953). The site continued to be referenced as a speed board location between Border Loop and Glenapp as late as 1970.
---
## 1942 — Opened as Block Post (as Lantana); Renamed Taboon
### First Documented as Lantana Block Post — W.N. 23–1942
> Block Posts are provided at Loadstone on the section The Risk–Border Loop, and at **Lantana (548m 10c)** on the section Border Loop–Glenapp.
*(W.N. 23–1942)*
### Renamed Taboon — W.N. 38–1942
> **Lantana (North Coast) — Change of Name** — The telephone block post at Mileage **548m 10c** *(Note: OCR renders as "584m 10c" in the original — corrected in W.N. 39–1942)*, between Border Loop and Glenapp, at present known as Lantana, is to be known as **"Taboon."**
>
> Alphabetical List of Stations, Platforms, Sidings and Collieries, also Working Time-table, Northern Division, to be also posted accordingly. (V. 41–28,791.) *(W.N. 38–1942.)*
### Mileage Confirmed as 548m 10c — W.N. 39–1942
> **Taboon (North Coast)** — The mileage of the telephone block post at Taboon (late Lantana), between Border Loop and Glenapp, is **548m 10c**.
>
> Amend particulars on the subject contained in Weekly Notice No. 38 of 1942. (42–31,722.) *(W.N. 39–1942.)*
> **Note:** W.N. 38–1942 gave the mileage as "584m 10c" — a transposition error. W.N. 39–1942 immediately corrected this to **548m 10c**, confirming the position between Border Loop (544m area) and Glenapp.
### Taboon Listed in Alphabetical Index — 1942
> **\*Taboon** — listed in alphabetical index of stations alongside \*Treberth and other unattended locations on the North Coast. *(Source: 1942 Weekly Notices)*
---
## 1943 — Divisible Staff Working — Up Trains Only; Block Post Confirmed
### Divisible Electric Train Staff Working — Border Loop–Glenapp — Up Trains Only
> On the sections indicated hereunder Divisible Staff Working is in operation in a modified form, and the method of working is as prescribed in the Regulations contained in the Local Appendix, Northern Division:
>
> **Border Loop–Glenapp, for Up trains only (telephone block post, Taboon).**
> Mullumbimby–Burringbar (telephone block post, Billinudgel).
>
> (42–31,722.) *(W.N. 10–1943; repeated W.N. 36–1943.)*
> **Note:** The parallel listing of Taboon (Border Loop–Glenapp) and Billinudgel (Mullumbimby–Burringbar) in the same notice confirms that both were telephone block posts performing the same function — intermediate reporting points for Divisible Electric Train Staff Working on their respective sections.
---
## 1945 — Block Post Remarks Amended
### Divisible ETS Working — Taboon — Remarks Amended — W.N. 21–1945
> **Page 18 — Divisible Electric Train Staff Working — Taboon** — Particulars under heading "Remarks" relating to Taboon are to be altered to read as follows:
>
> **"Up trains only during daylight. Block post at Taboon, 548m 10c."**
>
> (45–55,386.) *(W.N. 21–1945.)*
> **Note:** The 1945 amendment specifying **"during daylight"** is a significant restriction — it means the block post arrangement only applied during daylight hours, with the section reverting to simple staff working (without the intermediate block post function) after dark. This is consistent with the 1945 notice that Staff working on Border Loop–Glenapp was "not to be used during dark."
### Location in Speed Board Sequence — 1945
> **\*Taboon** — listed as an exception in the speed board sequence table. *(Source: 1945 Weekly Notices)*
---
## 1947 — Traffic Conditions — Small Consignments Only; Freight Prepaid
### Traffic Conditions at Taboon
> **Taboon** — Not a goods station, only small consignments which can be loaded in the brake-van can be accepted. **Freight must be prepaid.**
*(Source: 1947 Working Timetable — Northern Division — station notes)*
> **Note:** This confirms Taboon was essentially a private block post with minimal public traffic facilities. The restriction to brake-van sized consignments with prepaid freight is consistent with a remote location on the Tweed Range with no goods handling infrastructure.
---
## 1953 — Divisible Electric Train Staff Working Dispensed With — 28 July 1953
### Border Loop–Glenapp — Divisible Staff Dispensed With — W.N. 30–1953
> **Divisible Electric Train Staff Working — Maitland–South Brisbane line, Border Loop to Glenapp — Amendment:**
>
> On Tuesday, **28th July, 1953**, Divisible Electric Train Staff Working on the section **Border Loop–Glenapp** will be dispensed with.
*(W.N. 30–1953)*
> **Note:** This is the effective closure of Taboon as a functioning block post. With Divisible Staff Working on Border Loop–Glenapp dispensed with, there was no longer any operational requirement for an intermediate telephone block post at Taboon. The State Railway Authority Archives (North Coast Branch Lines) confirms this as Taboon's closure notice.
---
## 1961 — Speed Board Reference — Border Loop–Taboon and Taboon–Flanagan's
### Speed Board Sequence — 1961
> **Border Loop–Taboon**: 544m 80c — 546m 5c — 35 mph
> **Taboon–Flanagan's**: 549m 76c — 550m 07c — 6 mph
> **Flanagan's–Glenapp**: [continuing]
*(Source: 1961 Working Timetable — speed board table)*
> **Note:** Taboon still appears as a speed board reference point eight years after its closure as a block post in 1953. The mileage at 544m 80c–546m 5c for the Border Loop–Taboon section is consistent with Taboon being at approximately 548m.
---
## 1970 — Final Reference — Speed Board Section
### Speed Board — Border Loop–Taboon — W.N. 4–1970
> **Border Loop–Taboon**: 0c — 65c
> **Taboon–Glenapp I**: [continuing]
>
> Existing speed boards Greenbank to South Brisbane unaltered. (C.C.E.–62–969,026–T.–S.–A.K.J.–G.Mc.L.) *(W.N. 4–1970.)*
> **Note:** This 1970 entry is the last reference to Taboon in the Weekly Notices collection. Seventeen years after its closure as a block post (1953), the site name was still being used as a section boundary point in speed board tables. This is consistent with the pattern seen at other closed locations where the name persists as a mileage reference point long after operational closure.
---
## Summary of Key Events
| Date | Event |
|------|-------|
| Unknown | Opened as "Lantana" — telephone block post at 548m 10c between Border Loop and Glenapp |
| 29 May 1942 | **First documented** — Lantana listed as Block Post on section Border Loop–Glenapp (W.N. 23–1942) |
| W.N. 38–1942 | **Renamed "Taboon"** from Lantana (mileage incorrectly given as 584m 10c — corrected W.N. 39–1942) |
| W.N. 39–1942 | Mileage confirmed as **548m 10c**; listed in alphabetical index |
| W.N. 10 and 36–1943 | Confirmed as telephone block post — **Up trains only** — Border Loop–Glenapp |
| W.N. 21–1945 | Remarks amended — **"Up trains only during daylight. Block post at Taboon, 548m 10c"** |
| 1947 | Listed in Working Timetable — not a goods station; small consignments in brake-van only; freight prepaid |
| **28 July 1953** | **Closed** — Divisible Electric Train Staff Working on Border Loop–Glenapp dispensed with (W.N. 30–1953) |
| 1961 | Still referenced as speed board section boundary — Border Loop–Taboon and Taboon–Flanagan's |
| W.N. 4–1970 | **Final reference** — speed board section boundary Border Loop–Taboon and Taboon–Glenapp I |
---
*Extracted from NSW Government Railways Weekly Notices, 1942–1970.*
*Note: The renaming notice (W.N. 38–1942) contained an OCR/clerical transposition error giving the mileage as "584m 10c" — immediately corrected to "548m 10c" in W.N. 39–1942. The correct mileage throughout is 548m 10c.*