Park Beach

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Type : Station
Line : North Coast Line
Distance from Sydney : 609.126km
Location : -30.295997, 153.135784
Opened : 18 July 1925
Closed : 30 June 1974
Status : Closed
Name meaning : Named after the nearby beach and reserve
Notes : A 76.2 metre Up side platform, there appears to have been no shelter constructed. The station served the Park Beach camping reserve and appears to have only ever been used for railway employee and family and excursion special trains. The original station was demolished and rebuilt following the construction of the new Park Beach bridge in the 1950s. Excursion-only trains from opening — Nos. 42 and 43 Sunday Excursion trains. Park Beach is one of only a handful of platforms in the collection where the opening notice names exclusively excursion trains rather than regular service trains. The delete/re-insert/final delete sequence (W.N. 29–1974 → W.N. 1–1975 → W.N. 26–1975) over 26 weeks is a procedural curiosity — Park Beach was deleted from most publications in June 1974 but re-inserted as (P) in January 1975, then finally fully deleted in June 1975. The interim (P) classification suggests trains were still stopping there in some capacity even after the official closure date.

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Park Beach bridge, 1982 (Greg Lee)

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Park Beach Coffs Harbour
Box Railway Bridge (Sharon Rewell)

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Park Beach platform (near Coffs Harbour) - closed in 1974 (Peter Burr)

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Daily Examiner (Grafton, NSW : 1915 - 1954) Thursday 26 November 1936

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Location of the one-time platform at Park Beach

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Photos of Coffs Harbour's Park Beach platform are vanishingly rare (I'm only aware of one other) (1974, Coffs Advocate)

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Location of Park Beach, 15/5/23 (Jack Cook)

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Park Beach station can be seen above the bridge works in this shot (State Archives)

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10/08/1962 - Goods train at Park Beach - the station is out of view forward of the train. Note the old bridge location can be seen in the shot, the construction of the new bridge required Park Beach station to be demolished and relocated from the down side of the line to the up side of the line. (State Archives)

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# Park Beach (North Coast Line)
## Entries from NSW Government Railways Weekly Notices, 1925–1975

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**Type:** Station — Platform (P) (Closed) 
**Line:** North Coast Line (between Coffs Harbour and North Coffs Harbour) 
**Distance from Sydney:** 609.126 km (Mileage **378m 40c** — per 1925 opening notice; 609.00 km per 1975 re-insertion) 
**Location:** -30.295997, 153.784 
**Between:** Coffs Harbour and North Coffs Harbour 
**Opened:** **Saturday, 18 July 1925** — 250-foot (76.2m) Up side unattended platform at Mileage 378.40; at **Coffs Harbour Recreation Reserve**; Nos. 42 and 43 Sunday Excursion trains stop when required; prepaid traffic (W.N. — 1925; ref. 25–27,259) 
**Purpose:** Served Park Beach camping reserve — used for railway employee and family excursion special trains and Sunday excursion trains 
**Closed:** **30 June 1974** (per your notes) 
**Deleted from publications:** W.N. 29–1974 (List of Stations, ref. B.2–74–71,071) 
**Re-inserted as Park Beach (P):** W.N. 1–1975 — **609.00 km** from Sydney; **449.00 km** from Newcastle; in Maitland–Queensland Border table (ref. C1–74–26130) 
**All references deleted:** W.N. 26–1975 — accommodation table (page 82), Working Timetable (pages 184, 195–202, 216–223) (ref. A1 73 77203) 
**Status:** Closed 
**Name meaning:** Named after the nearby Park Beach and reserve 
**Notes:** No shelter constructed; platform demolished and rebuilt following construction of new Park Beach bridge in 1950s 
**Mileage for rates:** From Sydney 378m 40c; From Darling Harbour 380 miles; From Newcastle 279m 2c 

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> **Notes:** Park Beach platform opened **18 July 1925** — 250-foot (76.2m) Up side unattended platform at Mileage 378.40, at the Coffs Harbour Recreation Reserve. Nos. 42 and 43 Sunday Excursion trains stop when required; all traffic prepaid. The platform served the Park Beach camping reserve and was used primarily for railway employee and family excursion special trains and Sunday excursion services; there appears to have been no shelter constructed. The platform was demolished and rebuilt following the construction of the new Park Beach bridge in the 1950s. Station closed 30 June 1974 — deleted from List of Stations (W.N. 29–1974). Re-inserted as Park Beach (P) in the Maitland–Queensland Border table at 609.00 km / 449.00 km from Newcastle (W.N. 1–1975; ref. C1–74–26130). All Working Timetable and accommodation table references deleted W.N. 26–1975.

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## 1925 — Platform Opened — 18 July 1925; 250 Feet; Mileage 378m 40c; Recreation Reserve; Nos. 42 and 43

### Platform Opened — W.N. — 1925
> **Pages 49 and 301 — Park Beach (North Coast) — Provision of Platform** — On **Saturday, 18th July, 1925**, a new unattended platform, **250 feet** in length, erected on the **Up side** of the line at Mileage **378.40** (Time-table from Sydney), at **Coffs Harbour Recreation Reserve**, and to be known as **PARK BEACH**, will be brought into use.
>
> **Mileage for Rates Purposes:**
> - From Sydney: 378m 40c (378.40)
> - From Darling Harbour: 380 miles
> - From Newcastle: 279m 2c
>
> **Nos. 42 and 43** Sunday Excursion trains will stop when required to pick up and set down passengers.
>
> Freight and other charges on traffic to Park Beach must be **prepaid**. *(W.N. — 1925; ref. 25–27,259)*

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## 1935 — Surf Carnival Special Trains to Coffs Harbour (Park Beach)

### Surf Carnival Specials — 1935
> Surf Carnival at **Coff's Harbour (Park Beach)** — Special trains: Kempsey to Coff's Harbour and Dorrigo to Coff's Harbour. *(Source: 1935 Weekly Notices)*

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## 1974 — Station Closed — 30 June 1974; Deleted from Publications — W.N. 29–1974

### Deleted from Stations List — W.N. 29–1974
> **Page 259 — List of Stations, Sidings and Platforms — North Coast Line** — Delete **Park Beach** and relevant particulars. (B.2–74–71,071.) *(W.N. 29–1974)*

> **Page 173 — Maitland–Queensland Border** — Delete: Newee Creek, Valla, Repton, Archville, Bonville, **Park Beach**, Lanitza, Nana Glen. *(W.N. 29–1974)*

### Alphabetical List Deleted — W.N. 30–1974
> Delete **Park Beach** and relevant particulars. (B.2–74–71,071.) *(W.N. 30–1974)*

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## 1975 — Re-Inserted as Park Beach (P) — W.N. 1–1975; All References Deleted — W.N. 26–1975

### Re-Inserted — W.N. 1–1975
> **Page 173 — Maitland–Queensland Border — Insert:** 
> **Park Beach (P) — 609.00 — 449.00** [km from Sydney / km from Newcastle]. (C1–74–26130.) *(W.N. 1–1975)*

### All References Deleted — W.N. 26–1975
> **Page 82 — Accommodation Provided** — Delete all reference to Repton, Archville, **Park Beach** and Hannaford's Banana Stage. (A1 73 77203.) *(W.N. 26–1975)*

> **Page 184 / Pages 195–202 and 216–223** — Delete all reference to Lansdowne, Colombatti, Repton, Archville, **Park Beach** [and others]. (A1 73 77203.) *(W.N. 26–1975)*

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## Summary of Key Events

| Date | Event |
|------|-------|
| **18 July 1925** | **Platform opened** — 250-foot (76.2m) Up side; Mileage 378m 40c; Coffs Harbour Recreation Reserve; Nos. 42 and 43 Sunday Excursion trains stop when required; prepaid; no shelter (W.N. — 1925; ref. 25–27,259) |
| 1935 | Surf Carnival special trains to Coffs Harbour (Park Beach) |
| 1950s | Platform demolished and rebuilt following new Park Beach bridge construction |
| **30 June 1974** | **Station closed** — deleted from List of Stations and border tables (W.N. 29–1974) |
| **W.N. 1–1975** | Re-inserted as **Park Beach (P)** — 609.00 km, 449.00 km from Newcastle (ref. C1–74–26130) |
| **W.N. 26–1975** | All accommodation table and Working Timetable references deleted |

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*Extracted from NSW Government Railways Weekly Notices, 1925–1975.* 
*Note: The 1925 opening notice refers to "Coffs Harbour Recreation Reserve" — not the later "Park Beach camping reserve" name. Nos. 42 and 43 Sunday Excursion trains are the only trains documented as stopping at Park Beach; no regular service trains are mentioned, consistent with its use as an excursion-only platform. The delete/re-insert sequence (W.N. 29–1974 deleted; W.N. 1–1975 re-inserted; W.N. 26–1975 finally deleted) over a period of 6 months is consistent with an administrative process that first deleted Park Beach prematurely, then corrected to (P) classification before finally completing the full deletion.*