Leycester

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Type : Station
Line : Murwillumbah Branch
Distance from Sydney : 827.555km
Location : -28.781054, 153.194739
Opened : 1912
Closed : 3 June 1972
Status : Closed
Name meaning : Named after Messrs Leycester and Shaw
Notes : A 15.24 metre platform was on the Down side. Location had a tool house and a fettler's shed.

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Location of Leycester station near Lismore; the station was open between 1912 and 1972.

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Strengthening the trusses of the railway bridge at Leycester, February 1935

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Shane Grant:

I wish we had photos of the station. There was originally 2 brown sheds on the platform, one with a magneto telephone. I remember the local Italians loading bananas in bushel cases onto train to go to Sydney. One shed was burnt down then the other shed was dismantled, so all we had was the platform.

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North Coast Mail at Leycester (undated, State Archives)

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1940s diagram

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Leycester Road Crossing looking towards Lismore 01/03/2023. (Ian Kilmartin)

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Leycester Road Crossing looking towards Casino 01/03/2023. (Ian Kilmartin)

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Looking over the location of the one-time Leycester station on the Murwillumbah branch (Feb 2025)

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# Leycester (Murwillumbah Branch)
## Entries from NSW Government Railways Weekly Notices, 1912–1975

---

**Type:** Station / Platform (Closed) 
**Line:** Murwillumbah Branch (Casino–Murwillumbah) 
**Distance from Sydney:** 827.555 km (Mileage approximately **513m–514m**; Leycester Quarry Siding at 513m 62c immediately south) 
**Location:** -28.781054, 153.194739 
**Between:** Fernside / Leycester Quarry Siding (south) and Tuncester (north) 
**Opened:** **1912** (per your notes; no WN opening notice found in OCR) 
**Closed:** **3 June 1972** (per your notes; W.N. 19, 20 and 22–1972 deletions) 
**Status:** Closed 

### Signal Sectionmen District Boundary (1930)
**W.N. 47–1930:** Lismore Signal Sectionmen district — "**Leycester** to Murwillumbah and Nallina" — confirming Leycester as the **southern boundary of the Lismore Signal Sectionmen's district** 

### Relation to Leycester Quarry Siding
The Leycester Quarry Siding (abolished 19 February 1952) was at Mileage 513m 62c — immediately south of Leycester station. The Local Appendix formerly listed Leycester station as "Leycester (and Quarry Siding)" until W.N. 1–1953 deleted the quarry siding reference.

### Motor Service (1930)
Listed as a request stop ("a") in Casino–Murwillumbah motor car service timetable — between Fernside and Baraimal/Tuncester

### Deletion History
**W.N. 19–1972 (ref. C.71–4,170):** Casino–Murwillumbah Line distances (page 191) — delete **Leycester** and relevant particulars; Alphabetical List (page 67) — delete Leycester 
**W.N. 20–1972 (refs B.2–71–66,269 and B.2–72–26,510):** Page 56 — delete Leycester station name and relative particulars; List of stations with mileages from border stations — delete Leycester 
**W.N. 22–1972 (refs A.1–72–51,602 and A.1–72–51,611):** Pages 241–244 — delete Leycester; Grades table (page 104) — delete Leycester; page 49 — delete Leycester 

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> **Notes:** Leycester opened 1912 on the Murwillumbah branch — no WN opening notice found in OCR. Listed as unattended (P) in 1924 between Fernside (P) and Tuncester (P). Leycester was the southern boundary of the Lismore Signal Sectionmen's district (W.N. 47–1930) — confirming its administrative significance beyond its size. Request stop on the 1930 motor car service. The station's Local Appendix entry formerly included the Leycester Quarry Siding — the "(and Quarry Siding)" designation was deleted in W.N. 1–1953 after the quarry siding's abolition in 1952. Closed 3 June 1972; deleted across three consecutive WNs (19, 20 and 22–1972).

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## 1924 — Unattended Platform

### Unattended Platform — W.N. — 1924
> **Leycester (P)** — unattended platform; between Fernside (P) and Tuncester (P). *(Source: 1924 Weekly Notices)*

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## 1930 — Signal Sectionmen District; Motor Car Request Stop

### Signal Sectionmen — W.N. 47–1930
> **Signal Sectionmen — Lismore District:** **Leycester** to Murwillumbah and Nallina. *(W.N. 47–1930)*

### Motor Car Timetable — W.N. — 1930
> **Casino–Murwillumbah Motor Car Service** — **Leycester** listed as a **request stop** ("a") between Fernside and Baraimal/Tuncester. *(Source: 1930 Weekly Notices)*

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## 1953 — Quarry Siding Reference Deleted — W.N. 1–1953

### Residual Reference Deleted — W.N. 1–1953
> **Page 45** — Delete "(and Quarry Siding)" from entry relating to **Leycester**. *(W.N. 1–1953)*

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## 1972 — Station Deleted — W.N. 19, 20 and 22–1972

### Border Table Deleted — W.N. 19–1972
> **Page 191 — Stations and Platforms — Casino–Murwillumbah Line** — Delete **Leycester** and relevant particulars. (C.71–4,170.) *(W.N. 19–1972)*

> **Page 67 — Alphabetical List of Stations** — Delete **Leycester**. (C.1–72–29,810.) *(W.N. 19–1972)*

### Rates Books Deleted — W.N. 20–1972
> **Page 56 — List of Stations** — Delete **Leycester** station name and relative particulars. (B.2–71–66,269.) *(W.N. 20–1972)*

> **List of stations with mileages from border stations** — Delete **Leycester** and relative particulars. (B.2–72–26,510.) *(W.N. 20–1972)*

### Further Deletions — W.N. 22–1972
> **Pages 241 to 244 inclusive** — Delete **Leycester** and relevant particulars. (A.1–72–51,602.) *(W.N. 22–1972)*

> **Page 104 — Grades at Stations, Sidings, Platforms and Signal-boxes — Casino–Murwillumbah Branch** — Delete **Leycester** and relevant particulars. (A.1–72–51,611.) *(W.N. 22–1972)*

> **Page 49** — Delete **Leycester**. (A.1–72–51,602.) *(W.N. 22–1972)*

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## Summary of Key Events

| Date | Event |
|------|-------|
| **1912** | **Opened** — Murwillumbah branch; no WN opening notice found in OCR |
| By 1924 | **Leycester (P)** — unattended platform; between Fernside (P) and Tuncester (P) |
| **W.N. 47–1930** | Lismore Signal Sectionmen district boundary — **Leycester to Murwillumbah and Nallina** |
| **W.N. — 1930** | Request stop on Casino–Murwillumbah motor car service |
| **19 February 1952** | Leycester Quarry Siding (Mileage 513m 62c) abolished — adjacent siding |
| **W.N. 1–1953** | "(and Quarry Siding)" deleted from Leycester Local Appendix entry |
| **3 June 1972** | **Station closed** |
| **W.N. 19–1972** | Deleted from Casino–Murwillumbah Line distances and Alphabetical List (ref. C.71–4,170) |
| **W.N. 20–1972** | Deleted from List of Stations (page 56) and border distances (refs B.2–71–66,269 and B.2–72–26,510) |
| **W.N. 22–1972** | Deleted from pages 241–244, Grades table, and page 49 (refs A.1–72–51,602 and A.1–72–51,611) |

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*Extracted from NSW Government Railways Weekly Notices, 1924–1972.* 
*Note: Leycester's administrative significance as the southern boundary of the Lismore Signal Sectionmen's district (W.N. 47–1930) is disproportionate to its size as an unattended platform. This boundary persisted from at least 1930 and likely reflects the transition point between the Casino-controlled lower reaches of the branch and the Lismore-controlled upper section. The three-WN deletion sequence (W.N. 19, 20 and 22–1972) is the most spread deletion in the Murwillumbah branch 1972 closure batch, using five separate file references — reflecting the number of different rate books and administrative publications in which Leycester appeared despite being an unattended platform.*