Services have resumed on the Sydney to Brisbane railway line, which had been closed due to a fire at a historic coal loader in the Northern Rivers. The structure towered over Casino since the 1940’s but was reduced to ashes overnight.
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TVTranscript
00:00 A piece of railway history lost forever.
00:07 The 76-year-old timber and steel coal loader at Casino cut an eerie sight as it went up in flames.
00:14 What I saw that day down at the railway depot where I used to work is absolutely heart-breaking.
00:22 It was just beyond belief.
00:25 Any hope of saving the historic structure was quickly lost.
00:30 It was just too hot and the crews immediately went in a defensive strategy
00:34 and basically just had to wait for it to collapse before they could get too close to it.
00:38 The fire caused the closure of the Sydney to Brisbane line due to fears what was left of the structure could collapse.
00:45 The loader was well known to long-time locals.
00:48 It's been a feature on our casino skyline for many, many years and it's sad to see it gone.
00:54 Fire crews had attended a grass fire in the area on Sunday afternoon and put it out
00:59 but were called back in the early hours of the morning.
01:02 The nearby roundhouse was saved but the coal stack, believed to be the last of its type in New South Wales, was destroyed.
01:10 The remaining metal structure was eventually deemed safe enough for passenger and freight services to resume.
01:17 This is the latest in a string of suspicious fires and vandal attacks to take place here at Casino and the historic railway buildings.
01:25 In 2018, the old railway depot building was completely destroyed by fire, the community angry that history hasn't been preserved.
01:35 It's just a horrible thing to have happened and for what?
01:41 An investigation into the fire is continuing.
01:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]