 A branch line was built from Linton junction to the Ballarat Cattle Yards and Redan in 1886.This line was closed in 1997.The line was extended from Ballarat to Beaufort in 1874 and Ararat in 1875, Stawell in 1876, Murtoa in 1878, Horsham in 1882, Dimboola in 1882 and linked with the South Australian Railways at Serviceton in 1887.