By 1877, there was significant political pressure to minimise the diversion of trade from western New South Wales to
Victoria and
South Australia via river trade along the
Darling and
Murray rivers. The town of Bourke had become the key centre for pastoralists in western New South Wales since its formation in 1861. Provision was thus made to extend the line to Dubbo, reaching
Wellington in 1880 and
Dubbo in 1881. At the time, Dubbo had grown into a town of strategic importance on the stock routes between northern New South Wales and the Victorian goldfields. Beyond Dubbo, the railway opened up new land to European settlement, and was directly responsible for the development of townships. The line reached the future site of
Narromine in 1883, and the railway station was the first building in the future settlement. The line reached the site of
Nevertire in 1882, serving the nearby established village of
Warren (a branch opened to Warren in 1898). Construction reached the site of
Nyngan in 1883, with the nearby coach-stop village of Canonbar moving in its entirely to establish the town of Nyngan. Beyond Nyngan, the line swept across the plains in a straight line for , then the longest stretch of straight railway line in the world. It reached the temporary terminus of
Byrock in 1884 before reaching its final destination of Bourke in 1885. The now-gone
Station Master's residence was completed in the same year. A loading bank was built in 1890. A small coal stage, depot and drivers' barracks were added in 1891. In 1965, the station building was destroyed by a fire. It was replaced in 1968, becoming the first station building in New South Wales to be air-conditioned. The last goods train to Bourke ran in 1989. == Services ==