The Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company was a railway company in Victoria, Australia. Alexander Thomson, a member of the Victorian Legislative Council, introduced and mentored a bill to incorporate the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company. On 8 February 1853, the operation of Melbourne and Geelong Railway Company and Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company was approved by the Victoria Government. Thomson was one of the directors and presided at the first shareholder meeting. Work began at the Geelong end in 1854 but progress was slow due to a labour shortage caused by the Victorian gold rush, so the Victorian government hired out 100 prisoners to the company at a daily rate of five shillings each. They were housed in prison hulks moored in Corio Bay. English engineer and surveyor, Edward Snell, undertook the survey and design of the line, including a station and extensive workshops at Geelong, and a number of bluestone and timber bridges. Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company was one of the first private railway companies in Victoria. It was the first organization to offer the country line to connect the two major cities in the colony and supporting gold mining via cooperation with Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company. The company's establishment could be considered as a response to the fast-changing economy of Melbourne and Geelong during the 19th century. The company claimed to complete the line with low cost and rapid constructing time but the first service provided in Newport was 18 months behind schedule and constructing cost doubles the initial plan. On 25 June 1857, the company opened the line from Geelong to a temporary terminus called Greenwich, on the Yarra River at Newport, where passengers had to transfer to a steam ferry for connection to Melbourne. In 1859, train services were extended through from Newport to Spencer Street station after the Victorian Railways opened the Williamstown railway. However, the company continued to operate at a loss, and in June 1860, was sold to the Government of Victoria for £800,000. The Geelong-Melbourne railway then became part of the network operated by the Victorian Railways, which undertook extensive repairs and refurbishment of the line and its infrastructure. History The second half of the 19th century was the train era in the British colony since it witnessed the formation of multiple private railway companies. The railway industry was featured as one of the major developing