On 7 February 1969, the Southern Aurora, an overnight express passenger train between Sydney and Melbourne, collided head-on with an Albury-bound goods train, 174 kilometres north of Melbourne. The Melbourne-bound Southern Aurora ran through the Violet Town crossing loop where it should have waited for the goods train to pass.
The Southern Aurora bore the burnt of the collision because the goods train was heavier. Nine people were killed (two drivers, one electrician, one conductor and five passengers) and 117 passengers were injured.