The line was operated by"staff and ticket" safeworking until 29th May 1900 when electric staff was introduced between stations, being Talbot / Maryborough and Talbot / Clunes. Long after freight and parcels traffic declined , and there was no longer a passenger service , the station was operated for two shifts by assistant stationmasters until 1994, soon after the station was closed along with Creswick and Clunes. The railways engineers planned to demolish the buildings, but they were saved by heritage considerations and this was not allowed, much to the annoyance of the railways!

The staff instruments, associated bell code system, and a display of associated railway memorabilia can be demonstrated today in the railway museum, despite all equipment being removed when the station was closed and later heavily vandalised. Today the railway line carries heavy wheat traffic principally to Geelong via Ballarat from the North of the state and a large amount of goods to and from Mildura. As at AUG. 2007 the line is due for a $73 million upgrade, with extensive sleeper replacement, about 300,000 between Gheringhap and Mildura.

Refurbishment of the track trough Talbot has continued through May and June 2008 and is now proceeding through Bealiba to Mildura (12th June 2008). The Mildura freight service is now only run on 3 days per week with longer trains. The wheat traffic at present is virtually nil.

The telephone pole line between Maryborough and Ballarat is being removed by a contractor, the line in front of the station was removed on 21st. June 2007. Until then it had been one of the very few still remaining in use in Victoria, only having been decommissioned a few month's ago.

Railway Insulators excellent U.K. website http://teleramics.com/index.html