The Newnes railway line (also called Wolgan Valley Railway) is a closed and dismantled railway line in New South Wales, Australia. The line ran for 32 mi (51 km) from the Main Western line to the township of Newnes. Along the way, it passed through a tunnel now known as the Glowworm Tunnel, because it is famous for its glow-worms. The tunnel is now contained within the Wollemi National Park.
The line was constructed and operated by the Commonwealth Oil Corporation for their NewnesOil Shale mine. Surveying and construction was overseen by Henry Deane. The line opened in 1907 and closed in 1932. It was primarily intended to carry goods to and from the mine, but also provided passenger services.
The New South Wales Division of Australian Railway Historical Society published The Shale Railways of New South Wales in 1974 which includes a detailed history of this line.
Allan Watson, the Lessee of the old Newnes Hotel, has a comprehensive website here.
The steep 1 in 25 (4%) gradients along the descent towards Newnes required a different type of steam locomotive. 4 Shay locomotives were imported from the Lima Locomotive Works in the USA. Although rather slow, their unique build which uses crankshafts to propel the wheels made them very suitable, and if a train had to stop on a steep uphill grade, the train could easily start again and keep moving.
In 1940–1941, the rails were lifted; most were shipped to North Africa for use as anti-tank traps and gun emplacement reinforcements[2] but some of the bullhead rails were reused for structures and supports of the oil pipeline.[3] Other iron fittings from the line were used as scrap for munitions.[2]
^"Gllen Davis". lithgow-tourism.com. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
^ ab"Wolgan Line Rails As Tank Traps". Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954). 12 September 1941. p. 6. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
^"Preserved Steam Locomotives Down Under - Wolgan Shay". www.australiansteam.com. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
Further readingedit
Newnes Line - NSWrail.net
Deane, Henry (1979). The Wolgan Valley Railway - Its Construction. Australian Railway Historical Society, New South Wales Division. ISBN0-909650-09-8.
Deane, Henry (2004). The Wolgan Valley Railway - Its Construction. Australian Railway Historical Society, New South Wales Division. ISBN0-909650-61-6.
Eardley, G H; Stephens, E M (2015). The shale railways of New South Wales. Australian Railway Historical Society New South Wales Division. ISBN978-0-9807721-8-0.
Hicks, George; O'Brien, Dennis (1999). Shays in the Valley. New South Wales Rail Transport Museum. ISBN0-909862-50-8.
Langdon, Mark; Oliver, Dean, (illustrator.); Johnson, Roger, (illustrator.); Dunn, Ian, (researcher.); Gallagher, Bob, (researcher.); Matthews, Richard, (researcher.) (2017). Shale & Shays : The Fight for Shale Oil from the Wolgan Valley. Eveleigh Press. ISBN978-1-876568-74-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Paton, Neil (1986). Treks in New South Wales : ten long walks in national parks. Kangaroo Press. ISBN978-0-86417-079-8.
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newnes, railway, line, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, 2017. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Newnes railway line news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Newnes railway line also called Wolgan Valley Railway is a closed and dismantled railway line in New South Wales Australia The line ran for 32 mi 51 km from the Main Western line to the township of Newnes Along the way it passed through a tunnel now known as the Glowworm Tunnel because it is famous for its glow worms The tunnel is now contained within the Wollemi National Park Newnes railway lineCommonwealth Oil Corporation goods wagonOverviewTerminiNewnes JunctionNewnesStations4ServiceOperator s Commonwealth Oil CorporationHistoryOpened1907Closed1932TechnicalLine length32 mi 51 km Number of tracks1Track gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gaugeMap all coordinates using OpenStreetMapDownload coordinates as KML GPX all coordinates GPX primary coordinates GPX secondary coordinates Contents 1 Description and history 2 See also 3 References 4 Further readingDescription and history editvteNewnes LineLegend nbsp Newnes Oil Works nbsp Newnes nbsp nbsp Constance nbsp Newnes Tunnels nbsp nbsp nbsp Deane nbsp 12 Mile Siding nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Newnes JunctionMain West line The line was constructed and operated by the Commonwealth Oil Corporation for their Newnes Oil Shale mine Surveying and construction was overseen by Henry Deane The line opened in 1907 and closed in 1932 It was primarily intended to carry goods to and from the mine but also provided passenger services The New South Wales Division of Australian Railway Historical Society published The Shale Railways of New South Wales in 1974 which includes a detailed history of this line Allan Watson the Lessee of the old Newnes Hotel has a comprehensive website here The steep 1 in 25 4 gradients along the descent towards Newnes required a different type of steam locomotive 4 Shay locomotives were imported from the Lima Locomotive Works in the USA Although rather slow their unique build which uses crankshafts to propel the wheels made them very suitable and if a train had to stop on a steep uphill grade the train could easily start again and keep moving After the line closed part of its route was used by a section of the pipeline that carried refined petroleum from the Glen Davis Shale Oil Works to Newnes Junction 1 In 1940 1941 the rails were lifted most were shipped to North Africa for use as anti tank traps and gun emplacement reinforcements 2 but some of the bullhead rails were reused for structures and supports of the oil pipeline 3 Other iron fittings from the line were used as scrap for munitions 2 See also editBlue Mountains walking tracks Newnes glow worm tunnel Rail rollingstock in New South Wales Rail trail Rail transport in New South WalesReferences edit Gllen Davis lithgow tourism com Retrieved 4 June 2020 a b Wolgan Line Rails As Tank Traps Lithgow Mercury NSW 1898 1954 12 September 1941 p 6 Retrieved 12 July 2020 Preserved Steam Locomotives Down Under Wolgan Shay www australiansteam com Retrieved 12 July 2020 Further reading editNewnes Line NSWrail net Deane Henry 1979 The Wolgan Valley Railway Its Construction Australian Railway Historical Society New South Wales Division ISBN 0 909650 09 8 Deane Henry 2004 The Wolgan Valley Railway Its Construction Australian Railway Historical Society New South Wales Division ISBN 0 909650 61 6 Eardley G H Stephens E M 2015 The shale railways of New South Wales Australian Railway Historical Society New South Wales Division ISBN 978 0 9807721 8 0 Hicks George O Brien Dennis 1999 Shays in the Valley New South Wales Rail Transport Museum ISBN 0 909862 50 8 Langdon Mark Oliver Dean illustrator Johnson Roger illustrator Dunn Ian researcher Gallagher Bob researcher Matthews Richard researcher 2017 Shale amp Shays The Fight for Shale Oil from the Wolgan Valley Eveleigh Press ISBN 978 1 876568 74 0 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Paton Neil 1986 Treks in New South Wales ten long walks in national parks Kangaroo Press ISBN 978 0 86417 079 8 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Newnes railway line KML file edit help Template Attached KML Newnes railway lineKML is from Wikidata nbsp nbsp This article about rail transport in New South Wales is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Newnes railway line amp oldid 1177316588, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
