A last remnant of New England's Great Northern Railway

Over on the New England New State Movement Facebook page, David Good posted this photo with the following comment:

Currently, the only train movement north of Armidale on the Great Northern Railway. TPX Trackman Track Vehicles owned and operated by Guyra & District Historical Society Machinery Group Inc, and running services for the Guyra Lamb & Potato Festival on 17-01-2014.

I was taken by surprise because I didn't realise that any part of the Great Northern Railway still survived north of Armidale. David responded:

It's only a couple of km stretch from Guyra, south. It's a crime the Great Northern Railway, north of Armidale has been left unused and rotting!

I have to agree. Construction of the Great Northern Railway was to NSW what the Snowy was to Australia, a huge engineering feat. Unlike Queensland who kept their part of the line open, NSW just let the whole thing rot in the name of efficiency and effectiveness. Now enthusiasts like David and the members of the New England Railways group face an uphill battle in saving anything of our railway heritage.

It didn't need to be like that, it really didn't. I don't think that a New England Government would have allowed it. Even Sydney could have used more imagination in looking at ways to keep the line on a care and maintenance basis to allow other solutions to emerge. The world does change, but once an asset is gone its gone.   

Just a bit more on the Werris Creek Railway Museum

So far I have written stories mentioning the Werris Creek Railway Museum:

• 17 April 2008 Kamilaroi Highway - Werris Creek Railway Monument and Museum
• 25 April 2010 Three things I still have to do in New England -1 Railways
• 20 July 2011 New England's railway museums.

Now Kelly Fuller from ABC New England North West has interviewed Chris Holley, President of the Museum. It's worth listening to for those interested in the Museum or railways more generally.

The sad story of the Dorrigo to Glenreagh Railway 3 - the Dorrigo-Guyra line

This post continues the story of the Dorrigo-Glenreagh railway from The sad story of the Dorrigo to Glenreagh Railway 2 - building the line.

In 1927, the first Nationalist-Country Party ministry came into power. The new Country Party ministers came to office with seven years' accumulated dreams and hopes to fulfil, and with an electorate that expected them to do just that. Neither they nor the electorate were to know that Depression would shortly bring a sudden and bitter end to their hopes. The result was a brief Indian Summer of intense activity, some of the most productive months the Country Party has ever know.[1] Buttenshaw immediately accelerated public works expenditure: his Department provided country towns with water supply and sewerage schemes, while a number of new railway lines were commenced. To the North, the most important of these was the long-dreamed of Guyra-Dorrigo railway.

The ideal of an east-west New England railway line had a very long history. Now, for the first time, it could become a reality.

On 20 October 1928, before a crowd of between 3000 to 4000 people,CP Leader Buttenshaw turned the first sod of the new line at Guyra.[2] After praising the new state and Country Party workers who had campaigned for the line - Bruxner, Drummond, Thompson, Colonel H.F. White and others - Buttenshaw declared: 'The Government had decided that no work would be authorized, no sod turned, until they were absolutely safe in saying the work would be finished.'[3] Despite the freezing weather, it was a day of hope and speeches. To Drummond, the railway was a sign that 'the people of the North were combined, each party realising that if it could not get what it particularly wanted, it must help other parts in their efforts.'[4] For Victor Thompson, the day was a step towards something bigger:

The job, however, was not finished, and they could not sit down but must go on with the great Northern works. Most of them would live to see the turning of the first sod of something much bigger than was now being celebrated. - the first sod of the new Northern state, which once established would have a powerful influence on not only the North, but on New South Wales, and on Australia. (Applause).[5]

Two days later a similar ceremony was carried out at Dorrigo. The Armidale Express remarked happily that the new line marked 'a new era for rural New South Wales and the north, in particular.'[6]

As the Great Depression engulfed NSW, work was stopped. Faced with great financial stringency, the Nationalist-Country Party coalition returning to power after the defeat of the Lang Labor administration did not resume construction despite the dominance of the Northern leadership in the new United Country Movement (the new name for the Country Party). To many, this was a betrayal. It also left the Dorrigo-Glenreagh line truncated from its broader hinterland, dependent on Dorrigo Plateau traffic for its survival. 

---

[1]Unless otherwise cited, material in the next paragraphs is drawn from Ellis, The New South Wales Country Party, pp.106-114.

[2]Reports in the Armidale Express, 23 October 1928, and Armidale Chronicle, 24 October 1928. Cited in: G.S. Harman, 'Politics at the Electoral Level - A Study in Armidale and New England, 1899-1929', MA thesis, University of New England, 1964, pp.164-166. The opening is also reported in detail in the Northern Daily Leader, 22 October 1928.

[3]Armidale Chronicle, 24 October 1928.

[4]Northern Daily Leader, 22 October 1928.

[5]ibid.

[6]19 October 1928.

The sad story of the Dorrigo to Glenreagh Railway 2 - building the line

My first post in this series, The sad story of the Dorrigo to Glenreagh Railway 1 - ghost railway, simply set the scene,  

For those who don't know Dorrigo, it lies on the Dorrigo Plateau perched on the edge of the New England escarpment. This is truly beautiful country, although the colours are not quite your Australian stereotypical colours as so often presented. It is just too green because of the high rainfall.

At the turn of the twentieth century, the Dorrigo was heavily forested. Lumbering and clearing began, but the high escarpment made it difficult to get produce to the seaboard. Timber in particular had to be hauled over rough roads to Armidale or Grafton.

This type of difficulty was was true to greater or lesser extent across New England. Fights for east-west rail links helped fuel the discontent that generated the desire of so many New Englanders over more than 150 years to gain Northern self-government.

In 1905, work finally began on a north-south North Coast line. Settlers on the Dorrigo Plateau began an intensive campaign to link their area to the projected railway. On 28 December 1910, the Glenreagh to Dorrigo Railway Act was passed, providing for the construction of a line linking Glenreagh on the coast to Dorrigo. This would allow timber and other produce to be shifted through the small port at Coffs Harbour. However, the protagonists saw this as a first step in a longer inland east-west line.  

The photo shows bullock teams at work at the Coffs Habour port in 1928.

Survey work on the new line did not commence until 1914, actual construction a little later. In 1917, the war interrupted work, with construction beginning again in 1920.

Construction was no mean feat because of the rugged terrain and regular rain. Land slips were common and were to plague the line throughout its life.

The new line was finally opened on 23 December 1924, providing a Christmas present to residents of the Dorrigo. Next step, construction of the Dorrigo-Guyra line begins.

Next post. First post

Postscript

I felt a bit sad writing this post. It's not just a story of lost dreams, but today everything is so tied up in rules, regulations, proscriptions, evaluations, impact statements, cost-benefit analyses, performance measures etc that the Government in Sydney struggles to build a single railway line. 

Further reading

For those interested in a little more:

• The colours of New England looks at the changing colours across New England and the relationship with geography
• Memories from a Glenreagh past contains a link to a video that gives a good feel for life when timber was at its peak

The sad story of the Dorrigo to Glenreagh Railway 1 - ghost railway

In the next few posts I want to say a little about the sad and sorry story of the Dorrigo to Glenreagh railway line. This is a case where a New England Government could have and probably would have taken a more pro-active approach simply because the line would have been more important, not just a minor line in a distant part of New South Wales.

To introduce the posts, this you tube video is simply called Ghost Railway:

 

New England's railway museums

Following up my last post, Introducing New England's railways, I thought that I should at least list some of New England's railway museums to help those who want to plan a railway trip.

A list of railway museums follows. You will see the strong Hunter Valley focus, reflecting the Valley's many railway lines. By far the largest New England rail festival is the Hunter Valley Steamfest held in April of each year. One of the best sites background for those planning to explore New England's railway history is Rolfe Bozier's NSWrail.net.

Hunter Valley 

The Richmond Vale Railway Museum is a volunteer non-profit organization, formed in 1979 with the aim of preserving the Railway and Mining Heritage of J&A Brown and the Hunter Valley.

The R.V.R.M. is located in the old Richmond Main Colliery site, Main Road 135, Leggett's Drive, Richmond Vale 4kms south of Kurri Kurri in the Hunter Valley.

The R.V.R.M. runs trains first three Sundays of each month and every Sunday during School Holidays however we are closed entirely during the month of December. Gates open at 10am and close at 4pm.

The Rail Motor Society was established in 1984 as a not-for-profit organisation to collect, preserve and operate a representative fleet of NSW Government Railways rail motors. The Society operates heritage tourist trains on the NSW railway network.

The Society's Depot and Museum is located in the old Paterson Goods Yard opposite Paterson Railway Station, on the North Coast Line. Road access is off Webbers Creek Road.

The Depot houses the Society's collection of Rail Motors and other rolling stock. The steel 3-road Rail Motor Shed was constructed in 1992-93 and is 75 metres long and 14 metres wide.

I was going to give more information on the Society and especially its rail tours. Sadly, I cannot copy from the Society's web site and don't have the time to retype. So I will leave it to you to follow up.

Great Northern/Main North Line and associated lines - from the Hunter to the Border

This is the fettler's sculpture from the Werris Creek Railway Monument and associated Rail Journey's Museum.

Built as a memorial to those who died whilst working to develop our nation's infrastructure, the Australian Railway Monument is a sight to behold. Opened in October 2005, the six evocative structures of the monument are set on the backdrop of the impressive historical Werris Creek Railway Station. Search the name walls of this sobering commemoration and acknowledge those who died on duty.

The associated Rail Journeys Museum is located in the Railway Refreshment Room building of the Werris Creek Railway Station. This unique Museum brings history to life with the new Audio Visual component. Designed to tell the personal social life of railway men and women, the rail journeys museum is operated by ex-railway workers who tell of the laughs, joys and tears of working on the railway.

The museum is at Railway Avenue and is open 7 days, 10am - 4pm. Entry by donation.

Armidale Railway Museum (web site http://www.armidaletourism.com.au/accom_result1/railway-museum/) has an extensive collection of tools and implements used by old-time railwaymen, including trolleys and "trikes" used on the most remote parts of the railway line.

The Railway Museum is adjacent to the Railway Station on the corner of Brown & ODell Streets, Armidale. Exterior exhibits can be viewed at any time. Interior display open 11am - 11.30am each day. Admission is free. Donations welcome.

Guyra Railway Station has been now been turned into general museum. The Guyra Antique Machinery Museum displays the evolution of farm machinery, from horse-drawn to rubber tyred tractors. In this day of automation, the chaff cutters, water pumps and sheep shearing plants will remind you of the hard work our agricultural pioneers endured.

Tenterfield Railway Station and yard is managed by Tenterfield Railway Preservation Society.  It is among the most complete station precincts in terms of composition of railway buildings and small objects typical of an important regional style railway station. 

Listed as one of only 6  Rail Heritage Precincts in NSW, the railway station is an excellent example of Victorian Gothic architecture and was built in 1886 as the terminal station of the Great Northern Railway.

Although no longer served by trains the building remains as one of the town's finest heritage structures. Internally the building retains its features as they existed on the last day of train operations in the 1980s. Opening times: 9 a.m.to 4 p.m. Admission please 'phone (02)6736 2223. Opening times can be varied for groups of 6 or more and guided tours are available with advance bookings.

The Wallangarra Railway Station marked the end of the Great Northern Railway and the start of the Queensland line. For many years this station was the point at which all Brisbane-Sydney passengers had to change trains. The station with its dual style NSW and Queensland style building has been restored as a museum.

Unlike the Government in Sydney whose cost cutting desire led to the closure of the line north of Armidale despite its historic significance, Queensland has kept its part of the line open. The Southern Downs Steam Railway sometimes runs steam train trips from Stanthorpe to Wallangarra. 

North Coast and associated lines

In Three things I still have to do in New England -1 Railways I spoke a little of the history of the Dorrigo-Glenreagh line. Sadly, this most beautiful line is another of the lines closed by Sydney because of cost cutting.

There are two museum organisations at each end of the railway.

On the east, the Glenreagh Mountain Railway, known as the GMR, was established in 1989 as a heritage railway. It has run services along part of the track, but has had to suspend pending further work. It still maintains museums.

Inland, the Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum was established to create a museum and restore a railway service. After a brief opening period it shut its doors to the public, but still exists with one of the largest historic rolling stock collections in NSW. At this stage, I do not know when the museum will re-open its doors to the public.

I would love to think that this line might be re-opened.

Introducing New England's railways

In Tourism, content & the texture of New England life, I used New England's railways as one example to make the point that New England tourism was constrained by lack of information (and imagination!). In a comment, Mark wrote:

Thanks for the railway link Jim. You have stirred something up inside me.

The railways are an excellent way of drawing tourists from everywhere such is the emotion of steam and rail travel.

I've been doing a little research on Hunter railways and didn't realise until now that there is so much being lost with old lines and railway buildings lying in ruin.

Imagine the reopening of the Great Northern Line from its original terminus at Newcastle and running steam(or diesel) services all the way to Wallangarra.

In fact, if you visit this site, you can see old and present photos of old stations etc. http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW:main_north

Sadly, after the Hawksbury River bridge was opened, the Great Northern was changed to the Main North Line and Sydney stations added. You could say that since that bridge was built, the political, industrial and economic fates were sealed since the line terminated in Sydney rather than Newcastle. Newcastle was branch lined and its CBD was forever doomed which we still see to this day.

My home station of Lochinvar is one of the oldest of the Old Northern Line and was once the terminal. This station was demolished a few years after it lost its station master in 1983. After standing for 123 years it was demolished! Imagine an important part of rail history being demolished in Sydney? I'd better stop now.

Now in this comment, Mark raises a number of different points. Here I want to deal with just one, a follow up to my post.

In his post, Mark said in part: "I've been doing a little research on Hunter railways and didn't realise until now that there is so much being lost with old lines and railway buildings lying in ruin."

Now this links to my point about the absence of consolidated information about New England's railways that can be used, among other things, to plan a trip. That information could also be used to argue for preservation and development of the base remaining.

As a first step, I have updated my New England Railways label on this blog. This simply provides better access to past posts that I can then use for update purposes.    

Tourism, content & the texture of New England life

I started my weekly Armidale Express column yesterday, and then I became frustrated and stopped.

I had intended to follow up on the theme that I began in Selling New England and then continued in Selling New England - where would you advise people to go, ideas about the promotion of New England as a place to visit. Why frustrated? 

In a comment on one of the posts Greg wrote:

New England desperately needs to create a New England identity and consciousness.

By this, Greg meant simply that it is hard to sell a place when it doesn't have a proper identity. You end up selling just the bits.

Before going on, this photo is from Mark's Clarence Valley Today photo blog.

The photo is part of Mark's black and white series and shows some of the fashions at this year's Grafton July racing carnival, a very big racing event indeed. I actually hadn't heard of it until a year or so back when I was chatting to a woman on a Sydney bus who owned shares in race horses and went to Grafton for the carnival every year.

Now the point about the photo is that this is just one tiny element in the New England story.

My frustration in writing the Express column came about because I wanted to use examples to show how you could plan a week trip for a visitor across New England incorporating a whole series of elements. Since I was writing mainly for an Armidale audience, I was using Armidale as the centre in this case. However, the principles apply to other centres as well.

I found it harder than expected. I know New England pretty well, better than most I think. I write about it all the time, about it's history and life. Yet when I came to plan the trips giving options, I lacked the detail to do so. Precisely, I knew where things were in broad terms, I knew how history and geography linked them together, I could sketch broad themes, but I kept stumbling on detail.

I started with a wine trip. That one was okay, in part because the wine industry itself thinks in terms of wine tours and specific regions, so that all I had to do was to link four wine areas together. My real problem came when I turned to railways.

The next photo shows the state boundary lines on the platform at Wallangarra on the old Great Northern Railway. The station has been refurbished as a museum.

My problem with the railways is that while I knew a little of the history and indeed where the museums etc are, I found that to write the few lines I wanted to write I had to check multiple sites. I simply didn't have the time.

Now in taking first wine and then railways I was focusing on themes that I know to be of interest to particular visitor groups. This then provided a trip skeleton that other things could be added too.

At this stage I became depressed and restless. How could we expect people to come to New England if nothing was available to make things easy for them? How could we promote something when the very raw material were missing?

To ease my depression I went on a youtube tour looking for material that I might be able to use later. I do this from time to time, tramping across the North from town to town, area to area. I then realised something.

The following video clip comes courtesy of Lynne Sanders-Braithwaite and shows Grafton band The Ninth Chapter performing at Grafton. Comments follow.

 

This is just one band from one place. There are entire music circuits that I know nothing about; music is not one of my strong points. You would think that this would depress me further. Just the opposite in fact.

When I was chair of Tourism Armidale back in the early nineties, I argued many of the same things that I am arguing now. However, there was far less information available. Development of many themes required original research, something that tourism organisations find hard to do.

Even when I began this blog in April 2006, content was limited. I spent a fair bit of time just searching for material. Today because of my fellow bloggers, the new community sites, youtube etc far more material is available. The official tourism structures (not all) still tend to be locked into past institutional structures and mind sets, but those of us seeking to bring about real change have far more to work with.

I want to finish this post with a train video that will bring back many memories for older New Englanders who still remember when the Great Northern Line was a functioning line. Enjoy.   

1926 Murulla Train Disaster

In my post on the Formation of the Armidale Newspaper Company, I said in part:

Competition from the Northern Dailies combined with that from the Sydney press to increase the pressure on the other newspapers still being published on a tri-, bi- or weekly basis. This competition was not all one-sided. In September 1926, for example, Sommerlad wrote to Drummond with glee that the Glen Innes Examiner had

.. got a good one on Tamworth yesterday, in connection with the rail smash. Armidale passed the word on that Tamworth were sending a special edition up, to arrive about 7pm. I got busy & made a fine display of stuff in the short time available. Then hired a motor-bike and sent 350 copies to Inverell, having rung Knapton to get a dodger out in the meantime. The street was blocked with people waiting for copies & we made a great sale - & a great scoop.

Now what I didn't know until Gordon Smith's Old news from Armidale and New England provided the newspaper coverage was that the rail smash in question was one of the worst rail smashes in New England and possibly in Australia. I quote from the Sydney Morning Herald of 15 September 200

The worst railway disaster in the history of New South Wales occurred shortly before midnight last night, when six runaway goods trucks crashed into the north-west mail between the village of Blandford and the Murulla siding.

The goods train had been pulled on to the Murulla siding to allow the north-west mail to pass, when the coupling joining the six rear trucks to the forepart of the train suddenly snapped. It is understood that the guard of the goods train was standing on the side of the line, directing the shunting operations, when the trucks began to move down the line. Although this official made a frantic effort to clamber on to the runaway trucks he was unable to do so, and they disappeared at a terrific speed round a curve in the line.

It was known that the mail train had passed through Blandford station, and those on the siding were sick with fear and apprehension, but powerless to avert the impending catastrophe. A few seconds later there was a deafening crash as the runaway trucks struck, with terrific force, the mail train, and telescoped several carriages. The red-hot coals from the wrecked engine fell on to and ignited several bales of wool with which the trucks were loaded. The flames most fortunately did not reach the smashed carriages, or a much more terrible disaster would have resulted.

The story is quite a graphic one. Today we expect official help to arrive quickly. Not so much then, with the passengers organising the initial rescue efforts.

If you would like to read more, see:

• Train Disaster at Murulla
• Aftermath of Murulla Train Disaster
• Murulla Train Disaster: Inquest Ends

It really is quite a classic story.

Queen petitioned for action to improve New England's railways

I see from ABC New England North West that Anthony Hardwick has organised a petition to the Queen to draw attention to the rail situation on the Tablelands and North West.

Now Her Majesty will not able to help because this is matter for her NSW Government. However, I do have a great deal of sympathy for Anthony's desire to attract attention to the issue.

Unlike other states such as Queensland, Sydney's approach to its rail system is narrow, pedestrian and boring. I am not saying that Queensland is perfect, far from it because it suffers from some of the same problems as NSW. But it has promoted its railways as more than just transport.

In posts and in comments on this blog, some of us have discussed ways in which New England's railways present and rebuilt, might be used to more effectively to link and promote New England. I wonder what you think? What would you like to see done? 

Three things I still have to do in New England -1 Railways

There are so many things to see and do across New England that I have barely scratched the surface. So I thought that I might just record some of the things that I haven't done, but would like to. Think of it as an indulgence on my part.

Steamfest

Attended by 80,000 visitors, Maitland's Hunter Valley Steamfest 2010 was on last weekend.
 
In 1983 the last coal operating steam haulage freight service in Australia was closed on the South Maitland Railway Line, effectively ending a century old institution.
In response to this closure, the first Hunter Valley Steamfest was held in 1986. Since then the event has grown and grown. There are train rides, displays and events.

The photo shows the Great Train Race of 2009.

There are so many things to see and do around Maitland that what I would like to do is to also use Steamfest as an excuse for local touring.

 Werris Creek Railway Museum

Further north of Maitland on the Great Northern Line, Werris Creek was the first railway town in NSW; purpose built for the rail industry and it remains the last such town.

Building on this theme State Rail developed a proposal to establish the Australian Railway Monument at Werris Creek as a cultural heritage feature that would reinforce the community’s links with the railway and generate an economic stimulus for the town.

In 2000 Dr Stuart Sharp a renowned Rail Heritage officer requested a public meeting with the Werris Creek community to discuss and seek their support for a vision that he had for the “Australian Railway Monument”. The plan was enthusiastically embraced by the community and the State Government injected an initial $1.3 million into the concept allowing the preliminary work to commence.

The Australian Railway Monument and Rail Journeys Museum (ARM/RJM) was officially opened on October 1 2005 and has developed into a considerable success.

As a general comment, we really don't sell the remarkable story of the Great Northern Railway at all well. This was in fact one of the great engineering achievements of the nineteenth century.

The Dorrigo Railway

This one is, in a sense, a work in progress.

The Dorrigo-Glenreagh line opened in 1924 as a first step in an east-west rail link. The line was finally closed in 1972 after flood damage.
 
I have to say that this is another of those Sydney Government decisions that, in hindsight, was arguably dumb.
In Queensland, the Cairns-Kuranda line was kept open and has become a a very significant tourist attraction. This line is at least as beautiful.

At the time it was closed, no one forecast just how big a tourist area the North Coast and especially Coffs Harbour would become. Even now the line might still lose money in terms of its direct costs. Yet track forward another twenty years, and I suspect that it could be quite profitable.

In any event, we lost another tourist attraction.

There are two museum organisations at each end of the railway.

On the east, the Glenreagh Mountain Railway, known as the GMR, was established in 1989 as a heritage railway. It has run services along part of the track, but has had to suspend pending further work. It still maintains museums.

Inland, the Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum was established to create a museum and restore a railway service. After a brief opening period it shut its doors to the public, but still exists with one of the largest historic rolling stock collections in NSW.

I would love to know more about the story of both organisations. I would also love to visit.
In the meantime, and I know that I sound like a broken record on this one, if we had our own Government this line would come into its own as a major tourist attraction.  

West Maitland Railway Station flooded 1930

Hat tip to Peter Firminger for this one. The following photo from Wikipedia shows the West Maitland Railway station during the big flood of 1930. If you click on the photo, you should be able to enlarge it.

Now when Peter gave me the link, he said that it was a photo of Maitland Railway station. When I looked at it, I thought Maitland too, but then I looked at the platform sign - West Maitland. Digging around, I find that the station was called West Maitland until 1 April 1949 when it was renamed Maitland.

Looking at the photo, I noticed the sign telling me to shop at Chant's next time and collect green coupons. I am sure that Maitland people do, but I don't know Chant's. I tried a search, but could not find anything. I vaguely remember shopping coupons, and again did a search. There seems to have been a company called Green Coupons Pty Ltd, but that was all I could find. My memory is that shopping coupons became very popular at one point, but then fell out of fashion. They are back today, of course, in a variety of guises including loyalty programs.

I was also fascinated by the mother with two children walking along along one of the platforms. They looked dressed for travel (people used to dress up), but it's hard to see a train arriving.

Finally, I was reminded of the important role Maitland played as a railway junction. I must write something on this at some point, including the now defunct private South Maitland Railway. This was mainly a coal line, but also carried passengers between Cessnock and Maitland. The line to Cessnock closed around 1975. I suspect that it would be quite useful now.

Moree train photo puzzle

 

Can you date this photo of Moree Railway Station carried by Archives Outside? Andrew did a pretty good job when he wrote in a comment:  

The car in the foreground has the licence plate 1775. The photo is between 1910, when the first NSW licence plates were issued, and 1912 when the Govt. started to issue them with NSW on the plate.

The photo may in fact be a little bit older than 1912 depending upon then Government attitudes to the retention of older plates.

I was wondering if anybody could add anything more? For example, there appear to be two trains. From the photo, from which directions were the trains running? Or is it just one train passing through, with the other having arrived earlier.

The thing that puzzles me is that the train on the left has clearly unloaded (note the whicker-ware baskets), while the one on the right is getting ready to go. Yet my memory is that goods vans were in the back, which suggests that both trains came in from the same direction. Was one the train to Moree from Sydney, the second the through train to Inverell?  

What else can you see in the photo that I have missed?

In memoriam - the Great Northern Railway

The following 1988 photo from Gordon Smith's archives shows the railway station at Black Mountain north of Armidale on what was once The Great Northern Railway.

It still distresses me that the Sydney Government should have first stopped trains, then closed and failed to maintain what was once the main railway north. You see, as time passed it became harder and harder to do anything about it.

Call me sentimental if you like, but "hard headed" - I have inserted the italics advisedly - economic decisions that ignore history, sentiment and the the possibilities of future changes are not always sensible.

The Queensland Government has at least kept its part of the line open.

It is no coincidence that Queensland has been far more effective than Sydney in promoting its country rail system. The Sydney lot see rail lines as just transport, Brisbane as transport plus tourism. This is part and parcel of Sydney's failure to develop an effective tourism branding strategy that I have written about before.    

Dorrigo-Glenreagh Railway - historical note

Photo: Rolling stock, Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum

Construction of the railway between Glenreagh on the North Coast line and Dorrigo began in 1924. Intended to bring produce to nearby coastal ports, the line climbs 664m over a length of 69km.

The steep terrain and high rainfall made construction and maintenance of this line quite difficult. Due to the tight curves, a check rail was employed in numerous places. Two tunnels and numerous bridges were required.

From a New England perspective, the line was a first step in creating east-west rail links within New England.

In 1928 legislation was approved for a Dorrigo-Guyra line, providing a base for further western extensions. The first sod on the new line was turned on 20 October 1928 in front of a crowd of between 3,000 and 4,000 people. Deputy Premier Buttenshaw declared:

The Government had decided that no work would be authorized, no sod turned, until they were absolutely safe in saying that the work would be finished. Armidale Chronicle, 24 October 1928.

To Victor Thompson, the day was a step towards something bigger:

The job, however, was not finished, and they would not sit down but must go on with the Great Northern works. Most of them would live to see the turning of the first sod of something much bigger than was now being celebrated - the first sod of the new Northern state, which once established would have a powerful influence on not only the North, but on New South Wales and on Australia (Applause). Northern Daily Leader, 22 October 1928.

Despite these words, construction was was halted in 1932 during the Depression and never re-started. About 13km of embankments and cuttings from the Guyra end are the only evidence of the line.

Deprived of the additional traffic, the Dorrigo line was not profitable for much of its life time and when several washaways occurred in 1972, the Sydney Government decided to suspend services rather than repair the damage.

Today the line survives in the attempts of the Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum at one end, the Glenreagh Mountain Railway at the other, to re-establish tourist services along what was one of Australia's most scenic lines.

Kamilaroi Highway - Werris Creek Railway Monument and Museum

This is the fettler's sculpture from the Werris Creek Railway Monument and associated Rail Journey's Museum.

Built as a memorial to those who died whilst working to develop our nation's infrastructure, the Australian Railway Monument is a sight to behold. Opened in October 2005, the six evocative structures of the monument are set on the backdrop of the impressive historical Werris Creek Railway Station. Search the name walls of this sobering commemoration and acknowledge those who died on duty.

The associated Rail Journeys Museum is located in the Railway Refreshment Room building of the Werris Creek Railway Station. This unique Museum brings history to life with the new Audio Visual component. Designed to tell the personal social life of railway men and women, the rail journeys museum is operated by ex-railway workers who tell of the laughs, joys and tears of working on the railway.

Contact details:

Railway Avenue, Werris Creek 2343
Telephone: (02) 6768 7929
Email: railjny@nsw.chariot.net.au

Back to Kamilaroi Highway entry page.

NSW Railways - a great site

This post simply records the link to a great site I found on the NSW railway system including its history. I am posting it so that I do not lose it. Rolfe Bozier should be congratulated for his work!

Great Northern Railway - End of the Line continued: Wallangarra Railway Station

This photo shows the Wallangarra Railway Station. Yes, Neil, I still use the term railway station.

The Sydney train came in on the right. Passengers then carried their luggage across to the Queensland train on the left. This station was the main rail junction point between NSW/New England and Queensland for almost eighty years.

End of the Line - the Great Northern Railway

In an earlier post I looked in a preliminary way at the history of New England's railways.

This photo looks south across the border from Queensland and shows the end of what was once the Great Northern Railway.

Just to the right of the photo, the Queensland railway lines still cut through the road.

Unlike the New South Government which simply abandoned the lines, Queensland has kept its tracks open.

Photo: Gordon Smith, Great Northern Railway, New England Tablelands

Back last October I carried an introductory story on the history of New England's railways. I see that Gordon Smith is presently running a series of photos on the Great Northern Railway, the inland line that used to link Sydney and Brisbane.

The series starts here.