Unanderra–Moss Vale railway line
Unanderra–Moss Vale | |||
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Overview | |||
Status | Active | ||
Owner | Transport Asset Holding Entity | ||
Locale | Illawarra, Southern Highlands | ||
Termini | |||
Stations | 9 | ||
Service | |||
Type | Freight | ||
Operator(s) | East Coast Heritage Rail (occasional tourist services) | ||
History | |||
Opened | August 1932 | ||
Technical | |||
Line length | 57 km (35 mi) | ||
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The Unanderra–Moss Vale railway line is a cross country railway line in
Route
Unanderra–Moss Vale railway line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The line is 57 kilometres (35 mi) in length, and is double track from
The line connects the following current and former passenger stations:[5]
- Illawarra line
- Dombarton – end of double line (formerly the site of an unusual crossing loop arrangement)[6]
- Summit Tank (platform only) (crossing loop)
- Mount Murray (closed) (crossing loop reopened 1980s)
- Ocean View (closed 1968)
- Ranelagh House (platform only)
- Robertson (platform) (crossing loop)
- Burrawang (closed 1975)
- Calwalla(closed 1976) (crossing loop reopened 1980s)
- Main South line
History
The line was first proposed in the 1880s by residents of Moss Vale and local industry keen for a connection to the port at Port Kembla. However, the impetus for the line was as a condition of the erection of a new steelworks at Port Kembla, by Hoskins Iron and Steel. The government announced that the line would be constructed, in November 1923.[7][8]
Construction began on 26 June 1925, and the line opened on 20 August 1932.
The line initially carried mainly limestone from the
A locomotive hauled weekend train from Sydney to Moss Vale via Unanderra was introduced and operated until July 1994.[13] It was replaced by an Endeavour railcar service from Wollongong.[14]
Following the
Financial difficulties led to the suspension of the Cockatoo Run from November 1998 until March 1999, after which date the train ran between Port Kembla and Robertson only.[17][18] Furthermore, it was diesel hauled and ran for nine months of the year.[19]
From March 2001, the Cockatoo Run was merged with another of the 3801 Limited's operations, the Long Lunch Train.[20] This service operated on selected Sundays and Wednesdays or Thursdays with heritage diesel locomotives.[21] It has on occasions operated with steam locomotives from the Lachlan Valley Railway and Powerhouse Museum.[22] The Cockatoo Run currently operates on selected Sundays.[23]
In 2022, the railway line was damaged due to rain erosion. Maintenance workers closed the line in a period of 7 months. In October, the line will be re-opened.
Services
A
Limestone freight continues to operate, and the line remains a valuable freight link to the shipping terminal at Port Kembla and various industries in the Illawarra region. It is a useful bypass line when engineering works close the
The line remains popular with steam locomotive hauled services from Sydney as the line allows them to operate a loop without the need to turn the locomotive.
Deviation
A section of the line was deviated in 1973 to avoid Wingecarribee Reservoir.[11]
Derailment
On 15 December 2020, 39 wagons of a grain train on its way to
References
- ^ Singh-Sidhu, Daniel; Dennis Rittson; John Crudine; Tony Gatt. "Dombarton–Moss Vale". Railpix Australia. Retrieved 7 December 2006.
- ^ "Dombarton-Unanderra Changes" Railway Digest June 1987 page 170
- ^ Lavender Bay Railway Group NSW Environment & Heritage
- ^ "From Dombarton to Waverton" Railway Digest April 1992 page 139
- ^ Bozier, Rolfe. "Unanderra–Moss Vale Line". NSWrail.net. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
- ^ Dombarton Crossing Station Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin August 1943 pp15-16
- ^ "Iron and Steel Making". South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus. 22 April 1921. p. 18. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ "New Railway". Daily Telegraph. Sydney, NSW. 9 November 1923. p. 7. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ The Unanderra to Moss Vale Line Jacobson, O.F. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin February 1972 pp25-48
- ^ Hoskins, Sir Cecil (1968). The Hoskins Saga. Sydney: Halstead Press. pp. 100, 101.
- ^ ISBN 0 909164 03 7.
- ^ "Proposed Country Train Plans" Railway Digest May 1985 page 133
- ^ "Remember When" Railway Digest March 2000 page 45
- ^ "New Timetable Sees Demise of Loco-Hauled Services" Railway Digest July 1994 page 6
- ^ 3801 Limited Annual Report 1995-1996
- ^ "3801 Ltd's Illawarra Tourist Railway Commences" Railway Digest September 1995 page 6
- ^ "Cockatoo Run to Cease in November" Railway Digest October 1998 page 9
- ^ "Cockatoo Run relaunch Next Month" Railway Digest February 1999 page 9
- ^ 3801 Limited Annual Report 1998-1999
- ^ 3801 Limited Annual Report 2000-2001
- ^ The Cockatoo Run 3801 Limited
- ^ More Steam Returns to 3801 Limited 3801 Limited Newsletter March 2009
- ^ The Cockatoo Run East Coast Heritage Rail
- ^ "Southern Highlands line timetable". Transport for NSW.
- ^ "Southern timetable". NSW TrainLink. 7 September 2019.
- ^ "Kembla Grange History". Wollongong City Council. Archived from the original on 19 September 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2006.
- ^ Freight train hauling grain derails at Farmborough Heights in NSW ABC News 15 December 2020