The Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park & Railway is an Australian

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

museum, located in the

Central Tablelands The Central Tablelands in New South Wales is a geographic area that lies between the Sydney Metropolitan Area and the Central Western Slopes and Plains. The Great Dividing Range passes in a north–south direction through the Central Tablelands ...

city of

Lithgow, New South Wales Lithgow is a town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the administrative center of the City of Lithgow local government area. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of Wil ...

Collection

The museum is principally a museum of coalmining and related industries. The aim of the project is the showcase the industrial history of the western coalfield of New South Wales. The mining museum contains Australia's most comprehensive collection of coalmining artefacts, including coal cutters, coal loaders, continuous miners and underground transports. A recently developed multimedia exhibit titled "Fire in the Mine" explores the working lives of coalminers in the mid Twentieth Century and the horrific consequences of an underground fire that occurred in the State Coal Mine in 1953. The museum's latest exhibits "Hewers of Coal" and "Lithgow Valley Colliery Fire & Explosion 1886" use photographs, artefacts and digital media to investigate various aspects of coal mining in the New South Wales Western Coalfield.

Organisation and history

The museum is owned and operated by The City of Greater Lithgow Mining Museum Inc. The museum was developed from 1990 when the former Lithgow State Coal Mine site was given to the community of Lithgow by the now

delisted In corporate finance, a listing refers to the company's shares being on the list (or board) of stock that are officially traded on a stock exchange. Some stock exchanges allow shares of a foreign company to be listed and may allow dual listing, sub ...

mining company, Austen & Butta Limited. The museum is located on the northern outskirts of Lithgow on the site of the State Coal Mine that was closed in 1964 after being damaged by floods. The museum is connected to the

Main Western railway line The Main Western Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Blue Mountains, Central West, North West Slopes and the Far West regions. It is with operational & under construction & repairs. Description o ...

via a 1.5 kilometre branch from Lithgow yard. In 1976 the site was sold to Austin & Butta Collieries who donated the site to the

City of Lithgow The City of Lithgow is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Great Western Highway and the Main Western railway line. The Mayor of the City of Lithgow Council is ...

in 1990 with restoration work commencing shortly after. In October 2001 a fire destroyed the carriage shed and a number of items of rolling stock. The site is also used by

Southern Shorthaul Railroad Southern Shorthaul Railroad is an Australian rail freight services operator in New South Wales and Victoria. The company also provides workshop services, such as rolling stock manufacturing and wagon and locomotive maintenance. History South ...

as a maintenance depot.Workshop Services
Southern Shorthaul Railroad

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park and Railway Mining museums in Australia Museums in New South Wales Railway workshops in New South Wales Railway museums in New South Wales