The Glowworm Tunnel is a disused railway tunnel between

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 ...

and

Newnes, New South Wales Newnes (), an abandoned oil shale mining site of the Wolgan Valley, is located in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The site that was operational in the early 20th century is now partly surrounded by Wollemi Nationa ...

, Australia. It is notable for its resident glow-worms, the bioluminescent larvae of ''

Arachnocampa richardsae ''Arachnocampa'' is a genus of nine fungus gnat species which have a bioluminescent larval stage, akin to the larval stage of glowworm beetles. The species of ''Arachnocampa'' are endemic to Australia and New Zealand, dwelling in caves and grot ...

'', a type of

fungus gnat Fungus gnats are small, dark, short-lived gnats, of the families Sciaridae, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae, Bolitophilidae, and Mycetophilidae (order Diptera); they comprise six of the seven families placed in the superfamily Sciaroide ...

Description and history

The tunnel was bored through the

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

in 1907 as part of the Newnes railway line that served the

Newnes Newnes (), an abandoned oil shale mining site of the Wolgan Valley, is located in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The site that was operational in the early 20th century is now partly surrounded by Wollemi Nationa ...

oil shale Oil shale is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced. In addition to kerogen, general composition of oil shales constitute ...

mines that operated during the early 20th century. The railway was closed in 1932 and the rails were pulled out of the tunnel. The tunnel is now contained within the

Wollemi National Park The Wollemi National Park () is a protected national park and wilderness area that is located in the northern Blue Mountains and Lower Hunter regions of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The park, the second largest national park in New S ...

and is a popular attraction for bushwalkers and tourists. Outside the tunnel, the area features spectacular gorges, caves and scenery. The site is maintained by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. On the south side of the tunnel, a large gap in the road prevents vehicular access. According to some sources, this gap was created deliberately to keep cars out of the tunnel, because the exhaust fumes would have killed the glow-worms. On the north side of the tunnel, a track leads to Newnes.

Access

Access to the tunnel is via several routes: * 11 km walk each way: Walk along the route of the old railway line from Newnes * 9 km return walk: Drive to the weir over the Wolgan River 7 km before Newnes. Walk up the nearby fire trail to the railway line to the right * Walk or cycle in from Newnes State forest * Drive from Lithgow or

Clarence Clarence may refer to: Places Australia * Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division * Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow * Clarence River (New South Wales) * Clarence Strait (Northern Territory) * City of Clarence, a l ...

(both roads eventually join up), about 25 km along good unsealed road, and walk 1 km to the tunnel. (note: drive through first tunnel and park at the end of Glowworm Tunnel Road).

References

External links

{{commons category, Glowworm Tunnel
Newnes Services

* Track notes for access vi
Pagoda Track
(2 km or 6 km return) an
Newnes
(9 km return) Railway tunnels in New South Wales Rail trails in Australia Disused tunnels in Australia

Description and history

Access

See also

References

Further reading

External links