The Oberon railway line is a short, disused branch

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

on the Central Tablelands of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The line branches from the Main Western line at

Tarana railway station Tarana railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Western line in Tarana, City of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as the Tarana Railway Station and yard group. The property was added to the N ...

and heads in a southerly direction to

Oberon railway station The Oberon railway station is a heritage-listed railway station and now museum located on the Oberon railway line in Oberon, in the Oberon Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The site is also known as the Oberon Railwa ...

, with length of 24 km. It was earlier put forward as a line from Tarana to

Burraga Burraga is located in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, 47 kilometres south west of Oberon and about south of Bathurst. It is within Oberon Shire. At the , Burraga had a population of 91. History Aboriginal and early settler hi ...

, via Oberon, to benefit the Burraga copper mine. It opened on 3 October 1923, after the copper mine at Burraga had closed down. The line was lightly constructed with steep grades (1 in 25) and tight curves, and was operated by lightweight steam and then diesel locomotives. It transported local seasonal vegetables, timber and livestock. Passenger services ended in 1971, and goods services were suspended in 1979 with the line effectively closing. The line is currently being restored by a volunteer association to allow heritage and tourist operation. The early history of the line is contained in an article appearing in

Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin ''Australian Railway History'' is a monthly magazine covering railway history in Australia, published by the New South Wales Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society on behalf of its state and territory Divisions.Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway Inc (OTHR) have been steadily restoring the track between Oberon station and Hazelgrove. Two end platform carriages (on loan from NSWRTM) and some smaller wagons have been delivered and are on the tracks in Oberon station. Two 73 class diesel locos have moved and CPH 13 is awaiting shipment to Oberon to form the OTHR's motive power. It is the long-term goal of the association to run trains all the way to the mainline at Tarana.

References

Closed regional railway lines in New South Wales Standard gauge railways in Australia Railway lines opened in 1923 Railway lines closed in 1979 Oberon Council 1923 establishments in Australia {{NewSouthWales-rail-transport-stub

See also

References