The Tarrawingee Tramway was a railway in the

Barrier Ranges The Barrier Ranges or sometimes the Barrier Range and historically the Stanley's Barrier Range, is a mountain range that comprises a series of hills and higher grounds in the far western region of New South Wales, Australia, surrounding the city o ...

region 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 ...

History

On 9 June 1891, the Tarrawingee Flux & Tramway Company, led by

J. S. Reid James Smith Reid (c. 1848 – 15 January 1922) generally referred to as "J. S. Reid" and familiarly as "Smith", was an Australian newspaper owner, editor and businessman. History Reid was born in County Donegal, Ireland to Rev. James Reid MA ( ...

, opened a 40 mile line to carry high-grade limestone from Tarrawingee (for use as flux) to the

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

smelters. It purchased two

James Martin & Co James Martin & Co was an Australian engineering company which progressed from making agricultural equipment to making railway locomotives. History James Martin & Co. was founded in Gawler, South Australia in around 1848 by James Martin as a ...

built

2-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. ...

locomotives to the same specification as the

South Australian Railways Y class The South Australian Railways Y class was a class of narrow gauge steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways. History The Y class were numerically the largest class of steam locomotive operated by the South Australian Railwa ...

. However they were sold to railway builder Baxter & Sadler and the

Silverton Tramway Company Silverton may refer to: Places Australia * Silverton, New South Wales **Silverton Wind Farm *Silverton, South Australia Canada * Silverton, British Columbia South Africa * Silverton, Pretoria United Kingdom * Silverton, Devon, ...

(STC) and instead hired in locomotives from the STC. In 1897, the smelting of iron-ore had moved to

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South ...

and the need for Tarrawingee limestone ceased. After being lobbied, on 7 September 1899 the

New South Wales Government Railways The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of differe ...

(NSWGR) purchased the line for £15,000 and spend £37,000 upgrading the line. As it was isolated from the rest of the NSWGR's operations and to a different gauge, it contracted STC to operate services. In 1900, a 1 mile 8 chain branch was added to McCulloch Park Racecourse. On 31 December 1929 the line closed, the service by this stage down to one per week.Railway Line to Close
''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'' 29 November 1929 It briefly reopened in 1931 to allow 25,000 tons of aggregate to be conveyed from Tarrawingee for construction of the Broken Hill Central Power Station with the last train running on 17 April 1931. In May 1936, the line was sold to

Zinc Corporation Consolidated Zinc was an Australian mining company from 1905 to 1962. History The company's initial operations focused on extracting zinc from mine tailings of the Broken Hill Ore Deposit at Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. The company ...

for dismantling except for short spur to the

Vacuum Oil Company Vacuum Oil Company was an American oil company known for its ''Gargoyle'' 600-W steam cylinder motor oil. After being taken over by the original Standard Oil Company and then becoming independent again, in 1931 Vacuum Oil merged with the Standar ...

, this was removed in March 1959.

References

{{Reflist Closed regional railway lines in New South Wales Railway lines opened in 1891 Railway lines closed in 1931 Silverton Tramway