The Newnes railway line (also called Wolgan Valley Railway) is a closed and dismantled railway line in New South Wales,

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 ran for from the Main Western line to the township of

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 ...

. Along the way, it passed through a tunnel now known as the

Glowworm Tunnel The Glowworm Tunnel is a disused railway tunnel between Lithgow, New South Wales and Newnes, New South Wales, Australia. It is notable for its resident glow-worms, the bioluminescent larvae of ''Arachnocampa richardsae'', a type of fungus gn ...

, because it is famous for its glow-worms. 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 ...

Description and history

The line was constructed and operated by the Commonwealth Oil Corporation for their

Oil Shale mine. Surveying and construction was overseen by Henry Deane. The line opened in 1907 and closed in 1932. It was primarily intended to carry goods to and from the mine, but also provided passenger services. The New South Wales Division of Australian Railway Historical Society published The Shale Railways of New South Wales in 1974 which includes a detailed history of this line. Allan Watson, the Lessee of the old Newnes Hotel, has a comprehensive websit
here
The steep 1 in 25 (4 %) gradients along the descent towards Newnes required a different type of steam locomotive. 4

Shay locomotive The Shay locomotive is a geared steam locomotive that originated and was primarily used in North America. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a ''geared st ...

s were imported from the Lima Locomotive Works in the USA. Although rather slow, their unique build which uses crankshafts to propel the wheels made them very suitable, and if a train had to stop on a steep uphill grade, the train could easily start again and keep moving. After the line closed, part of its route was used by a section of the pipeline that carried refined petroleum from the Glen Davis Shale Oil Works to

Newnes Junction The Newnes Junction railway station is a closed railway station on the Blue Mountains Line, New South Wales, Australia. It served the former private branch line to Newnes. The station closed to passenger services in 1975, although it still phy ...

. In 1940–1941, the rails were lifted; most were shipped to North Africa for use as anti-tank traps and gun emplacement reinforcements but some of the bullhead rails were reused for structures and supports of the oil pipeline. Other iron fittings from the line were used as scrap for munitions.

Description and history

See also

References

Further reading