The Crookwell railway line is a disused branch railway line in the south 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. It has never officially been closed. It branched from the

Main South line The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Inverca ...

at and passed north through the localities of and to the town of . The line is set to be converted into a rail trail.

History

The Crookwell district north of Goulburn is rich and productive agricultural land, with a high annual rainfall. A railway to Crookwell was proposed as early as 1857, but it was not until the late 1870s and early 1880s that formal submissions were made by local residents and landowners to the Commissioner for Railways. Various routes and proposals were considered, including the option of a tramway as a feeder to the Main South railway. From 1884, public meetings were held and deputations were made, with a survey of the proposed route taking place, but not until 1899 did the NSW Parliament finally pass a Bill for the construction of the Crookwell line. The major engineering feature was a heavy (and expensive) steel lattice bridge over the

Wollondilly River The Wollondilly River, an Australian perennial river that is part of the HawkesburyNepean catchment, is located in the Southern Tablelands and Southern Highlands regions of New South Wales. The river meanders from its western slopes near Croo ...

to the north of Goulburn. The line then passed through rolling hills to the town of Crookwell, and was opened in 1902. A platform was provided at Argyle, near the Goulburn Training Centre (now the

Goulburn Correctional Centre The Goulburn Correctional Centre, (also known as The Circle) is an Australian supermaximum security prison for males. It is located in Goulburn, New South Wales, three kilometres north-east of the central business district. The facility is operat ...

), and stations were built at Kenmore, Norwood, The Forest, Woodhouselee, Roslyn, McAlister and Crookwell, with sidings at each of these locations. Several intermediate sidings were provided for stock loading and similar activities. In 1913, there was a proposal to extend the branch line further north west to Cowra. With the advent of the great war, the proposal didn't move forward.

Traffic

From opening, the line carried a mix of goods and passenger traffic. Superphosphate and livestock were the main goods carried, and superphosphate in particular was responsible for keeping the line operational long past the closure of similar branch lines. Initial passenger traffic was locomotive hauled 'mixed' trains of passenger and goods cars until the introduction of

CPH railmotor The CPH (or 42 foot) rail motors were introduced by the New South Wales Government Railways in 1923 to provide feeder service on country branch lines. Introduction Often referred to as "Tin Hares", having evolved at the same time as the mechanica ...

s from 1926. Two return daily railmotor services were provided allowing day return travel in either direction. Steam power was replaced with diesel from 1961. From the mid-1970s, goods traffic began to decline in competition with road transport. Passenger traffic ceased in 1974, and by the 1980s freight traffic had dwindled to such unprofitable levels that the last train operated in 1985. The last passenger train to operate on the line was hauled by steam locomotives 3001 and 3102 on 25 August 1985 with both being turned on 's turntable. The final train out of Crookwell was in September 1985, a 48 class locomotive hauling the last freight wagons from Crookwell yard. The points connecting the line to the

at Goulburn were removed in September 1989 and the line listed as "out of use". The branchline has not been formally closed.

Current state

Much of the alignment and track of the line remains in place, including the substantial bridge over the Wollondilly River. Since 2000 there were continuing plans to operate heritage rail trips over the line but as of 2020 it is set to be converted into a rail trail walk. The Goulburn Crookwell Heritage Railway group has been maintaining what is left of the lines infrastructure and sleeper replacement. Track vehicles known as trikes are operated for maintenance purposes.

Taralga Branch

At Roslyn, a branch line to Taralga diverged, opening on 23 February 1926 and closing on 1 May 1957. Whilst initially the line saw a six-days-a-week service, by the time of its demise it saw trains on Wednesdays only.''History of the Taralga Railway'' Scrymgeour, R.

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.Closed regional railway lines in New South Wales Railway lines opened in 1902 Standard gauge railways in Australia 1902 establishments in Australia