Crookwell railway line

Crookwell Line
Legend Crookwell McAlister branch line to Taralga Roslyn Woodhouselee The Forest Norwood Kenmore Argyle joins the Main South line, to Goulburn

The Crookwell railway line is a disused branch railway line in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It has never officially been closed. It branched from the Main South line at North Goulburn and passed north through the localities of Kenmore and Roslyn to the town of Crookwell.

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, but not until 1899 did the NSW Parliament finally pass a Bill for the construction of the Crookwell line^[1].

The major engineering feature was a heavy (and expensive) steel lattice bridge over the Wollondilly River 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), 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.^[2]

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 railmotors (CPH) 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,^[3] and by the 1980s goods traffic had dwindled to such unprofitable levels that the final train operated in 1985 and the line listed 'out of use' in 1989.

Current state

Disused rail bridge, Crookwell Line
Goulburn North

Much of the alignment and track of the line remains in place, including the substantial bridge over the Wollondilly River. Since 2007 there have been plans to operate heritage rail trips over the line. Sleeper replacement operations commencing 2010 with trike operations soon to follow.^[4]

Taralga Branch

At Roslyn, a branch line to Taralga connected, opening on 23 February 1926 and closing on 1 May 1957.^[5] Whilst initially the line saw a six-days-a-week service, by the time of its demise it saw trains on Wednesdays only.^[6]

The station buildings were of concrete, similar to other stations constructed in that period. The line has been lifted and little remains of the formation. Part of the original alignment remains but has been turned into a road.

References

1. ^ Goulburn to Crookwell Railway Act 1899 (NSW)
2. ^ Scrymgeour, R. A History of the Goulburn- Crookwell Line. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin. Vol 48, no 721. November 1997.
3. ^ Banger, C. The Intercapital Daylight, 1956-1991 Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, Vol 52 No. 764. June 2001
4. ^ "Goulburn Crookwell Heritage Railway Inc.". Goulburn Crookwell Heritage Railway Inc. http://www.gchr.4t.com/. Retrieved 2007-05-05. 
5. ^ Bozier, Rolfe; et al.. "Taralga Line". NSWrail.net. http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW:taralga. Retrieved 2007-05-05. 
6. ^ History of the Taralga Railway Scrymgeour, R. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, March, 1994 pp78-90