Railways and Tramways of Australia

Moving on up

 

The first section of railway across the Blue Mountains was opened on 11 July 1867.

 

Although there was no official opening of the Blue Mountains railway, a limited service began with an engine and brake van connecting at Penrith with the evening train from Sydney. Mail was conveyed to Weatherboard (now Wentworth Falls), where a coach service continued to Bathurst. Regular trains began running on 22 July 1867.

 

Between Penrith and Emu Plains the Victoria Bridge was built across the Nepean River. It was constructed of wrought iron on sandstone piers, with three spans of 198 feet (60 metres) in length. A timber approach viaduct on the western end was damaged by flooding in June 1867. Temporary repairs were made but it was later replaced by an additional iron span of 135 feet (41 metres). A new bridge was completed when the line was duplicated in 1907, but Victoria Bridge remains open for road traffic.

 

Knapsack Gully was spanned with a large sandstone viaduct. It has five 50-foot (15-metre) and two 20-foot (6-metre) arches. Its maximum height is 126 feet (38 metres) above the creek bed. Stone was quarried from a nearby site. After the railway was deviated, Knapsack Viaduct was used as a road bridge but is now a pedestrian thoroughfare.

 

Lapstone Zig Zag was the smaller of two zig zags on the Blue Mountains. Trains heading up the mountains would negotiate the zig zag by stopping at bottom points, reversing up to top points, then stopping again before proceeding forwards. It enabled altitude to be gained within a small area. The zig zag was closed when it was replaced by a tunnel in 1892. Part of the formation is now a walking track.

 

Impressive engineering achievements enabled the railway to move up the Blue Mountains.

 

Bibliography

B McKillop, ‘William Watkins railway contractor: part 1 crossing the Blue Mountains’, Australian Railway History, no. 947, September 2016, pp 12–21.

N Pollard & G Harper, ‘Conquering Lapstone Hill: a fresh look at the history of the Emu Plains–Blaxland section of the Main Western Line’, Australian Railway History, no. 866, December 2009, pp 387–415.

CC Singleton, ‘The ascents of Lapstone Hill’, Australian Railway History, no. 227, September 1956, pp 117–31.

CC Singleton, To the fertile plains beyond: the story of the crossing of the Blue Mountains, N.S.W. covering the period between 1802 and 1869, Australian Railway Historical Society (NSW Division), Sydney, 2016.

RF Wylie & CC Singleton, ‘The railway crossings of the Blue Mountains’, Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, no. 245, March 1958, pp 38–47.