Symbols: ± Survey track built; > Railway
built; >> Railway still in use.
The Original Railway
These are routes proposed for the first crossing of the Blue
Mountains by rail. Martindale & Whitton assigned the young Edwin
Barton, Assistant Engineer in charge of trial surveys, to explore
& survey alternative routes. Experienced people were few & far
between; Barton was only 25 years old & had been in the colony for
a year.
Coxs River
Tunnel from Camden or Picton to Burragorang Valley, then up the
Coxs River.
Burralow Creek & Bells Line, 1857
West from Kurrajong via Little Wheeney & Devils Hole Creeks,
cross Burralow Creek west of Bowen Mountain, along Paterson Range to
Bilpin, then more or less along Bells Line of Road. Barton abandoned this route
after a 10 day reconnaissance in December 1857, later citing the
extreme ruggedness of the Mt Tomah area, & the need for steep
grades.
± Grose River, 1858-1860
Up the Grose Valley, then tunnel under Darling Causeway to Hartley.
Much time & money was spent building a track & surveying this
route, Barton's favourite. Whilst admitting to the parliamentary
committee, in August 1858, that the route was rugged, the only
difficulty he could see was some of the river bends being too sharp, necessitating
tunnels or viaducts.
More info...
A Better Route?
± Colo River, c1880
An ambitious line from Emu Plains to Rylstone via the formidable Colo
River Gorge was surveyed. The parliamentary committee described it as
"mad", but it did have it's benefits.
More info...
Burralow Creek & Bells Line #2 & 3, 1888 & 1898
Revived by Hawkesbury residents, to bypass the zig-zags &
provide a generally better route, it included a tunnel under Mt Tomah.
The proposal was never taken seriously by government. The route popped up again recently in a
super-highway proposal which was to follow Burralow Creek up from the
Grose & tunnel under Mt Tomah. Just remember that trucks carrying flammable
goods can't use tunnels.
> Glenbrook Tunnel Deviation, Opened 1892
Work on the Lapstone Zig-Zag bypass commenced in 1891, opened in
1892. More info...
Lithgow Valley Deviation #1, 1908
Proposal to reduce gradient below Zig Zag Signal Box.
Coxs River #2, c1908
Via Warragamba Slot, Coxs River valley, Scotts Main Range, then
west along the Oberon - Colong stock route. It was intended to exploit the cedar forests of the
Coxs valley, & a gold
discovery near the Great Divide. The gold was a non-event, the cedar not economically
viable. Instead, the existing line was duplicated.
>> "Ten Tunnels" Deviation, Opened 1910
Bypassed Lithgow Zig-Zag, remains in use today.
>> Glenbrook Gorge Deviation, Opened 1911
Bypassed the problematical tunnel, still in use today. More
info...
Grose River #2, 1932
Up Grose & Govetts Gorges, tunnel under Blackheath from
Junction Rock to the Kanimbla Valley, & on to Lithgow. Avoids the steep ascent of the upper Grose.
Lithgow Valley Deviation #2, 1952
Spiral proposal to reduce gradient below Zig Zag Signal Box.
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