The Railway Guide to New South Wales (part one)

The expansion of the New South Wales railway network led to the NSW Government publishing the The Railway Guide of New South Wales: for the use of Tourists, Excursionists, and Others in 1879. Further network expansion led to an updated illustrated edition in 1884. Below we read the first entry on the partially opened section of the Wallerawang to Mudgee branch line. At the time of writing the end of the line was at Capertee.

Original kerosene mine, Hartly Vale
from The Railway Guide to NSW (1884)

Extension, Wallerawang to Mudgee

There is now in progress an extension from Wallerawang to Mudgee, a distance of about 85 miles. In May, 1882, a section of this line from Wallerawang to Capertee, a distance of 22 miles, was opened for traffic. The line passes through very rough country, the scenery resembling that passed between Mt. Victoria and Emu Plains, and in the vicinity of Capertee are some views that are unsupassed by the most noted on the Blue Mountains. Of the views near Capertee may be mentioned the Crown Ridge, a lofty and rocky mountain, from which a magnificent view is obtained; the Gorge, the rocks here resembling the rocks at the entrance to Port Jackson; and the Capertee Caves, interesting on account of the many impressions, apparently made by human hands, on the sides and walls. A great deal of traffic now passes through Capertee, making it a busy place. The station lies on the border of the extensive mining area embracing Gulgong, Mudgee, Cudgegong, Windeyer, Hargraves, Sofala, &c., and goods are received for these places. In other parts agriculture is carried on, and there is also forwarded from Capertee a considerable amount of pastoral produce and live stock. The extension to Mudgee is being pushed forward with all speed, and the opening is to take place on the 30th June 1884. With the extension of the line beyond Capertee this station will lose much of its present importance. Between Wallerawang and Capertee are some extensive lime quarries, and in the district splendid seams of coal exist, which however are not at present worked. Capertee contains three hotels.

The Railway Guide of New South Wales (part 2)

The expansion of the New South Wales railway network led to the NSW Government publishing the The Railway Guide of New South Wales: for the use of Tourists, Excursionists, and Others in 1879 and 1884. Further network expansion led to an updated illustrated editions in 1886. Below we read part of the entry on the recently completed Wallerawang to Mudgee branch line transcribed from the 1886 edition. 

Zig-Zag railway, illustration by J C Hoyte
from 1886 Railway Guide of New South Wales 

Extension Wallerawang to Mudgee

The history of the Railway Extension to Mudgee shows a splendid proof of the success of persistency. For many years this extension was fought for determinedly by the Mudgee people; but various Governments, deterred by the heavy estimates given as to the cost of the line, and the dim prospect of a remunerative return, would not for a long time listen to the appeals of those interested, until at last one Ministry, seeing beyond the mountain barrier a wealthy land of promise and the opening up and development of mineral resources and wide areas of land, determined to propose the line, a proposition which met with the approval of the then Parliament. Accordingly the line was proceeded with, and in September, 1884, the Mudgee people heard the whistle of the iron horse as it gaily made its way across the plains bordering the quiet Cudgegong. The line starts from Wallerawang, which long enjoyed a greater share of prosperity by reason of its position as the junction of the Mudgee road with the Western Railway.

Piper’s Flat, 110 miles; 3,187 feet above sea-level. – The line runs north-west from Wallerawang outwards to Piper’s Flat, the first station; the country is uninteresting, the land being poor and timbered with stunted specimens of white gum. The station is kept busy only by the mineral traffic, the Wallerawang Company’s Coal-mine being in the vicinity, which, in 1884, had a contract to supply the Government with some 75,000 tons [of] coal at the remarkably low rate of 5s. per ton. The district is essentially a mining one, near the station coal is in abundance, and spread over the locality are extensive deposits of lime, which is principally shipped from the next platform, Ben Bullen, at 121 miles.

Capertee, 127 miles; 2,739 feet above sea-level. – The line from Ben Bullen to Capertee is uninteresting until within a short distance of Capertee, when, after emerging from the darkness of the Capertee tunnel, the traveller sees spread before him a glorious panoramic view of Capertee Valley. The railway skirts round its edges, and down below him extends the valley, its uneven and thickly timbered surface heaving, it would appear, like mighty waves. Far back stands a frowning battlement of dark bold rocks forming a head and crown to the body of the valley below, these cliffs wonderfully square and regular being aptly termed the Crown Ridge. The train in the fall of the year clears this spot towards sunset, and the long golden sunbeams of the evening as they gleam across the waving tree-tops in the valley, light up this crown with golden refulgence of light smoothing down its forbidding sternness and setting gems over its rocky face. The railway runs round this valley for some distance on its way to Rylstone, and between the steep cuttings a fair vista of this picturesque valley is every now and again seen. The valley contains good timber; but of course the difficulty of transit militates against any use being made of the forests. Good sporting is to be had in among the tall grey-gums, game being plentiful in the valley, and the kangaroos are as thick as sheep on a good run. Capertee cannot be called a thriving place; it boasts of one inn and occasionally sends a little traffic over towards the Turon (14 miles), where some gold seekers are working.

Ilford, 149 miles; 2,450 feet above sea-level. – Between Ilford and Capertee the line runs for some distance as already mentioned along the head of the Capertee valley, the line crawling as it were along the side of the cliffs that drop down into the valley. The cuttings are both numerous and extensive, and at times an uneasy feeling creeps over the traveller, that one of the overhanging rocks above him will fall across the ironway. The nature of the country at this place is that known as “rotten,” and in order to make traffic secure, and to prevent the probability of danger, the trains always run through in the daylight. The scenery is bold and striking, the mountains towering hundreds of feet overhead and the passing views are sufficiently varied to show a long succession of panoramic views as the trains sped onwards.

The original article continues with further descriptions of the trip towards Mudgee. The Railway Guide to New South View can be viewed at Lithgow Library or the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney.

The view from the train window

While the nearby Blue Mountains attract most of the tourists, the Capertee district has stunning landscapes which are the equal of its better known neighbour. The local tourist office tries its best to promote the district, and recently described the Capertee Valley on its website, as an area of ‘spectacular scenery and timeless beauty’. Surprisingly  talking about the charms of the region is not a recent development. One of the first people to promote the tourist potential of the area was a letter writer to the Sydney Morning Herald in 1888. This anonymous correspondent took exception to an earlier report in the paper that ignored the scenic qualities of the Capertee area in a story about railway tourism within the state. 

Crown Ridge looking East, watercolour by Conrad Martens
Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW

SCENERY ON THE RAILWAY LINES

To a sub-leader of October 29 you make mention of the scenery along different lines of our railways, but I notice with regret that you omit mention altogether of the Mudgee line from Ben Bullen to Ilford, a distance of about 20 miles, the railway skirts the vast depression of the Capertee Valley, and as the train winds around the Crown Ridge, near Capertee Station, and further on by Carlos Gap and Brogan’s Creek, the view is in my opinion unequalled on any line of railway in the colony. The tremendous masses of Hawkesbury sandstone, in many cases showing a perpendicular unbroken face of 300ft., towering higher and yet higher in the distance, until the Bulga Mountains overlooking Singleton can be distinctly seen, and the lofty cone-shaped Tien Peak with its trigonometrical station at its summit, present all weathers one of the finest spectacles of rugged mountain scenery in Australia.

To those tourists who are tired of the beaten track of the Blue Mountains, as represented by Katoomba, Blackheath, and Mount Victoria, I would recommend a visit to the Capertee district. There is a hotel close to the railway station, where good accommodation can be obtained. I am confident that the beauties of this place are but to be seen and explored to be appreciated, and I predict a future before it second only to Katoomba. To the geologist it presents special features of interest. At few places in New South Wales are there so many or such a variety of fossil and petrefactions [sic] obtainable. The late Professor Denton spent some time at the place, and expressed great interest in all he saw. He gave it as his opinion that the vast depression was at one time one of the largest fresh-water lakes in the colony.

Turning of the First Sod

Prior to the arrival of the railway in 1882 the village of Capertee was an ‘insignificant place’ on the road between Lithgow and Mudgee. While there were a few houses, farms and inns in the area the arrival of the railway was, arguably, the foundation event in the settlements history. In the Town and Country Journal (25th September 1880) we read of the excitement in the district when construction works began on the first section of the branch railway from Wallerawang to Capertee Camp (as Capertee village was then known).

Capertee Railway Station - the end of the first section of the Wallerawang to Mudgee branch line

Turning of the First Sod of the Mudgee-Wallerawang Railway

The small and quiet town of Wallerawang situated just beyond the Blue Mountains, is to-day the scene of the turning of the first sod of the railway to Mudgee, whose inhabitants are evincing great interest in the ceremony, and for their conveyance Cobb's coaches and almost every other description of vehicle has been brought to use. A good number of people from Mudgee and the surrounding district arrived yesterday and during the night. Two special coaches, heavily laden with passengers from these places reached Wallerawang at 9 o'clock this morning, and other people, many on horseback, are pouring into the hamlet. The few who arrived from Sydney and stations along the line by the mail train at half-past 1 o'clock this morning, found it impossible to secure accommodation, and several who came just before by the Mudgee coach were compelled to go to Lithgow, some 10 miles down the line. The Royal, Commercial, and Railway Hotels, and most of the private residences were crowded to their utmost extent with visitors. The night was frosty, and piercingly cold - so cold that your representative is conscious of the fact that he, thanks to the good nature of one of the station officials, escaped from freezing by being allowed to remain bedless and beddingless in the ladies' waiting-room. He passed a miserable night, and in a half-hour's slumber dreamt that he was undergoing some approved though prolonged process of refrigeration, and contemplates for a reason, afterwards thinking he is in Wallerawang. Daylight broke magnificently fine, and so far the sky has continued cloudless. For the special indulgence of the navvies, the contractors have furnished several large casks of beer; it is somewhat significant that where it is placed there are no holes, but abundance of water; the navvy force has been considerably augmented from the surrounding neighbourhood.

This section of the line to Mudgee is 22 miles 54 chains in extent, branching off the Great Western line at a point some quarter of a mile distant from the Wallerawang railway station, thence proceeding in a north-west direction, and ending at an insignificant place named Capertee Camp. The contractors are Messrs. Monie and Mathieson, who constructed the Dunolly and St. Arnaud line, and other large public works in Victoria. The amount of their tender for this section of the Mudgee railway was £180,600, and the time allowed for the completion of the contract is 19 months from the time of commencing. Operations were started on the 3rd of the present month. The work done up to the present consists principally of clearing the timber from the junction onwards. Already the timber has been cleared for some 11 miles, and cuttings scattered over the first eight miles are in progress. the timber for bridge piles has been hewn, and large quantities of bricks, stone, and earthenware pipes, for culverts and drains, are in readiness for use. Over 300 men are now employed, and in the course of a few months the contractors expect to have fully 1000 on the works, the number employed being increased every day. They have had no difficulty in procuring men, and none is anticipated, although good navvies are rather scarce so far. Bricks are brought from Lithgow, but the contractors propose to erect kilns and make their own bricks. The timber for piles can be obtained in abundance along the route, any kind, provided it is round, being used - except white gum, which is disallowed - and pile driving will commence next week. It is probable that, after the construction of the first few miles of railway from Wallerawang, various sub-contracts will be let by the contractor-in-chief. As is evident from the cost of this section, there are many cuttings to be made, more particularly towards the end of the section, in some places the ground being extremely hard and the cuttings deep. The deepest will be over 50ft, and the largest nearly 100,000 yards, including the only tunnel, which will be 187 yards in length. This cutting and tunnel will be made towards the end of the section, and others at different parts of the route. the line, in consequence of the roughness of the country over which it must pass, will be rather circuitous, and the curves almost continuous, though not near so great as those on the mountains. The deepest gradient will be one in 48, others varying from that downwards. The carrying out of this section will include the erection of seven timber bridges, all of one size, namely, 86 yards , crossing small creeks. No station will be required at any part, except at the end of the first section, for some time after the opening of the line, unless during its construction an impetus to settlement on some of the intermediate parts is given. The length of the line, when finished right through to Mudgee, will be 86 miles, to be made up of three sections. Whether or not the Government will await the completion of the first section before they invite tenders for the second or third is not known, and on this point the people of Mudgee, whom the railway will mostly benefit, evince some anxiety. Perhaps the want of railway communication with the town and district of Mudgee, and the inconvenience or rather distastefulness of travelling long distances by coach, as compared with travelling by rail, were never more demonstrated than at Wallerawang last evening when two Darlinghurst prisoners heavily ironed were brought from Sydney bound for Mudgee. They could not be seated on the box with their keeper, consequently two well-known and highly respected ladies, the only other passengers, had preference to sit nearly 12 hours in a small coach - with these gaol birds, who were attired in prison habiliments, and could not move withought the clanking of their irons being heard.

Old Buildings: Capertee Railway Station

This historic railway station was built in 1882. It is a typical type 4 ‘standard roadside station’, a design introduced from the late 1870s by the New South Wales Government Railway (NSWGR), Engineer-in-Chief, John Whitton (1820-98). 

Sign on station platform

The design drawings for Capertee station were signed by Whitton on 17th February 1882. The plans were exhibited in Sydney from 28th February to 14th March 1882.  John Briton and William Cameron won the tender to build the railway station, the nearby goods warehouse (since demolished), and the still extant Station Master’s House.

This station was the terminus for stage one of the Wallerawang to Gwabegar branch line. Stage one opened in May 1882, with a 23 mile section of track from Wallerawang (on the main western line) to Capertee Camp (as Capertee was then known). The 330 feet long railway station platform at Capertee Camp (and stage one of the railway) was opened on 15th May 1882. The line was opened prior to completion of construction of the railway station building. Capertee Camp was renamed Capertee one month after the line opened. The Capertee railway station building was completed on 26th June 1882.

The local community outside Capertee Railway Station
welcomes a wounded soldier returning from World War 1

From Station Street (the eastern access road) the central building consists of three principal rooms. From left to right the rooms were used as a ladies waiting room, general waiting room and the ticket office/station master’s office. The design of this station included two ancillary buildings on each end of the main building. The small building on the left was a toilet block while the small building on the right was used as a lamp room. The lamp room was later used as a crib room (staff room} for track engineering staff.

The steady improvement of the road system saw a steady decline in passenger numbers using the branch railway line which led to its closure in 1987 (the siding tracks had been removed in 1984). With the formal closure of the station there was a proposal in the 1990s to demolish the building, but a campaign led by local residents saved the century-old structure. In the late 1990s a job creation scheme restored the building to an acceptable state of repair and the building was leased for several years to the Capertee Social Club as a venue for village events. A low picket fence along the platform protects visitors from falling on the railway line which is now only used for goods traffic. Recently the station was painted in a ‘heritage’ colour scheme. The windows are currently bordered up and the property is now available for lease.

It should be noted that this station is not listed on the NSW State Heritage Register or the Lithgow Council Local Environment Plan.

Old Buildings: Station Master's House, Capertee

The Station Master's House in Capertee is the oldest surviving residence in the village and has historic significance, not only to the establishment of Capertee, but also to the history of the NSW railway system. 

The 1882 Station Master's House in Capertee

With the construction of the Gwabegar branch line it was decided to build a railway station at Capertee Camp (as the settlement was first known). On 17 February 1882 John Whitton (Chief Engineer of the NSW Government Railway) signed an illustration detailing the construction of the current Station Master’s House. Plans were drawn for the building in March 1882 and the house was built later that year.

This brick building is a fine example of a ‘Type 5’ Station Master’s residence built by the New South Wales Government Railway in the second half of the nineteenth century. Similar designs can be found at Lue, Rylstone, Kelso and Blackheath. This type of design features a full width verandah across the front of the house and an 'L' shaped floor plan. It was mostly used at larger way-side locations, being widely used in the 1880s. It is an attractive local landmark close to the Capertee railway station which was also built in 1882.

                 

As you would expect the Station Master's House
is close to Capertee Railway Station

The Station Master’s House was sold by State Rail in 1990 by which time it was very run down. Most of the interior was gutted and the grounds were full of scrap metal and weeds. Despite this the original 1880s iron roof has survived. The house was restored and the attractive picket fence constructed. It was then sold in 2002 to the current owner who has continued to restore the property and has extensively researched the history of the property and its many former occupants. The Station Master's House is  now used for short term holiday rentals. It's a popular choice with bird watchers, being on the edge of the Capertee Valley.

Link to owners Stayz accommodation website for this property: http://www.stayz.com.au/14862