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.
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| 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.
