Cobar railway line

Last updated

Cobar Line
Hermidale Cobar Railway Line 001.JPG
The railway line through Hermidale.
Overview
StatusOpen (freight)
Closed (passenger)
Termini
Stations10
Service
Operator(s) Public Transport Commission
History
Opened1 July 1892
Closed22 September 1975 (passenger)
Technical
Number of tracks1
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Route map

Contents

km from
Central

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Endeavour Mine
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BSicon KDSTaq.svg
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CSA Mine
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754.19
Cobar
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BSicon ABZg+r.svg
BSicon eHST.svg
732.63
Meryula
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710.83
Boppy Mountain
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704.79
Florida
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Pooraka Siding
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BSicon STR.svg
Muriel Tank
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687.94
Muriel Tank
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680.75
Birkalla
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667.70
Hermidale
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650.60
Thorndale
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644.01
Miandetta
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632.39
Tikkara
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BSicon STR.svg
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon xABZqr.svg
BSicon exCONTfq.svg
BSicon POINTERg@g.svg
Main Western line
to Summervale

The Cobar railway line is a railway line in New South Wales, Australia. It branches west towards Cobar from the Main West Line at Nyngan. Main West passenger trains once continued northwest to Bourke but no longer run past Dubbo. However, copper concentrates from mines near Hermidale and Cobar are still railed on this line to ports on the New South Wales coast.

The Cobar line opened on 1 July 1892, and continues to carry wheat and ore. [1] Passenger services ceased on 22 September 1975. Cobar railway station has been redeveloped into a community facility. [2]

History

The early development of Cobar was directly associated with the discovery of copper in the area. Aborigine guides showed a low hill, with outcrops of reddish oxide of ochre, to a party of tank-sinkers in 1870. These three men noticed that the rocks had been streaked green and blue. Samples collected were found to contain carbonate of copper. An area of 16.2ha was secured under a Mineral Conditional Purchase.

In the middle of 1871, two further blocks were secured and were known as the Great Cobar South and Great Cobar North mines. In January, 1876, the two southern mines were amalgamated under the name Great Cobar and the township of Cobar grew alongside the mine.

Probably the earliest move for a railway from Nyngan to Cobar was when a petition was presented to the N.S.W. Parliament on 27 August 1884, for the construction of a railway from Nyngan to Wilcannia via Cobar. Numerous deputations followed and on 8 October 1886, the construction of the line was approved by Parliament and formally assented to by the Governor on 11 November 1886. [3]

From October 1901 to September 1931, there was a short branch railway, The Peak branch. It ran from Cobar to the Occidental Mine, via the now-vanished mining village of Wrightville. [4] It reopened, in 1935, but was closed beyond to a siding in Cobar, in 1965. [5] [6] An extension of the line beyond Cobar to the C.S.A. Mine opened in January 1918. [7] It too reopened in 1963, when the C.S.A. mine was revived. [8] There is also a branch to the Endeavour Mine (formerly known as the Elura Mine). [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrightville</span>

Wrightville was a mining village in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. Once it was a significant settlement, with its own municipal government, public school, convent school, post office, police station, four hotels, and railway connection. At its peak, around 1907, its population probably reached 2,000 people. Its site and that of the adjacent former village of Dapville are now an uninhabited part of Cobar.

Elouera was a short-lived mining township, now a ghost town, in the Orana region of New South Wales Australia. The area that it once occupied has always been a part of Cobar, for local government purposes, although the old site lies around 10 km to the north-west of the Cobar township. It was associated with the Cornish, Scottish and Australian Mine, and was inhabited from 1906 to around 1930. It was also known, unofficially, as 'C.S.A.'

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Cobar mine</span> Former copper mine, in New South Wales, Australia

Great Cobar mine was a copper mine, located at Cobar, New South Wales, Australia, which also produced significant amounts of gold and silver. It operated between 1871 and 1919. Over that period, it was operated by five entities; Cobar Copper Mining Company (1871-1875), Great Cobar Copper-Mining Company (1876-1889), Great Cobar Mining Syndicate (1894-1906), Great Cobar Limited (1906-1914), and finally the receiver representing the debentures holders of Great Cobar Limited (1915-1919). Its operations included mines and smelters, at Cobar, an electrolytic copper refinery, coal mine and coke works, at Lithgow, and a coal mine and coke works at Rix's Creek near Singleton.

References

  1. Bozier, Rolfe; et al. "Cobar Line". NSWrail.net. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  2. "Cobar railway station". Outback Online. Archived from the original on 2 July 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  3. Western Branches Vol.5 Forsyth, J. 2004 Australian Railway Historical Society New South Wales Division
  4. "The Peak Branch". nswrail.net. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  5. "The Peak Branch - History Tab". www.nswrail.net. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  6. "Wades Siding". www.nswrail.net. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  7. "C.S.A. Mines Ltd". Western Age. 15 January 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  8. "Csa Mine". nswrail.net. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  9. "Elura Mine". nswrail.net. Retrieved 13 June 2023.