| Dorrigo railway line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Ulong railway station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini |
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| Stations | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | NSWGR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1924 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 41 mi (66 km) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of tracks | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest elevation | 731 m (2,398 ft) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Dorrigo railway line is a closed railway line in the north of New South Wales, Australia. It branches from the North Coast line at Glenreagh. [1]
The Dorrigo line was intended to be part of a much larger rail system linking the ports of Coffs Harbour and Grafton with the Northern and North western lines. The line would have joined with the system at Guyra, Inverell and Werris Creek. These plans never came to fruition and construction work was commenced on only two sections, between Glenreagh and Dorrigo and Guyra and Dorrigo. Only approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) of the latter was partially constructed. [2] [3]
Dorrigo, the terminus of the Glenreagh to Dorrigo line, is situated on a plateau at 730 metres (2,395 ft) AHD in dairying country in Australia. It has a consistently high rainfall and is the main township for the area known as "The Dorrigo" (short for 'The Dorrigo Plateau'). The town is situated in a geographical location which could best be described as mountainous. Being a rainforest area, it has a high rainfall and fertile soil, but it is also given to landslides and land subsidence. It was into this setting that a line of railway was built, encountering many difficulties in its construction. [2]
On 28 December 1910 the Glenreagh to Dorrigo Railway Act [4] received assent to sanction the construction. It was not until early August 1914 that construction officially commenced. [5] [6] Because of the First World War, a lack of finance and a dispute with the contractor, progress foundered. The contract was terminated on 28 March 1917 and construction passed to the Railway Commissioners who promptly suspended work. [7] [8] [9]
It was almost two years after the end of the First World War that the Railway Commissioners decided to press ahead with construction. [10] Delays occurred due to landslips and washaway and it was not until 27 September 1924 that a construction train reached Dorrigo. [2] Construction was finalised by 5 December and an inspection of the line was conducted by Railways staff on the 10th. [11]
The Dorrigo line was one of the costliest branch railways built in New South Wales. It had some of the steepest gradients and tightest curves on the system and experienced high maintenance and running costs. It experienced repeated losses throughout its entire existence.
Although goods other than timber were carried, timber was the main revenue source for the railway. Just prior to the suspension of services, there were loadings of up to 13 wagons, mainly of timber from Dorrigo. Most of the logs and processed timber were sent to Sydney. In the early days of the line, the NSWGR obtained sleepers for the North Coast region from the area. These were transported by rail to other centres. [2]
The line lost its passenger service on 1 December 1957 and goods services were suspended on 27 October 1972 after flood damage. By the end of December 1972, it was becoming apparent there was little prospect of the line re-opening as the Public Transport Commission, the Authority then charged with operating the State's railways, would give no indication of its intentions.
Dorrigo station remained open until November, 1979, providing staff to facilitate the road transport of goods between there and Raleigh. [2]
Parts of the line are used by heritage railway organisations Glenreagh Mountain Railway and Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum.[ citation needed ]
Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, 540 km (340 mi) north of Sydney, and 390 km (240 mi) south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr are the original people of the Coffs Harbour region.
Summerland Way is a 199–kilometre state route, designated B91, in New South Wales. It runs generally north from Grafton to the state border with Queensland just west of Mount Lindesay, and continues from there into Queensland as Mount Lindesay Highway. It was named as the region in runs through is a popular tourist area for people during summer.
Orara River, a perennial stream of the Clarence River catchment, is located in the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales, Australia.
Ulong is a small village located on the Mid North Coast region, neighbouring the Northern Tablelands, of New South Wales, Australia. It has a community hall, public school, cafe-post office and an Ex-services Club.
Glenreagh Mountain Railway, known as the GMR, was established in 1989 as a heritage tourist railway at Glenreagh, near Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. GMR's objective is to restore and operate a heritage tourist railway on the Glenreagh to Ulong section of the Glenreagh to Dorrigo railway line.
The Walhalla railway line was a 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge railway located in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. The line ran from Moe to the former gold-mining town and popular tourist destination of Walhalla. Construction began in 1904. The line closed in sections from 1944 to 1954.
The Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum in Dorrigo, New South Wales, Australia is a large, privately owned collection of railway vehicles and equipment from the railways of New South Wales, covering both Government and private railways. The collection dates from 1878 until 1985.
The North Coast Line is the primary rail route in the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers regions of New South Wales, Australia, and forms a major part of the Sydney–Brisbane rail corridor.
The Grafton Bridge is a heritage-listed bascule truss bridge that carries Bent Street and North Coast railway line across the Clarence River in Grafton, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge links the Grafton central business district with South Grafton, and was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Glenreagh is a small town in the Clarence Valley in the Northern Rivers region of north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. At the 2021 census, Glenreagh had a population of 562 people.
Dorrigo, a small town on the Waterfall Way, is located on the Northern Tablelands, in northern New South Wales, Australia. The town is part of Bellingen local government area.
The New South Wales Z19 class was a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotives operated by the New South Wales Government Railways of Australia.
Little Nymboida River, a perennial stream of the Clarence River catchment, is located in the Northern Rivers and Northern Tablelands districts of New South Wales, Australia. It flows through the village of Lowanna.
Lowanna is a village in the Coffs Harbour hinterland, officially a suburb of the City of Coffs Harbour. It has a Community Hall, Primary School, Preschool, Tennis Court and General Store. The name Lowanna is an Aboriginal language word meaning "girl". Lowanna had a train station on the now-closed Dorrigo railway line.
Grafton railway station is a railway station on the North Coast line in South Grafton, Clarence Valley Council, New South Wales, Australia. It serves the city of Grafton, opening on 12 October 1915 as South Grafton when the line opened from Glenreagh. It was renamed Grafton City on 1 October 1976 when the original Grafton station north of the Clarence River closed. Since 2005, it has again been known as Grafton Station.
The Inverell railway line is a closed railway line in New South Wales, Australia. The line branches from the Mungindi line at Moree and travels in an easterly direction through the town of Gravesend then Warialda Rail, gradually increasing in elevation through Delungra towards the terminus at Inverell. An initial estimate of its intended length was 96 miles 35 chains (155.2 km). The line opened in February 1900 as far as Gravesend, then more of the line in 1901 before the Gwydir River bridge was finally finished and the line completed in 1902. It was progressively closed between 1987 and 1994. Currently a 5 km (3.1 mi) section at the Moree end remains in use as a siding for the storage of railway wagons. On 8 August 2016, The NSW Government announced that a 2.8km section of the railway would be reinstated to allow grain to be sent by rail, as part of the Fixing Country Rail pilot round. Up to $2 million was allocated for the project.
The Beaudesert Shire Tramway was a narrow gauge tramway which operated from Beaudesert to Lamington and Rathdowney in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia, It was one of 15 light railways built and operated by Divisional Boards and Shire Councils in Queensland. The line carried passengers and cargo. It operated from 1903 to 1944. It was initially profitable and seen as a great success for the local shire council. The tramway is credited with opening up the agricultural lands of the upper Logan River.
Kangaroo River, a watercourse of the Clarence River catchment, is located in the Northern Tablelands district of New South Wales, Australia.
Freestone is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Freestone had a population of 217 people.
Dorrigo Shire was a local government area in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.
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