Mount Hope railway line

Last updated April 01, 2024

The Mount Hope railway briefly connected the Broken Hill railway line with Mount Hope, New South Wales, Australia. The copper mine for which this branch was constructed to service ceased full-time operations four months before the line was opened. After a bare five years, the branch itself was closed—possibly the first step of rationalisation to be practiced by the New South Wales Government Railways.^[1]

Construction

The basic reason for the proposed construction of a railway to service Mount Hope was to provide a means of cheap transport for the several copper mines in the district. A railway to link Broken Hill with Condobolin via Menindee had been on the drawing boards since 1895 but there was considerable pressure instead for the line to be built from Cobar and run via Wilcannia to Broken Hill. Construction, however, was authorised of the route from Condobolin to Broken Hill in 1912, and the actual work commenced in December 1914 from both ends. The work was placed in the hands of a private contractor in July the following year, but this contract was cancelled in May 1917, by which time the section from Condobolin to Matakana had been completed. Although not officially open for traffic, freight was handled over the line under "construction" conditions (i.e., construction traffic had priority over any other traffic.)

The Annual Report of the Department of Mines for the Year Ended 30 June 1917 reveals that the only mine operating at Mount Hope at the time was the Mount Hope Limited. Regular crushing operations were commenced in May 1917 when the railway from Condobolin to Matakana was unofficially opened. At that stage, it was proposed to build a light railway to connect the mine with Matakana Siding, 16 km away, for which a survey had been completed.

In the following year, the N.S.W. Department of Mines reported that: "the profitable and successful treatment of the Mount Hope ore has proved in the past an almost insuperable difficulty, owing, firstly, to the distance from the railway, and secondly, to the highly siliceous nature of the ore; but the present Company, by a combination process of milling and leaching under a patent of their own, has proved that the mine can be worked profitably and with the railway now within less than two miles of the town, the future of this property seems assured ... given an adequate price for copper, it is safe to predict a prosperous career for this mine."

It was planned to carry out extensive improvements, including the construction of an urgently needed dam to provide a dependable water supply. At this stage, 117 persons were employed at the mine. However, in October 1918, the water ran out and work at the mine all but ceased. With the arrival of the railway, it was expected that the Great Central Copper Mine at South Mount Hope would also resume operations.

The official opening date of the 16.73 km (10m. 32ch.) single tracked branch from Matakana to Mount Hope is given as 10 February 1919, the same as that for the main line from Condobolin to a dead-end 2.56 km beyond Trida.^[1]

Description of the Line

The Mount Hope line branched off the western end of the crossing loop at Matakana. This meant that any train proceeding to the branch would have to shunt from the platform as this only faced the main line. The branch left the crossing loop by a 10.57m (12 ch) radius curve to head in a generally northern direction on a steadily rising grade with a few sweeping curves. As the line was unfenced, an overall speed limit of 24 km/h (15 mph) was applied. There were no intermediate halts or stations and the terminus was of the simplest design possible - a main line with a single run-round siding 131 m (431 ft) in length, capable of holding twenty four-wheeled vehicles. No platform or signals were provided at Mount Hope - just a simple station nameboard. Only one train at a time was allowed on the branch operating under "Ordinary Train Staff" regulations. The "Staff" for the section, when not in use, was kept at Matakana. No signals were provided to protect Matakana from trains off the Mount Hope branch and so drivers of these trains had to come to a stand clear of the catch-points protecting the arrival road (loop) at the junction station. Also, as there were no turning facilities at Mount Hope, locomotives had to operate tender-first in one direction. It would appear that it was expected that locomotives would be able to run from Euabalong West (the last watering point) to Mount Hope and return, a distance of 126 km (78½ miles), without requiring additional water, but if none was available at Euabalong West, provision was made in the local instructions for a bogie water tank to be conveyed from Condobolin and for the locomotive to run tender first on the outward journey, propelling the water tank from Euabalong West.^[1]

Train Operations

It seems that the railway may have been too late for the copper mining industry which was also suffering from drought conditions. The 1920 Mines Department Annual Report tells us that no ore was mined at Mount Hope during the year although 40 tons were obtained from tailings. Only eleven men were employed, all on surface work. 1921 saw a very depressed copper industry. Whilst 1290 tons had been mined in the whole of New South Wales in 1920, only 499 tons had been mined in 1921, and none of this copper came from Mount Hope.

Travelling time for all trains in each direction on the branch was 46 minutes. Locomotives of the A, B, C, D, H, J.483 & P classes were allowed on the line which was treated as a "pioneer" branch - unfenced, and so drivers were expected to keep a sharp look-out for livestock.

The Public Timetable of 1923 reveals that there was a once-a-week service to Mount Hope, originating from Condobolin at 14.30 on Fridays, connecting off the 1955 mail train from Sydney the previous day. The mixed train departed Matakana at 18.50 and was scheduled to arrive at Mount Hope at 19.35. The return journey was commenced at 6.30 on Saturday, arriving back at Condobolin at 11.10 with a connection through to Sydney.^[1]

Closure

When it was obvious that the copper mines would not re-open, and that there was no other worthwhile traffic to retain the branch, it was decided to close the line and accordingly the last train ran on Friday-Saturday 4–5 July 1924.

It appears that the track was allowed to lie unused for many years, not being lifted until the late 1930s when it was recovered for use on another line to serve a copper mine - from Bungendore to Captains Flat.^[1]

Related Research Articles

The Furness Railway (Furness) was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.

The Vale of Rheidol Railway is a 1 ft 11+3⁄4 in narrow gauge heritage railway in Ceredigion, Wales, between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge; a journey of 11+3⁄4 miles (18.9 km).

The Nevada Northern Railway was a railroad in the U.S. state of Nevada, built primarily to reach a major copper producing area in White Pine County, Nevada. The railway, constructed in 1905–06, extended northward about 140 miles (230 km) from Ely to connections with the Western Pacific Railroad at Shafter and Southern Pacific Railroad at Cobre. In 1967 NN reported 40 million net ton-miles of revenue freight on 162 miles (261 km) of line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belmont railway line, New South Wales</span> Closed railway line in New South Wales

The Belmont railway line is an abandoned coal haulage and passenger rail line from Adamstown, New South Wales to Belmont, New South Wales. This was a private railway, being the property of the New Redhead Estate and Coal Company and was generally known as the Belmont Branch. The line closed in December 1991. It has since been converted into a cycleway or rail trail - The Fernleigh Track.

The North Coast railway line (NCL) is a 1,681-kilometre (1,045 mi) 1067 mm gauge railway line in Queensland, Australia. It commences at Roma Street station, Brisbane, and largely parallels the Queensland coast to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The line is electrified between Brisbane and Rockhampton. Along the way, the 1680 km railway passes through the numerous towns and cities of eastern Queensland including Nambour, Bundaberg, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville. The line though the centre of Rockhampton runs down the middle of Denison Street.

The Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway is a short line railroad in the U.S. state of Montana. The BA&P was founded in 1891 and operated as such until sale in 1985, when it was renamed the Rarus Railway. The railway was again sold in May 2007 to the Patriot Rail Corporation, and the name returned to the Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway in July 2007. The railway was the main conduit for ore transport between Butte and Anaconda, and was used for filming of portions of the 1985 Golden Globe nominated movie Runaway Train.

Mount Hope is a settlement in western New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on the Kidman Way, 95 kilometres north of Hillston and 160 km south of Cobar. A government township called 'Nombinnie' was surveyed in the mid-1880s but that name was rarely used.

The Redruth and Chasewater Railway was an early mineral railway line in Cornwall, England, UK. It opened in 1825 and was built to convey the output from copper mines in the Gwennap area to wharves on Restronguet Creek around Devoran, and to bring in coal to fuel mine engines; later it carried timber for pit props and also house coal.

The Liskeard and Caradon Railway was a mineral railway in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, which opened in 1844. It was built to carry the ores of copper and tin, and also granite, from their sources on Caradon Hill down to Moorswater for onward transport to market by way of Looe Harbour and coastal shipping. At first this was on the Liskeard and Looe Union Canal and later on the parallel Liskeard and Looe Railway.

The Seddonville Branch, later truncated as the Ngākawau Branch, is a branch line railway in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. Construction began in 1874 and it reached its terminus at the Mokihinui Mine just beyond Seddonville in 1895. In 1981 it was closed past Ngākawau and effectively became an extension of the Stillwater–Westport Line, since formalised as the Stillwater–Ngākawau Line.

The Otavi Mining and Railway Company was a railway and mining company in German South West Africa. It was founded on 6 April 1900 in Berlin with the Disconto-Gesellschaft and the South West Africa Company as major shareholders.

The Silverton Tramway was a 58-kilometre-long 1,067 mm railway line running from Cockburn on the South Australian state border to Broken Hill in New South Wales. Operating between 1888 and 1970, it served the mines in Broken Hill, and formed the link between the 1,435 mmstandard gauge New South Wales Government Railways and the narrow gauge South Australian Railways lines. It was owned and operated by the Silverton Tramway Company (STC).

The Captains Flat railway line was a country branch line in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales. The line branched off the Bombala line at Bungendore Junction, 5 km south of Bungendore and terminated 34 km further south at Captain's Flat.

The Hamersley & Robe River railway, majority-owned by Rio Tinto, and operated by its subsidiary Pilbara Iron, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for the purpose of carrying iron ore. The network is larger than any other Australian heavy freight rail network in private ownership. The total length of its track is about 1,700 km (1,056 mi).

The Namaqualand 0-6-0T of 1871 were two South African steam locomotives from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

The Cape Copper Mining Company 0-4-0WT Condenser of 1886 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

The Namaqua Copper Company 0-4-2STPioneer of 1901 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

The Etheridge railway line is a heritage-listed railway line between Mount Surprise and Forsayth, both in the Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. It includes Mount Surprise railway station, Einasleigh railway station, Wirra Wirra railway station and Forsayth railway station. Etheridge railway line was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 16 February 2009.

The Cadia Mine railway line is a closed and dismantled railway line in New South Wales, Australia. The 18.5 km long branch line started where it branched from the Main Western Railway line at Spring Hill and ended at Cadia. Its main role was to carry iron ore from the quarry at Cadia and for much of its life was privately operated.

Matakana is a rural locality in western New South Wales, Australia. It is situated just off the Kidman Way, 78 kilometres north of Hillston and 177 kilometres south of Cobar. The small settlement of Mount Hope is located 17 kilometres to the north on the Kidman Way.

References

1 2 3 4 5 The Railway News, N.S.W. School Railway Clubs Association, November–December 1977, pp. 104–108

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[neve-1] 1 2 3 4 5 The Railway News, N.S.W. School Railway Clubs Association, November–December 1977, pp. 104–108

[1]