Lithgow is a town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the administrative centre of the City of Lithgow local government area. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of William Lithgow, the first Auditor-General of New South Wales.
The Australian state of New South Wales has an extensive network of railways, which were integral to the growth and development of the state. The vast majority of railway lines were government built and operated, but there were also several private railways, some of which operate to this day.
A railway zig zag or switchback is a railway operation in which a train is required to switch its direction of travel in order to continue its journey. While this may be required purely from an operations standpoint, it is also ideal for climbing steep gradients with minimal need for tunnels and heavy earthworks. For a short distance, the direction of travel is reversed, before the original direction is resumed. Some switchbacks do not come in pairs, and the train may then need to travel backwards for a considerable distance.
The Zig Zag Railway is an Australian heritage railway, situated near Lithgow, New South Wales. It was opened by the not-for-profit Zig Zag Railway Co-op as an unpaid volunteer-staffed heritage railway in October 1975, using the alignment of the Lithgow Zig Zag line that formed part of the Main Western line between 1869 and 1910. The line climbs the western flank of the Blue Mountains, using railway zig zags to gain height.
Lapstone is a township on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. Elevation 160 m (525 ft). Lapstone is located 62 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains and is part of the federal electorate of Macquarie. Lapstone consists mostly of stand-alone housing and has a few public facilities. At the 2016 census, Lapstone had a population of 961 people. Lapstone was originally bought and developed by Mr Arthur J Hand, an Alderman of the Blue Mountains City Council.
The Lapstone Zig Zag was a zig zag railway built between Emu Plains and Blaxland stations on the Main Western Line of New South Wales in Australia. Constructed between 1863 and 1865 to overcome an otherwise insurmountable climb up the eastern side of the Blue Mountains, the zig zag and associated Knapsack Viaduct, a sandstone arch viaduct, were designed by John Whitton, Engineer-in-Charge of New South Wales Government Railways, and were built by William Watkins. The zig zag was listed on the Blue Mountains local government heritage register on 27 December 1991; while the adjacent Knapsack Viaduct was listed on the New South Wales Heritage Database on 2 April 1999. The Lapstone Zig Zag was the world-first Zig Zag constructed on any main-line railway.
The Blue Mountains Line (BMT) is an inter urban commuter rail service operated by NSW TrainLink serving the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The line travels west from Sydney to the major town of Katoomba and on to Mount Victoria, Lithgow and Bathurst. Mount Victoria is the terminus for most electric services, but some services terminate at Lithgow instead. Two express services per day in each direction, known as the Bathurst Bullet, extend to the regional city of Bathurst, which is supplemented by road coaches connecting Bathurst to Lithgow. Due to electrification limits at Lithgow, the Bathurst Bullet is run using the Endeavour railcars, which operate on diesel. The Blue Mountains Line operates over a mostly duplicated section of the Main Western line. As such, the tracks are also traversed by the Central West XPT, Outback Xplorer and Indian Pacific passenger services and by freight trains.
Bell railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Western line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the Blue Mountains village of Bell, and opened in May 1875 as Mount Wilson, being renamed Bell on 1 May 1889. Situated 1,069 metres above sea level, it is the station with the highest elevation on the NSW TrainLink network. From December 2019 to May 2020, the station was closed due to major bushfire damage on the line.
John Whitton, an Anglo–Australian railway engineer, was the Engineer-in-Charge for the New South Wales Government Railways, serving between 1856 and 1890, considered the Father of New South Wales Railways. Under his supervision, it is estimated that 2,171 miles (3,494 km) of railway around New South Wales and Victoria were completed. Whitton was responsible for the construction of parts of the Main Western railway line, in particular the section over the Blue Mountains and the Lithgow Zig Zag, and much of the Main Southern railway line.
The Main Western Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Blue Mountains, and Central West regions. It is 825 kilometres (513 mi) long, of which 484 kilometres (301 mi) is currently operational.
The Newnes Junction railway station is a closed railway station on the Blue Mountains Line, New South Wales, Australia. It served the former private branch line to Newnes. The station closed to passenger services in 1975, although it still physically exists and is occasionally used for coal trains visiting the nearby Clarence Colliery. The station consists of an island 'Up' platform, and a single side 'Down' platform.
The Bowenfels railway station is a heritage-listed disused railway station and now visitor's centre and restaurant located on the Main Western line at Bowenfels, in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John Clifton and the New South Wales Government Railways and built from 1869 to 1869 by G. Watsford, NSW Government Railway. It is also known as the Bowenfels Railway Station and Stationmaster's House and Old Station Masters Residence and Station. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Clarence is a location in New South Wales, Australia. It was originally a railway outpost on the original railway line across the Blue Mountains, but by 1908 when Clarence was used as headquarters for the Ten Tunnels Deviation works, the town population had flourished to over 5,000 residents, the majority being the navvies employed on the deviation works. When the deviation was opened in 1910, the town population quickly fell, despite a new platform built on the new deviation.
The Lithgow Zig Zag is a heritage-listed former zig zag railway line built near Lithgow on the Great Western Line of New South Wales in Australia. The zig zag line operated between 1869 and 1910, to overcome an otherwise insurmountable climb and descent on the western side of the Blue Mountains. It was designed by John Whitton and built from 1863 to 1869 by Patrick Higgins as contractor. It is also known as the Great Zig Zag Railway and Reserves and Zig Zag Railway. The property is owned by Department of Planning and Infrastructure. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
The Ten Tunnels Deviation is a heritage-listed 9.2-kilometre (5.7 mi) section of the Main Western Line between Newnes Junction and Zig Zag stations in Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed and built by the New South Wales Government Railways and built from 1 June 1908 and 16 October 1910. It is also known as Great Zig Zag Railway deviation tunnels and Bell to Zig Zag Ten Tunnel Railway Deviation. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
The Glenbrook deviation was a section of track on the Main Western line from the first Knapsack Viaduct to old Glenbrook station in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The approximately five-mile-long (eight-kilometre) deviation was constructed from 1891 to 1892 and replaced the Lapstone Zig Zag. The deviation was closed in 1913 when it was replaced by the second Glenbrook deviation and the second Glenbrook Tunnel, that continues to carry the Main Western line today.
Bottom Points is a railway station on the Zig Zag Railway in the Blue Mountains area of New South Wales.
The Marrangaroo railway viaduct is a heritage-listed railway viaduct that carries the Main Western Line across Marrangaroo Creek at Marrangaroo in the City of Lithgow local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The property added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
The Rydal rail underbridges are a series of heritage-listed railway underbridges and viaducts that carry the Main Western line over Solitary Creek at Rydal, in the City of Lithgow local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The property is owned by Transport Asset Holding Entity, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
The Glenbrook deviation is a section of track on the Main Western line from Emu Plains to Blaxland stations in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The approximately seven-mile-long (eleven-kilometre) double-track deviation was constructed from 1911 to 1913 and replaced the single-track first Glenbrook deviation and the first Glenbrook Tunnel.
