Main North railway line, New South Wales
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- For other railways around the world called Great Northern, see Great Northern Railway.
The Main North Line (also known as the Great Northern Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and the New England regions.
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[edit] Development of the line
The first section of the Main North Line was built from the port of Newcastle to Victoria Street, Maitland in 1857 and extended to Singleton in 1863, Muswellbrook and Murrurundi in 1872, Werris Creek and west Tamworth in 1878, Armidale in 1883 and Wallangarra, Queensland in 1888.
The Sydney - Newcastle line was started significantly later due to the difficult topography, including the need to cross the Hawkesbury River. The line was opened to Hornsby in 1886 and Hawkeskbury River station at Brooklyn in 1887. The line also opened from Newcastle to Gosford in 1887. The Hawkeskbury River bridge and the line to Gosford were opened in 1889.[1] The bridge was built on pylons that failed to reach bed rock and it had to be replaced in the 1940s but due to the war the new bridge was not opened until 1 July 1946)
[edit] Branch lines
A line was built between Muswellbrook, to Denman in 1915 and Sandy Hollow and Merriwa in 1917. The section between Sandy Hollow and Merriwa has been closed since 1988.[2]
Work on the Sandy Hollow Line between Sandy Hollow, Gulgong and Maryvale (between Wellington and Dubbo) also commenced in 1915, but was abandoned unfinished a few years later. The line crosses the Great Dividing Range by following the Bylong Valley from Sandy Hollow to Bylong, with a tunnel under Cox's Gap. The tunnel that was built under Cox's Gap around 1915 was used for eastbound road traffic on the Bylong Valley Way until work recommenced in the early 1980s. The line was opened as a heavy-haul railway to the major coal mine at Ulan in 1982 and extended to Gulgong in 1985 to meet the line to Dunedoo and Dubbo.[3] It is unlikely to be extended to Maryvale.
A branch line was opened from Werris Creek to Gunnedah in 1879, Narrabri in 1884, Moree in 1897 and Weemelah and Mungindi in 1914. It is now closed beyond Weemelah.[4] A branch line was completed from Moree to Inverell in 1901, creating a rather indirect route to Newcastle.[5] It was proposed to extend it to Glen Innes, Grafton and Iluka at one time, but nothing came of this plan. This line was closed by 1994. A branch line was opened between Camurra (11 km north of Moree) to North Star and Boggabilla in 1932. It is now closed beyond North Star.[6]
There are proposals to connect Queensland Rail's South-Western line from a point near Goondiwindi to North Star, either with a bogy exchange or dual gauge to Moree or Narrabri. There are also proposals to extend the standard gauge to Toowoomba and Brisbane and/or Gladstone.
Another branch was opened from Narrabri to Burren in 1903 and it was extended to Cryon in 1905 and Walgett in 1908. This line is still open for freight only as far as Walgett wheat terminal.[7] In 1906 a branch was opened from Burren Junction to Pokataroo in 1906. The last 16km of the line was closed past Merrywinebone in 1974, when it was damaged by floods. It is now only open for grain traffic.[8]
[edit] North Shore line
A branch line from Hornsby (now known as the North Shore line) to St Leonards was completed in 1890. The line was extended to the Sydney Harbour foreshore at old Milsons Point station in 1893, where it connected to a ferry to Central Sydney.[9] Old Milsons Point station's site is now occupied by Sydney's Luna Park near Sydney Harbour Bridge. This route was apparently intended as a shorter route from Sydney to Newcastle and northern New South Wales for freight and passengers, but its destiny was to be an important part of Sydney's suburban rail system as the North Shore line.
When the Bridge and the new underground railway to Central opened in 1932, it and the nearby Lavender Bay station were replaced by the current Milsons Point station and North Sydney station.
[edit] Developments in the 20th century
The line was hampered by the rugged terrain and a change of gauge at Wallangarra for traffic to Queensland. The line was supplanted as the principal route to Brisbane by the completion of the North Coast Line in 1930. Despite being bypassed, the line remained busy for many years afterwards, with the line instead becoming the major freight link to the wheat and wool regions of northern and north-west New South Wales.
In 1988, the New South Wales government abandoned the line between Tenterfield and Wallangarra. The line was later abandoned to as far south as Tamworth before services were returned to Armidale in 1993. Since that time, there have been attempts to revive freight or tourist traffic to as far as Glen Innes, although these plans have not yet succeeded.
Today, the line is used for both freight and passenger traffic. The busiest sections are in the Hunter Valley and Central Coast regions, with services to the New England being less frequent. Passenger services are provided by CountryLink, with daily Xplorer services running from Sydney to Armidale and Moree. Freight services are provided by a number of companies, with Pacific National being the largest user on the line.
Much of the line in the Hunter Valley has 4 tracks. North of Sandgate, The western pair of tracks are used exclusively for coal trains within the Hunter Valley Coal Chain and the eastern pair of tracks are used for passenger trains and general freight. The Sandgate Flyover was constructed in 2006 to allow the two passenger/freight lines to rise and pass over the coal lines in order to eliminate a capacity restriction caused by the long coal trains crossing the other tracks at grade.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Main North Line. www.nswrail.net. Retrieved on 2006-12-03.
- ^ Merriwa Branch. www.nswrail.net. Retrieved on 2006-12-03.
- ^ Sandy Hollow - Gulgong Line. www.nswrail.net. Retrieved on 2006-12-03.
- ^ Mungindi Line. www.nswrail.net. Retrieved on 2006-12-03.
- ^ Inverell Branch. www.nswrail.net. Retrieved on 2006-12-03.
- ^ Mungindi Line. www.nswrail.net. Retrieved on 2006-12-03.
- ^ Walgett Branch. www.nswrail.net. Retrieved on 2006-12-03.
- ^ Pokataroo Branch. www.nswrail.net. Retrieved on 2006-12-03.
- ^ North Shore Line. www.nswrail.net. Retrieved on 2006-12-03.
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