The Oberon railway line is a short, disused branch railway line in western New South Wales, Australia. The line branches from the Main West at Tarana and heads in a southerly direction to the town of Oberon. It opened on the 3rd of October 1923.[1] The line was lightly constructed with high grades (1 in 25) and tight curves, and was operated by lightweight steam and then diesel locomotives.[2] It transported local seasonal vegetables, timber and livestock. Passenger services ended in 1971, and goods services were suspended in 1979 with the line effectively closing. The line is currently being restored by a volunteer association to allow heritage and tourist operation.[3]
The early history of the line is contained in an article appearing in Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, July, 1958.
In the last few years the Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway Inc (OTHR) [4] have been steadily restoring the track between Oberon station and Hazelgrove. This task is almost completed and the only major work to do is to relay two road crossings. In recent months two end platform carriages (on loan from NSWRTM) and some smaller wagons have been delivered and are on the tracks in Oberon station. Two 73 class and CPH 13 are awaiting shipment to Oberon to form the OTHR's motive power. It is the long term goal of the association to run trains all the way to the mainline at Tarana.