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Ghost/abandoned railways in the Northern Rivers area

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TrainKid31

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Jan 29, 2002, 6:13:19 AM1/29/02
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Hey,
I'm once again on the hunt for abandoned/ghost railways in the
Northern Rivers area. I know of three are there anymore abandoned
ones? Here are the three I know of.
Booyong to Ballina.
Muwullumbah (I dont know the correct spelling) to Codong Mill
Nerang to Tweed Heads, (also known as the 'south Coast line?)

Could anybody give Me ANY info on these lines, such as timetables,
openings and closures, train services and reamins of the lines?
Thanks
Mark

Kerry

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Jan 29, 2002, 8:10:15 AM1/29/02
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"TrainKid31" <kid_indest...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:6bdaa438.02012...@posting.google.com...

There's an excellent article in the October 2001 edition of the ARHS
Bulletin about the old Gold Coast line titled Rails at the Tweed. The
article includes some great colour photographs taken around 1959. Also
includes timetables and maps.

Kerry


Geoff Lambert

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Jan 29, 2002, 6:01:40 PM1/29/02
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On 29 Jan 2002 03:13:19 -0800, kid_indest...@yahoo.com
(TrainKid31) wrote:

Ian Dunn can. He has just published another book in the series Byways
of Steam, vol 18, The Tweed Railway', 144 pages of what you are
looking for.

Geoff Lambert

Paul Westcott

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Jan 29, 2002, 10:26:35 PM1/29/02
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TrainKid31 wrote:

For all NSW railways in the "abandoned/ghost" category, Rolfe Bozier's
site is a good one.

http://www.triode.net.au/~rolfeb/nsw/

Paul Westcott

Chris

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Jan 30, 2002, 4:02:42 AM1/30/02
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What about the upper part of the Dorrigo line?

"Geoff Lambert" <G.La...@unsw.edu.au> wrote in message
news:3c572984...@nntp.unsw.edu.au...

Doug and Margaret

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Jan 30, 2002, 4:25:12 AM1/30/02
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The Tweed Heads line is described with pics in the book Destination Sth
Brisbane published by the ARHS Qld Div 1978. A map in the book also
shows the Beaudesert Shire Tramway and the Laheys Canungra Tramway, a
timber
line described in Light Railways, No. 54, Summer 1975/76. Also shown is
a Neranwood Tramway branching west off the line at Mudgeeraba.

Doug.

Rolfe Bozier

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Jan 30, 2002, 6:03:26 AM1/30/02
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In article <6bdaa438.02012...@posting.google.com>,

TrainKid31 <kid_indest...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hey,
> I'm once again on the hunt for abandoned/ghost railways in the
> Northern Rivers area. I know of three are there anymore abandoned
> ones? Here are the three I know of.
> Booyong to Ballina.
> Muwullumbah (I dont know the correct spelling) to Codong Mill
> Nerang to Tweed Heads, (also known as the 'south Coast line?)

There's also the line from Casino to Bonalbo, for which construction
was abandoned. The formation is apparently visible for some distance
along the highway to the west of Casino.

See ya,
Rolfe

--
Rolfe Bozier email: ro...@pobox.com http://www.pobox.com/~rolfe
Software Developer "The gull sees furthest who flies highest"

Robert Lee

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Jan 30, 2002, 11:17:29 PM1/30/02
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It all depends how you define a railway. The NSW PWD lines for breakwater
construction were quite extensive and lasted into the 1970s. Formations are
there for the finding. The most interesting undoubtedly are in the
Yamba-Angourie area. In fact the road between these two towns is on the PWD
rail formation. This was quite well engineered and was worked by N67 class
locos among others. Old maps (available at the local historical society)
will help you locate the formations. There is still a boiler and some rails
at Angourie quarry, and wheels at Yamba quarry. The remains of the rail
viaducts from the Yamba side out to Freeburn island are still visible too.

Other similar lines were at Iluka, Ilarwill (near Maclean), and Ballina.
Then there are (or were) the jetty lines at Coffs Harbour, Woolgooga and
Byron Bay (2 there with an operable locomotive, which I THINK happens to be
the oldest internal combustion loco in Australia, still on site!). That's
PLENTY to keep you busy!!

If you get bored, you can try tracing the lines which were surveyed but
never built. I've done a bit of that. THese include Grafton-Tenterfield
(1870) Grafton-GI (1880s), Iluka-GI (1940s), Grafton-Killarney (1920s). Some
of these were even authorised! I have even found reference to a proposed
Harwood-Woodburn tramline in the 1880s, and it was actually surveyed, but
this would have been a dull affair, since the terrain is fairly level.

Finally, check out Ian Dunn's wonderful new book on the Clarence-Tweed
Railway. It's the latest in the Byways of Steam series.

best wishes,
Robert

Rolfe Bozier wrote in message ...

Jeremy Lunn

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Jan 31, 2002, 2:12:15 AM1/31/02
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In article <6bdaa438.02012...@posting.google.com>, TrainKid31 wrote:
> Could anybody give Me ANY info on these lines, such as timetables,
> openings and closures, train services and reamins of the lines?

The timetables that you're after would contain something like:
Monday - Friday No service
Saturday No service
Sunday No service

--
Jeremy Lunn
Melbourne, Australia
Homepage: http://www.austux.net/
http://www.jabber.org/ - the next generation of Instant Messaging.

Excalibur

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Jan 31, 2002, 6:07:25 AM1/31/02
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"Jeremy Lunn" <spammers...@austux.net> wrote in message
news:slrna5hrif.24g.s...@amalthea.dark.net...

> In article <6bdaa438.02012...@posting.google.com>, TrainKid31
wrote:
> > Could anybody give Me ANY info on these lines, such as timetables,
> > openings and closures, train services and reamins of the lines?
>
> The timetables that you're after would contain something like:
> Monday - Friday No service
> Saturday No service
> Sunday No service
>
Ohhh, Someone must be taking hate pills today :-)


Robert Lee

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Jan 31, 2002, 6:14:01 AM1/31/02
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This is a touch cynical. The Ballina line had a quite lavish service in its
early months, until potential users discovered how inconvenient it was. Ian
Dunn's new book has the details. Condong never had passenger trains, and, so
far as I know, the only passenger train ever to run there was the vintage
train in about 1964 or 1965. Regular traffic was the seasonal (July-Dec)
sugar trains from Crabbe's Ck, where the loading gantry for transfer from
2ft to standard gauge trains remains. These trains were steam until right
near the end, even though the North Coast was early to be dieselised. Check
mags like Roundhouse, Digest and Railway News from the 1964-5 period for the
details of the sole passenger operation. No trains ever ran to Bonalbo mof
course, but there were plenty of fascinating little operations out of Casino
that provide a clue for the might-have-beens. The Border Loop school train
with either a 42-ft rail motor (aka CPH) or a 13 class, for instance.

Jeremy Lunn wrote in message ...

Rjaygee

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Jan 31, 2002, 6:29:19 AM1/31/02
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Not quite far North Coast. There was a railway that ran from a quarry at
Crowdy Head to the breakwater at Harrington. The rails were still visible on
the breakwater at Harrington with concrete poured in between to make a foot
path of sorts. I believe the road between Crowdy and Harring ton was the
rail formation.
Cheers
Rod Gayford

"Robert Lee" <ro...@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:xz368.11793$N31.5...@ozemail.com.au...

phone123

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Feb 6, 2002, 4:17:58 PM2/6/02
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I on number occisions rode the Lismore to Condong sugar train in 1966. The
train use to start in Casino and bring a number of empty wagons to Lismore
and took empty S trucks to Mullumbiny and loaded cane then to Condong . the
train was worked by 50 or 53 class locos

mike deegan
Kerry <ke...@capebyron.com> wrote in message
news:Xax58.21529$Ni2.1...@news-server.bigpond.net.au...

Maikha

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Feb 9, 2002, 4:42:31 PM2/9/02
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kid_indest...@yahoo.com (TrainKid31) wrote in message news:<6bdaa438.02012...@posting.google.com>...

I can't recall much, but when I went to Brisbane travelling on the New
England Highway we followed a disused Standard gauge line somewhere
after Tamworth and Armidale.

This line is still in tact, the timber trestle bridges are still
there, but the line is abit overgrown by grass and is blocked by
neighbouring farming properties.

What I can recall is this line went through Tenterfield and
continually followed the New England Highway into QLD (But I couldn't
see anymore because it was dark).


Maikha "V" Ly
theintercityplatform.iwarp.com

Jonathan Boles

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Feb 9, 2002, 5:58:31 PM2/9/02
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Possibly it is the now disused line between Dumaresg (about 10k north of
Armidale) and Glen Innes


--


Maikha <mai...@mailandnews.com> wrote in message
news:5ebecf95.02020...@posting.google.com...

Geoff Harland

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Feb 9, 2002, 8:32:27 PM2/9/02
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>> I can't recall much, but when I went to Brisbane travelling on the New
>> England Highway we followed a disused Standard gauge line somewhere
>> after Tamworth and Armidale.
>>
>> This line is still in tact, the timber trestle bridges are still
>> there, but the line is abit overgrown by grass and is blocked by
>> neighbouring farming properties.
>>
>> What I can recall is this line went through Tenterfield and
>> continually followed the New England Highway into QLD (But I couldn't
>> see anymore because it was dark).
>>
>> Maikha "V" Ly
>
>Possibly it is the now disused line between Dumaresg (about 10k north of
>Armidale) and Glen Innes
>
>Jonathan Boles

That sounds like part of the original rail route between Syndey and Brisbane
(prior to the completion of the SG route between Casino and Brisbane), which
went through New England, and which changed between SG and NG at Wallangarra
(near the NSW-QLD border).

Regards,
Geoff Harland
f_pi...@bigpond.crap.com
Remove the excrement for correspondence


david

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Feb 10, 2002, 9:43:42 PM2/10/02
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Maikha wrote:

I think you would find the line changed gauge in QLD,Tenterfield was a change of gauge town, as far as I could see.

Regards,
David

(Who has done that trip a few times only )

Wrigley

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Feb 10, 2002, 10:10:48 PM2/10/02
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Actually with further research you will find that the change of gauge occurred at
Wallangarra 972.781 k,s from Central, this station is over the border into Qld, the area
on the NSW side is called Jennings,

Wrigleys

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