The Main Southern railway line or Great Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs from Sydney to Albury, near the Victorian border. The line passes through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and Riverina regions.
Description of route
The Main Southern Railway commences as an electrified pair of tracks in the Sydney metropolitan area. Since 1924, the line branches from the Main Suburban railway line at Lidcombe and runs via Regents Park to Cabramatta, where it rejoins the original route from Granville. The line then heads towards Campbelltown and Macarthur, the current limit of electrification and suburban passenger services. The electrification previously extended to Glenlee Colliery, but this was removed following the cessation of electric haulage of freight trains in the 1990s.
The line continues as a double non-electrified track south through the Southern Highlands towns of Mittagong and Goulburn to Junee on the Southern Plains. Here the line becomes single track for the remainder of its journey south to the state border with Victoria at Albury. The North East railway line then continues through northern Victoria to Melbourne.
There are six tunnels on the line: the Picton tunnel, the Yerrinbool tunnel, the Aylmerton tunnel, the Gib (Mt Gibraltar) tunnel, and the two "up" track tunnels in the Bethungra Spiral.
The line north of Macarthur is maintained by the Transport Asset Holding Entity. South of Macarthur the line is leased to the Australian Rail Track Corporation until 2064.Memorandum between The Commonwealth of Australia & The State of New South Wales & Australian Rail Track Corporation Limited Australian Rail Track CorporationThe Agreement in Summary Australian Rail Track Corporation
Though the bulk of the line has a maximum gradient of 1.5%, the ruling grade of the line is 2.5% due to short, steep sections of track between Binalong and Harden.NSW Curve and Gradient Diagram Main South Australian Rail Track Corporation
Development of the line On 26 September 1855, the first railway in New South Wales, the Sydney to Granville railway opened. Exactly a year later, a branch was opened from what was known as Parramatta Junction (the present day Granville) to Liverpool.
Parramatta Junction (Granville) to Liverpool The Liverpool line extension commenced from Parramatta Junction (now Granville) and was constructed by Mr. W Randle. The turning of the first sod occurring 20 November 1855.
The line was constructed as a single track of 8.5 miles (13.7 km) in length laid with double-headed rails of 75 lb (34 kg) per yard and with fish joints. The total construction cost was placed at £120,040 4s. 11d.
The railway was officially opened 18 August 1856 as a result of the inspection of the line by the Governor General. The press attending the inspection also noted, "the country [the railway] traverses offers great facilities for railway continuation, being for the most part level and even."
The building of the railway wasn't without incident as on 16 August 1856, a man died as a result of a derailment. The guard on the front of the train noted, "a plank lying across the rails near where [a fencer] was working."
The Parramatta Junction (Granville) – Liverpool line was opened to the public 1 September 1856.
Liverpool to Campbelltown The Cumberland County was a large producer of agricultural products such as wheat, maize, beef, and wool. This, combined with an approximate 10,000 passengers travelling between Sydney and Campbelltown in 1846, and community support, provided impetus for the construction of a railway line from Sydney to Campbelltown at the earliest possible opportunity.
On 29 October 1856, it was announced that the Great Southern Railway was to be extended [single line] from Liverpool to Campbelltown with the stations between Liverpool and Campbelltown yet to be determined although, "every landholder on the line is quite prepared to prove to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the proper place for a station is on his property."
Owing to financial difficulties, turnover of skilled specialist, and several gold rushes depriving the company of labour, preparations for the construction of a railway reaching Campbelltown didn't commence until 1857 via the issue of a notice from the Commissioner of Railways. In the meantime, the plans and estimates (at approximately £11,500 per mile) for the line were completed and sent to the Colonial Secretary in August 1856. These plans and estimates were considered to be, "in such a state of forwardness, that they may be contracted for at once".
As per the notice, the line was to commence from the south end of Liverpool Railway Station, "and extend thence for twelve miles eight chains, or thereabouts, in a south-westerly direction, through the parishes of Saint Luke, Minto, and Saint Peter, to the Town of Campbelltown, and ending at the south fence of a lane on the property of Charles Morris..." The line was to not exceed a gradient of 1 in 100 and the smallest radius of a curve being 30 chains. The railway is to be, "a single line throughout, laid with the double-headed rail, 75lbs to the yard, on cross sleepers, with chairs, and fish jointed."
On 25 April 1857, the tender for the first four miles of the extension was won by a Mr. W. Randle with the fencing and timber for the extension being awarded to Messrs. Scott and Jolly on 27 April 1857. Scott and Jolly had constructed a large sawmill at Cabramatta and sourced wood (primarily ironbark) from the nearby forest. This wood was used for the sleepers on the extension.
On 7 May 1857, construction began with, "the first turf of the railway in extension of the great Southern Railway from Liverpool to Campbelltown, was turned (. . .) without any particular ceremony."
Randle, having been able to keep to the scheduled completion date of 1 September, offered to continue the construction of the line through to Campbelltown at the same cost per mile. However, the commissioners, "declined to accept it, having determined to advertise for tenders for each portion separately".
Initially, a Mr. Hall had won the tender for the remaining distance to Campbelltown, but through some arrangement (nefarious or otherwise), Randle had been announced as the winner of the tender. It was also revealed that Randle had won the tender at a higher price than that which Randle had initially offered.
Progress continued to be made for the extension to Campbelltown (plus an extension beyond to Goulburn) and by August 1857, construction of the line had progressed significantly; telegraph poles had been delivered alongside the proposed railway line through Campbelltown in preparation for its construction. These telegraph poles would later form part of the Sydney-Albury telegraph line.
On 29 August 1857, it was reported that the construction of the railway was advancing rapidly and that, "...there are a great many men already at work clearing the most woody portion of the line, about four miles from here, the real track is now easily to be traced by the formidable looking posts erected for the electric telegraph."
Even prior to the opening of the extension, land values surrounding the railway corridor was noted to have increased by 250 percent, and the anticipation of the opening was growing.
On 17 April 1858, a navvy (by the name of "Romilly") working on the construction of the extension was killed when, "a truck of sleepers passing along the rail by mischance overturned upon the unfortunate man. He was picked up senseless, and at once conveyed to the Liverpool Hospital, where it was found that life was quite extinct."
Finally, 29 April 1858 saw the first train arrived within one hundred yards of Campbelltown Railway Station. This train carried the Commissioner of Railways (Captain Ben Martindale), Chief Engineer John Whitton, and staff of the railway office. They then inspected the buildings and subsequently boarded the train to return to Sydney.
The Liverpool – Campbelltown railway line was opened 4 May 1858.
Campbelltown to Menangle The construction of the railway to Goulburn was always going to extend beyond Campbelltown. But the path for the extensions considered multiple options (including Menangle) while also explicitly excluding a path aligning with the dreaded Razorback road. The survey of multiple options at the time were considered prudent as, "The expense and trouble of such survey of (...) lines would be trifling, as compared with the survey of the Eastern line."
As early as 29 April 1846, the path of the Great Southern Railway was to cross through the parish of Menangle. In January 1852, surveyors were dispatched to commence the first of multiple surveys of a line towards Goulburn with the first section being, "the line running by Menangle, between Campbell Town and Myrtle Creek." Myrtle Creek was the former name of Tahmoor. Another survey was conducted at the direction of Gother K. Mann, Chief Commissioner of Sydney, and Hunter River Railways. Moving traffic from the Southern Road and onto rail was a primary motivator for making the line profitable.
Delays in the survey were causing some frustration within the Legislative Assembly. The Commissioner stated that the extension to Campbelltown and then onto Menangle would, "have intercepted the traffic of the Southern Road, and made the present lines remunerative. The Government would thus have been placed in possession of information that would have fully determined the question of railway extension as applicable to the present wants of the colony."
Despite delays, and even before the government had announced the exact path of the line, anticipation for it could be seen in advertising of property and housing near Menangle. However, there were some rumblings within the community about the priority of the line over other lines such as the one to Windsor, Penrith, and Singleton.
On 16 November 1857, the government projected the cost and constraints for the line to, "not exceed £10,000 per mile; the worst gradient being 1 in 80, and the smallest radius of a curve 40 chains."
Proclamation of the line was made 4 November 1858 and published the following day as, "to make and complete that portion of the Great Southern Railway, commencing near to the Campbelltown Station, in the parish of St Peter, and county of Cumberland, at a point marked A on the proclaimed Plan, and terminating near to the Nepean River, at a point marked B on the proclaimed Plan, in the parish of Menangle, and county of Cumberland, being a distance of five miles and sixty chains."
In April 1859, Peto, Brassey & Betts, represented by their agent, Alexander Rhodes, signed a contract with the government for the extension of a number of lines in the colony, including the line from Campbelltown to Menangle. Rhodes had arrived from England as an agent of Peto, Brassey & Betts for the execution of the contract. This contract was exempt from the rules of public competition as the government felt there was no suitable contractor available to complete the work. The existing contractors were either unreliable, not going to submit a proposal, or unable to complete the contract.
By July 1859, construction "begins to exhibit considerable progress in the cuttings and embankments". And by August 1859, Rhodes had made significant progress on the extensions. Two thirds of the works had been finished with a third of this ready for the laying of the ballast and rails. The progress was characterised as being constructed, "with the energy and admirable system; which have characterised the operations of these eminent contractors in various parts of the world".