The Heritage Railway story
Dorrigo to Glenreagh Railway 1914 to 1972
The Glenreagh to Dorrigo railway was constructed between 1914 and 1924 to transport the timber, dairy, potatoes and people from the Eastern Dorrigo plateau.
It was one of the most expensive railways ever built in NSW, costing four times what was originally estimated. The full journey was 69 km, climbing over 664 metres. With a grade of 1 in 30, the line was one of the steepest in NSW, with tight curves. Steam locomotives had a maximum speed of 25 mph.
The first tunnel near Glenreagh is 155 metres in length, the second 166 metres. The tunnels took two years to build, while workers camped at Timbertop. There were six stations, and a number of short platforms and sidings.
Families travelled on the trains to the Dorrigo Show, or on the special Christmas Day party train from Dorrigo to Glenreagh then to Park Beach. During the Second World War, trains were used to transport troops to an army base at Lowanna.
Passenger travel ceased in 1957, and freight transport in 1972 after washaways and landslides destroyed sections of the line.
Photo of engine at Mole Creek water tank courtesy Glenreagh Memorial Museum
After the closure, the 1980s and beyond
Volunteers, with help from the army, made huge efforts to revive the railway through the 1980s. The ABC have a video of the Rag Tag Railway being restored back in 1984, before disputes arose and the thing fell into disrepair and succumbed to the forces of nature.
Ownership of the line was split after a dispute ended in a court case, with Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum owning the corridor from Ulong to Dorrigo, and Glenreagh Mountain Railway owning the corridor from Glenreagh to near Ulong.
The railway tracks became overgrown, with damage to bridges caused by floods, bushfires and termites. It is too expensive to repair the line for trains to operate.
Today, a new vision
