Eugowra railway line

Eugowra Branch Line
Legend Distance (km) Station 80 Eugowra 73 Trajere 68 Nanami 61 Gooloogong 58 Geradan 50 Nyrang Creek 28 Canowindra 28 Bangaroo 22 Billimari 10 Glenlogan 3 Cowra West 0 Blayney-Demondrille line at Cowra

The Eugowra railway line is a closed railway line in New South Wales, Australia. The 80 km (50 mi) branch line joins the Blayney-Demondrille line at Cowra.^[1]

Construction

The Cowra to Canowindra Railway Act was passed on 15 December 1908. Land acquisitions proceeded rapidly, with the first sod of the new lined turned at Cowra West on 11 January 1909. John Bradfield, who went on to design the Sydney Harbour Bridge, prepared layout plans as assistant engineer on the project.^[2] The line was built to so-called "pioneer" standards - earth ballasted with no fences.^[1]

The 28 km (17 mi) branch line to Canowindra was opened with great fanfare on 4 July 1910. The opening of the line proved an economic boon to the town, with Canowindra's population increasing from 400 prior to 1900, to 1500 and rising in 1911.^[2]

An extension to Eugowra was opened on 11 December 1922. A further extension to link up with the Main Western Line was approved in 1924, but never built.^[2]

Freight and passenger services

Canowindra Station, the site of the original railhead, has been abandoned since 2001

Due to the relative shortness of the branch, the main use of the line was for grain haulage rather than passengers.

In 1927 a rail-motor coach replaced steam locomotives for passenger transport. The "Tin Hare", as the coach was affectionately known, provided a daily return service on weekdays between Cowra and Eugowra. With improving road transport links, demand for passenger services on the line gradually decreased. In the years leading up to the service's cessation on 10 August 1974, the few passengers that used the service had been carried in the brake carriage of the regular grain service.^[1][2]

Freight services continued into the 1990s. A washout near Eugowra in 1991 resulted in the line being truncated at Trajere. The entire line was closed by the end of the year.^[1] The Lachlan Valley Railway operated a tourist railway on the line from 1994. Floods in 2001 damaged a bridge at Cucumber Creek, closing the line permanently. As of 2014, there are no plans to reopen the branch.^[1]

Railway lines in New South Wales
Main lines Broken Hill Main Northern Main South Main Western North Coast South Coast
Country branch lines Operational Berrima Binnaway-Werris Creek Blayney-Demondrille Boggabilla Bombala Canberra Cobar Coonamble Grenfell Gwabegar Hay Lake Cargelligo Medway Quarry Mungindi Naradhan Newcastle Oaklands Parkes to Narromine Picton-Mittagong loop Pokataroo Sandy Hollow-Gulgong South Maitland Railway Stockinbingal-Parkes Temora-Roto Tottenham Troy Junction-Merrygoen Unanderra-Moss Vale Walgett Warren Yanco-Griffith Closed Ballina Barraba Belmont Boorowa Brewarrina Burcher Camden Captains Flat Corowa Crookwell Dorrigo Eugowra Holbrook Inverell Kunama Kywong Merriwa Molong-Dubbo Morpeth Mount Hope Murwillumbah Newnes Oberon Rand Rankins Springs Richmond Vale Railway Taralga Tocumwal Toronto Tumbarumba Tumut Wallsend Westby
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Proposed or under construction Inland Railway Maldon–Dombarton Sydney Metro Northwest Sydney Metro City & Southwest Western Sydney Freight Line
Tourist & heritage railways Glenreagh Mountain Railway Lachlan Valley Railway New South Wales Rail Transport Museum Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway Richmond Vale Railway Skitube Zig Zag Railway