Sandy Hollow- Gulgong Line
Legend From Sandy Hollow on the Merriwa Line Baerami Widdon Kerrabee Bylong Akuna Wollar Wilpinjong Ulan Colliery Ulan to Gulgong on the Gwabegar line

The Sandy Hollow- Gulgong railway line is a railway line in northern New South Wales, Australia. Sandy Hollow is a small rural town in New South Wales, Australia in Muswellbrook Shire. The Merriwa railway line is in northern New South Wales, Australia. Baerami is a locality in New South Wales, Australia, in the Muswellbrook Shire. Ulan is a small village in central New South Wales, Australia. Gulgong is a 19th century Gold rush town in the Central-West of the Australian state of New South Wales. The Gwabegar railway line is a railway line in the west of New South Wales Australia which passes through the town of Mudgee to Gulgong and eventually heads to For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The line forms a cross country connection with the Main North line and the Gwabegar line and ultimately on to the Main West line creating a circuitous bypass of Sydney for freight traffic heading between the west and north of New South Wales. The Main North Line (also known as the Great Northern Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. The Gwabegar railway line is a railway line in the west of New South Wales Australia which passes through the town of Mudgee to Gulgong and eventually heads to The Main Western Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 The line was opened in 1985^[1].

Contents 1 History 2 Current status 3 Station layout 4 Crossing Loops 5 See also 6 References

History

A line was built from Muswellbrook, to Denman in 1915 and Sandy Hollow and Merriwa in 1917. Denman is a small rural town in New South Wales, Australia, in Muswellbrook Shire. Sandy Hollow is a small rural town in New South Wales, Australia in Muswellbrook Shire. Merriwa is a town in the far west of the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Hunter Shire. The section between Sandy Hollow and Merriwa has been closed since 1988. ^[2] The Sandy Hollow Line between Sandy Hollow, Gulgong and Maryvale, (between Wellington and Dubbo), was originally surveyed in 1860 as a more easily graded crossing of the Great Dividing Range than the Blue Mountains line nearer to Sydney. Gulgong is a 19th century Gold rush town in the Central-West of the Australian state of New South Wales. It was not commenced, however, until 1937, when it began as an unemployment relief scheme of the NSW Government, achieving infamy for having no modern mechanical devices used on it, other than trucks carrying concrete for the tunnels and bridge piers, all other work being done with picks, shovels, hand drills, horses and carts. Construction continued through World War 2 at a desultory pace, held up by money, labour and especially steel shortages, only to be abandoned unfinished, ~92% complete, a few years later in 1951. The line crosses the Great Dividing Range by following the Goulburn River and Bylong Valleys from Sandy Hollow to Bylong, with a tunnel under Cox's Gap. The Great Dividing Range, also known as the Eastern Highlands, is Australia 's most substantial Mountain range. The Bylong Valley is a winding but relatively flat valley that crosses the Great Dividing Range between the Goulburn River National Park and Wollemi National Park, Bylong is a village in New South Wales, Australia, in the Mid-Western Regional Council.

The tunnel, No. 1 of three in the Bylong range and five on the entire line, that was built under Cox's Gap between 1946 and 1949 was used for eastbound road traffic on the Bylong Valley Way until work recommenced in the early 1980s. Bylong Valley Way is a New South Wales country road linking the Golden Highway near Sandy Hollow to the Castlereagh Highway near Ilford It was used in 1978 in the filming of the opening scene for the television series Torque, hosted by Peter Wherrett. Peter Wherrett (born 10th June 1936 is an Australian motoring and motor sport journalist and former race car driver In that scene, a Bolwell Nagari driven by Wherrett approached as lights in the dark tunnel, then the camera drew back as the car drove out of the tunnel. The Bolwell Nagari was one of the cars built by the three Bolwell brothers Campbell Bolwell Winston Bolwell and Graeme Bolwell who started an Australian car company in ^[3]

The line was opened as a heavy-haul railway to the major coal mine at Ulan in 1982 and extended to Gulgong in 1985 to meet the line to Dunedoo and Dubbo. Ulan is a small village in central New South Wales, Australia. ^[4] It is unlikely to be extended to Maryvale.

Current status

Because coal from Ulan is now the primary function of this line, Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) refer to the line as the Ulan line all the way from Muswellbrook to Gulgong. Bylong Valley Way is a New South Wales country road linking the Golden Highway near Sandy Hollow to the Castlereagh Highway near Ilford Australian Rail Track Corporation is a federal government owned corporation established in 1997 that owns leases maintains and controls the majority of main line Coal from the Wilpinjong and Anvil Hill mines will also use this line when those mines begin production. In preparation for this, ARTC are upgrading the lines in the Muswellbrook yard and adding two more passing loops to the Ulan line in 2007. ^[5]

The line uses outdated staff and ticket safeworking procedures. In Railway signalling, a token is a physical object which a locomotive driver is required to have or see before entering onto a particular section of single track Safeworking is the application by Railways of sets of rules and physical equipment so as to avoid collisions between trains Progress at upgrading the signaling by ARTC has been criticised as slow and causing bottlenecks. The upgrade is due to be completed at the end of 2007. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[6]

Station layout

Ulan has a balloon loop to terminate, load, and return the coal trains up to 1800m long. A Balloon loop is a track arrangement that allows a train to reverse direction and return to where it came from without having to shunt or even to stop There is also a crossing loop 900m long. A passing loop (or "crossing loop" is a place on a single line railway/tramway where trains/trams in opposing directions can pass each other Unlike earlier plans, there are no sidings for general freight, or any passenger platforms.

Crossing Loops

In 2007, there are four crossing loops, though ARTC plan several more, plus and upgrade to centralised traffic control signalling. Australian Rail Track Corporation is a federal government owned corporation established in 1997 that owns leases maintains and controls the majority of main line Centralized traffic control ( CTC) is a signalling system used by Railroads The system consists of a centralized Train dispatcher 's office The loops (and their lengths) are located at:

• Kerrabee - 1800m
• Bylong - 1800m
• Coggan Creek - 1800m
• Ulan - 900m
• Gulgong - 400m

See also

• Rail transport in New South Wales

References

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