N.S.W. Rys. Richmond to Kurrajong

Scarce map showing the proposed railway from Richmond to Kurrajong which after many years of Government enquiries was officially opened in November 1926 and for the next 26 years trains operated a regular passenger and farm freight service up to the foothills.

Sold with an accompanying engineering sketch of the “Reinforces Concrete Bridge over the Hawkesbury River at Richmond.

The construction of the railway between Richmond and Kurrajong did not receive Parliamentary approval until 1919, by which time roads were being improved to a standard that did not warrant a railway to bring the produce of the area west of the Hawkesbury River to the Sydney market. From its opening in 1926 until its closure in 1952, it remained a minor branch line. Lobbying for an extension of the Richmond line to Kurrajong began in 1884, but the high cost of bridging the flood-prone Hawkesbury River and the limited amount of agricultural land available delayed construction. Finally, political lobbying by local landholders paid off and the first sod was turned on 2 June 1923. Regular passenger trains began running on 8 November 1926, although the official opening took place on 20 November 1926. It was finally closed on 17 September 1952.