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Mon 28 Oct 1912 - Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954)
Page 1 - THE GLENBROOK DEVIATION.
THE GLENBROOK DEVIATION. ;
fir ) section opened.
SHORTAGE OF STEEL RAILS.
The big railway works now in course of
construction in New South Wales will, when'
completed, have a marked effect on the
traflic problem which has for years past
troubled the department. Not only will
the times of the journeys on the various
lines be curtailed, but large savings will
be effected in the cost of running, haul
age, etc., as one engine will be able to
pei'form what it now requires two to do.
The big Blue Mountain deviation works
are a triumph of engineering and, survey
skill. For, 8 1/2 miles the deviation really pro
vides a second road over the Blue Moun
tains.
During tho week Mountain railroad trav
ellers were surprised to find themselves
suddenly switched off the old line on the
Sydney side of Blaxland station, and for
a time they travelled along quite a new
route. They thought that the new devia
tion works were complete, and that they
were "first over ' the Mountains" on the
new lines. Inquiry at the Chief Commis
sioner's off oe disclosed that the section of
the new iworks travelled over was a very
small one, measuring only 1 1/2 miles, while
the new route when completed will cover
8 1/2 'miles. .
The work is nearly completed. All that
now romaifis to be done is to . trim the
cuttings and embankments and to finish
the viaduct near the Knapsack Valley.
, This is expected to take about another
month, but unfortunately the now"' lines
will not be in use for some considerable
time, owing to the shortage of steel rails.
: The first shipment is due to reach Syd
ney abo'ut the middle of November. There
are no new- . rails available in the State,
: and it is probable that the .consignment
lioxt month will be. required for other
. works. It is certain,: to be well on into
tlin new vear before the whole of the
new route will be available for. trafflic.
The' work was started in January, 1.911.
and when completed will have taken : two
years. From the commencement, some 1300
men have been engaged; although at .pre
tesn the number has . dwindled down to
700, owing to the call for men on other
works. This army of workers — together
with their wives and families— have es
tablished a township of their own, al
ready described in these columns. 'Glenbrook:
was really only a sleepy hamlet, but the
railway men at once transformed it into a
hive of industry. The department opened a
hospital, and also provided a. doctor, who
has been found plenty of work. Two police
men were also stationed at Glenbrook, but
have succeeded in making friends with the
men, and good order has easily been pre
served. : _ ;
: An idea , of , the size , of the settlement
can be gleaned "from the fact that the' main,
"street" or avenue is over a quarter of
a mile long. In it are to he found sev
eral general stores, a bootmaker,' two
tailors, three barbers, fruit and refresh-
"iment shops, bakers and butchers, smull-
goodsmen, tobacconists, newsagencies, re-
staurants and a billiard saloon. There is
also a dance hall, which is occasionally-
used for concerts and picture shows. Glen
brook indeed has developed from a ."rail
way platform' 'to a thriving little village. ,
The public school attendance, which was
only 30 in 1910, -has since jumped to over
200.
The work that the army has performed
has- been one of great magnitude. Month
after month gigantic blasting operation
have been- carried out, and the mountain
have daily - reverberated with the deep
"boom" of the rack-a-rock and dynamite
shaking the hillsides to pieces under the
control of skilled workmen. The attack
on the mountain fastnesses begins at a
spot a little beyond the Emu Plains sta
tion, known as the Nepcan Junction. This
point is 36 miles 52 chains from Sydney,
and then for 8.1/2 miles the cuttings have
been pushed through the mountains; gullies
have been crossed with viaducts, while
bridges have r ieen thrown across the creeks
to make a smoother and easier, passage for
the engines and their trains of laden cars,
in places gullies have been filled in, and in
others tho mountain tops have boon cut
oft to afford a better, grade. The work fin
ishes at Valley Heights station, and al
though the new route will be 8 1/2 miles
long against the 5 miles of the existing
line, the reduction in the steepness will
'more than compensate for the extra dis
tance, and the journey will really be made
much quicker. The grade on the new route
will he 1 in 60, while the old route is
graded at 1 in 30. ,
Two points that will greatly aopoal to
railway travellers and add to the pleas
ures of a trip to the .mountains will be
the "cutting-out" of the old Glenbrook
tunnel, which provided a stifling trip oi
several minutes, and the duplication of the
lines. The onlv tunnel on the new route is
built on the latest lines, and as a double
track passes throu'gh it, it 'will, hardly, be
noticed, and the air will really he as fresh
as outside the tunnel.
Another improvement . that the works ay ill,
bring about is the saving of .assisting en
gines for a distance of 11 miles, so that
one engine will be able to do the work
that now requires two, and do it at a
greater speed. Assisting engines will, how
ever, be required bevond Valley Heights
up to Katoomba, where there is a. grade
of 1 in 33; which the department's en
gineer reports there is at present no pros-
pect of reducing.
The temporary railway line to carry the
material required on' the mammoth works
alone cost £10,000. The debris from the
blasting operations and the cuttings was.
used to, fill in the gullies, thus saving a
deal of of carting, although some hundreds
of drays are being uti ised on ihe
works. ; '. ' ....
The new route is at some parts within
a few hundred yards of the old main
western line, but in. other places it is fully
a mile and a half away, and opens up-
ward and rugged country at present sel-
dom seen. Railwav passengers will be af-
forded a magnificent view of the Glenbrook
Vallev. as the trains will run. along the
cliffs 700 feet above the bottom of the
vallev. 'So steep in places is the track
that the workmen had to be lowered down
to their work by means of ropes.
A fancy-dress skating carnival was held
in tho Mechanics' Institute, Lawson. The
gold medal presented liv Mrs. TJhr was won
bv Miss Wingfiold, whilst the trophy pre
sented by the committee was divided be
tween Miss Melville and Miss Cook. Mir. S.
Pierce, as an Indian cliiefta'n, won the'me-
dal for gentleman skaters. The costume
t-ronhv was annexed bv Mr. R. Thomas,
who entered as ".Johnn'e Walker/' Mr. W.
Lowden was the judge,