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Wed 7 Sep 1910 - The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912)
Page 29 - PASSING OF THE FAMOUS ZIG-ZAG.
PASSING OF THE FAMOUS ZIG-ZAG.
r ' HE story is here given of a two-years' work that is bringing to an end the famous Zig-Zag on the Blue Mountains, about 80 miles
from Sydney. Why the Zig-zag must go is explained. The work nearing completion is 'A' section; 'B' section, another colossal work,
is for the future. In 'A' section there are 10 tunnels, and as passengers whirl through the 'tween-tunnel spaces on the down grade they
are promised glimpses of magnificent mountain scenery. Some interesting points are: The grade is 1 in 90. Upwards of 1500 men have
been employed on the work at one time. The blasting operations have been on a big scale, in one instance 35,000 tons of stone being dis
lodged by four and a half tons of powder. The cost of the work is, roughly, about £350,000. 1 i
FOR the past two years the Blue Mountains, in the vicin
ity of Clarence, have been a scene of stirring activity,
due to the deviation works, which, when completed,
will relegate to the past the famous Zig-Zag, which has for
so many years been a feature of the railway journey west
ward. It has been long recognised that this famous bit of
work, which was the pride of the early pioneers of railway
construction, stood in the way of the proper handling of the
traffic, which has increased so rapidly of late years. When
it was decided that a deviation should be made there were
many regrets among those who felt the fascination of a run
down this tortuous track to the valley beneath — across the
chasms spanned by the solid sandstone arches, through the
tunnel, and on to the level below leading to Eskbank. By
railway men, especially workers on the permanent way,
the decision was looked upon as a step forward, and one
gathers that in the past this particular length of line has
been a source of some anxiety to them. There has never
been a serious accident on the Zig-Zag with a passenger
train — a record which speaks volumes for the skill and fore
thought of the drivers who have guided the trains over it.
The anxiety of early days, when instead of the Westinghouse
brake now used the old hand-brake had to be relied on, can
be better imagined than described.
Briefly, the new deviation will leave the existing line
about a quarter of a mile on the Sydney side of Newnes,
forming a half-circle to the left as one faces Bourke, doubl
ing bacK to
wards Mount
Victoria, and
then in a west
erly direction
generally, pas
sing under the
existing three
quarters of a
mile on the
Bourke side of
Clarence tun
nel, 350 feet be
low it. The
whole scheme
involves the
construction of
a 1 in 90 grade,
from where the
deviation leaves
the existing
line to Eskbank
coal stage. It
c o m p rises A
and B sections.
At present A
scheme only is
being con
structed, and
this will join
the main line
adjacent to
Bottom Points signal cabin. Nothing has been done on B
section, which involves heavy tunnelling.
The length of the present deviation is some five aud a
half miles, and the route was selected as the best of many
that had been surveyed. The surveyor responsible for this
track was Mr. T. Kennedy. The difficulties that have had
to be overcome have to be seen to be appreciated. Viewing
CHINAMAN'S HEADING. Showing how the loose earth is barred down on the top of timber, form ing a heading in which there is a hole left. The earth falls into a truck, Which, when full, is pulled away by a horse and tipped into the gully. Help
CHINAMAN'S HEADING.
Showing how the loose earth is barred down on the top of timber, form
ing a heading in which there is a hole left. The earth falls into a truck,
Which, when full, is pulled away by a horse and tipped into the gully.
the well-made tracks and the cuttings and the tunnels driven
through solid sandstone as they are to-day, very little idea
of the stupendous undertaking can be obtained. The rugged
nature of the country, the gullies and the mountain peaks
that had to be coped with, before the work began, looked
almost impregnable; but it was overcome. Roads had to
be constructed down to these gullies, and one or two of the
old tracks that had been discarded were used to advantage.
It is just about two years ago that the work of piercing the
first tunnel was commenced. What a climb down it was to
that spot! But it had to be done, because this tunnel was
to be the means of facilitating the work in a manner never
anticipated. The difficulty of getting materials into these
gullies was a problem, but eventually a funicular railway
was constructed, and by
this means great quanti
ties of material were taken
down to the gully beneath,
and as soon as the tunnel
referred to was pierced the
whole of the 10 tunnels be
came less formidable
tasks, especially in brick
ing and concreting. As
each tunnel was completed
along came the trucks full
of bricks and concrete, and
the work was pushed on
at a pace that had not
originally been thought
possible. When opera
tions were in full swing
between 1500 and 1600
men were employed, but
this number has now
dwindled down, and each
pay sees a smaller num
ber left.
The methods adopted
in this work have, of
course, been of an up-to-date kind. The powerhouse, whose
smokestack has been an objcct of interest to passengers in the
trains, represents a departure. Installed in it are Babcock and
Wilcox boilers, and Bellis and Morcomb's high-speed revo
lutionary engines. The current was used for air compressors,
which supplied air to the many rock-drills used both in the
open work and in the tunnels, while in addition the power
was utilised for driving a number of blowers for ventilation
underground, and for lighting the tunnels during the progress
of the different operations. The electric power was also
used for pumping water for the use of the camps and un
watering the tunnels and cuttings. The prevalence of water,
indeed, which gushed out of the water-bearing strata of the
sandstone, being a most formidable difficulty to overcome.
Originally it was intended that there should be 11 tun
nels in a section, but by putting in a deep cutting one was
avoided. As a rule tunnelling pays better than a cutting
when a depth of 80 feet has been reached, although on the
line will be found exceptions to the rule, one cutting being
160 feet high from the track to the top of the cliffs; while
another is 135 feet. The opportunities offered were unique,
and by blasting operations thousands of tons of stone were
removed. For instance, at the Sydney approach to No. 2
tunnel the road skirted the side of a cliff, and one huge
shot of 4| tons of blasting powder was placed in a drive and
fired, the result being that 35,000 tons of stone was dislodged,
and practically formed the embankment to bridge the chasm.
Approaching No. 4 tunnel is a 'cutting of 100 feet in depth of
solid sandstone. In some of the tunnels bad ground was
struck, necessitating heavy timbering.
During the progress of the navvying there was no in
dication of the 'tired Australian,' and more especially the
Government stroke was conspicuously absent. The men who
build the railroads are a mixed lot. One finds among them
men who have followed the game all their lives — who do it
because their fathers did it before them. Others took a turn
at it to get away from the bustle of the city. The writer
came across one who had been a shop assistant, but had
got out because he thought that with his physique — he was
a giant—he could do better at more strenuous work. Some
derelicts had taken to picks and shovels and won physical
and moral reformation under the bracing if rough conditions
of life prevailing in the railway camps.
The completion of the work is now within measurable
distance. Bricking operations in the tunnels are nearly
finished, while the lines are laid along the track, and the old
BOTTOM POINTS, SHOWING MOUTH OF No. 11 TUNNEL, Where the tunneling goes under the Ziz-Zag. Help
BOTTOM POINTS, SHOWING MOUTH OF No. 11 TUNNEL,
Where the tunneling goes under the Ziz-Zag.
line is being duplicated as far as Mount Victoria. This will
give work for some months yet for hundreds of men, but j
will in no way interfere with the running of the trains on j
the deviation.
The journey through the tunnels will not be as disagree
able as, for instance, on the South Coast, as they are laid t
with double tracks on a grade of 1 in 90. It is the spaces f
between the tunnels that will appeal to the railway traveller,
for he will enjoy some rare glimpses of scenery. At one
point he catches sight of Mount York in a setting which has
never before been possible, and on it the obelisk commemor
ating the deeds of Gregory Blaxland and his band, who were
the; first to conquer the wilderness. There will be vistas of
Kanimbla, giving views of farms away down in the valley —
vivid green
patches show
ing, while a
flash of blos
soms betokens
an orchard
nestling away
among the gum
trees. Along
the ridges
w a r a t a h s
abound in pro- |
fusion, while J
other wild j
flowers grow t
undisturbed in |
Nature's great ?
domain. |
The work I
has been car- |
ried out by day |
labour at a cost I
o f between |
three and four |
hundred thou- j
sand pounds. It
is in charge of
Mr. R. Ken- I
dall, inspecting !
engineer, and
Mr. W. J. Quod- *
line. resident il
engineer.
So the Zig-zag will soon pass out of use after so many
years' usefulness in overcoming what at one period was be
lieved to be an insurmountable obstacle to railway construc
tion. But no one with any knowledge of the work which
brought so much kudos to the great engineer who planned and
constructed the Zig-zag can contemplate the change without
regret, i
i POWER-HOUSE FOR ELECTRIC CURRENT. The cost was £25,000. Help
i
POWER-HOUSE FOR ELECTRIC CURRENT.
The cost was £25,000.
FUNICULAR RAILWAY TO LOWER MATERIAL FROM THE WESTERN LINE DOWN TO THE 'WORKS. A cable passes round a drum at the top. There is a brake on tlie drum to regulate the speed. A loaded truck running down pulls an empty one up. Help
FUNICULAR RAILWAY TO LOWER MATERIAL FROM THE
WESTERN LINE DOWN TO THE 'WORKS.
A cable passes round a drum at the top. There is a brake on tlie
drum to regulate the speed. A loaded truck running down pulls an empty
one up.