In 1972, the Clarence Colliery balloon loop was commissioned utilizing the first several hundred metres of the formation of the former Wolgen Valley Railway line, which branched off the Main West Line at Newnes Junction and ran to Newnes township some 51km away. The Clarence Colliery balloon loop was the only such colliery loop to be electrified, but the overhead wiring was removed in 2006, well after Freight Corp’s decision to abandon 1,500 Volt DC electric traction in favour of diesel-electric traction back in 2003.
The Wolgen Valley Railway was owned and operated by the Commonwealth Oil Corporation to service their Newnes shale oil mine. The line opened in 1907 and provides freight and passenger service between the station and siding at Newnes Junction and Newnes mine. This line closed in 1932 but the Newnes Junction railway station continues to be part of the Main West (Blue Mountains) Line until it was officially closed for passenger service in 1975. It features two 135 metre long platforms, one of these being an island platform which serviced the ‘up main’ and the Wolgan Valley service and the other a single sided platform which serviced the ‘down main’. The Newnes Junction signal box is location on the island platform and is manned whenever coal trains load at the Clarence Colliery balloon loop.
This presentation is divided into three parts. Part 1 covers diesel-electric operation in 2013, Part 2 covers electric traction in the 1993-1999 period, while Part 3 covers travel of loaded/empty coal trains between Clarence and Port Kembla in the 1993 – 2013 timeframe. Locomotives seen in action include AN, CEY, DL, 49, 80. 82, 85 and 86 class in the liveries of Freight Corp, National Rail, PacNat, SRA and SSR/Centennial.
Approximate run time: 99 minutes.
The Wolgen Valley Railway was owned and operated by the Commonwealth Oil Corporation to service their Newnes shale oil mine. The line opened in 1907 and provides freight and passenger service between the station and siding at Newnes Junction and Newnes mine. This line closed in 1932 but the Newnes Junction railway station continues to be part of the Main West (Blue Mountains) Line until it was officially closed for passenger service in 1975. It features two 135 metre long platforms, one of these being an island platform which serviced the ‘up main’ and the Wolgan Valley service and the other a single sided platform which serviced the ‘down main’. The Newnes Junction signal box is location on the island platform and is manned whenever coal trains load at the Clarence Colliery balloon loop.
This presentation is divided into three parts. Part 1 covers diesel-electric operation in 2013, Part 2 covers electric traction in the 1993-1999 period, while Part 3 covers travel of loaded/empty coal trains between Clarence and Port Kembla in the 1993 – 2013 timeframe. Locomotives seen in action include AN, CEY, DL, 49, 80. 82, 85 and 86 class in the liveries of Freight Corp, National Rail, PacNat, SRA and SSR/Centennial.
Approximate run time: 99 minutes.