Limestone is an important raw material, used in the manufacturing of many products such as steel, cement and fertilizer.
The discovery of vast quantities of high grade limestone in the Marulan district in the early 1900s raised the need for suitable transportation to ship this important ingredient to many manufacturers needing a supply of the same. A privately owned and operated rail link, about 9 kilometers in length (which ultimately became the Medway Branch), was constructed to move the limestone from the quarry site at Marulan South to the Main Southern Railway Line at Medway Junction, where exchange sidings were constructed to allow onforwarding by NSWGR locomotives. The operation commenced in May 1928. As with many such small private operations, through running by NSWGR locomotives eventuated with the diesel era.
The Marulan South limestone quarry is operated today by Blue Circle Southern Cement (formerly Southern Portland Cement). Its customer list includes the BHP Steel Works at Port Kembla, its own BCSC Cement Works at Berrima and other cement works in the region eg. Maldon, OMYA Southern Fertilizers at Berrima and others. Until 1998, all train movements were handled by Freight Corp using typically 21 wagon trains powered by a single 81 or 82 Class, except for BHP trains which are double headed because of the steep gradients encountered in the mountain crossing to the East Coast. However in late 1998 National Rail were successful in winning the BHP contract. In 2004, Freight Corp and National Rail merged to form Pacific National.
This video traced round trip limestone train operations in the period 1994-2000 from BHP Port Kembla and Berrima Cement Works, empty to Marulan South and loaded on the return journey. Locomotives seen include Freight Corp’s 81, 82, and 422, National Rails NR and BCSC’s D Class. Also seen along the way are the XPT and Endeavour/Xplorer Railcars. A 2009 addendum reflects the changes over the last nine years.
Approximate run time: 98 minutes.