Tumut and Kunama railway lines

Tumut & Kunama branch lines

430km Main South Line at Cootamundra 440km Brawlin 450km Muttama 450km Bongalong 458km Wambidgee Hume Highway 466km Coolac 469km Pettitts 472km Mingay 475km Balls Platform 483km Gundagai Murrumbidgee River 485km South Gundagai 492km Willie Ploma 498km Tumblong 502km Luadra 507km Mount Horeb 513km Califat 519km Reka 522km Gadara 528km Gilmore Junction 529km Gilmore 534km Tumut 533km Windowie 538km Wereboldera 549km Shaws 551km Wybalena 553km Brightside 555km Batlow 563km Kunama Note: All distances from Central station

The Tumut /ˈtjuːmət/^[1] and Kunama railway lines are disused railway lines in the south of New South Wales, Australia. The Tumut line was a 104 kilometres (65 mi) long branch of the Main South line, branching southwards from it at Cootamundra and heading to the town of Tumut. The line served the towns of Tumut and Gundagai, where the line crosses the Murrumbidgee River with a large iron girder bridge and wooden viaduct. Villages on the line included Brawlin, Muttama, Coolac and Tumblong.

The Kunama railway line^[2] was a small 35-kilometre (22 mi) branch of the Tumut line, branching from it at Gilmore, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) southwest of Tumut, passing through the town of Batlow before ending in Kunama. The branch connection faced towards Tumut.

History

The Tumut line opened as far as Gundagai, using the contractor's equipment, on 10 November 1885.^[3][4] The line was finally extended to Tumut on 12 October 1903,^[3][4] and the branch to Batlow opened in 1922, and was extended to Kunama shortly after. The steep Kunama line was mainly used for fruit haulage from the orchards surrounding Batlow, until services were suspended in 1983.^[5] The line beyond Batlow is formally closed and the line has been lifted. The Tumut line was suspended after flooding in 1984, and part of the alignment has been destroyed by Hume Highway upgrading works.^[6] The substantial Gundagai railway station was restored in the 1990s,^[7] and is the longest timber railway station in New South Wales.^[8]

Clarrie Chippindale served as station master at Tumut from 1966 to 1979.

The Tumut railway station is now used as a model railway display of the Tumut branch line.

See also

• Rail transport in New South Wales

Gallery

• 
  Tumut railway station
• 
  Gundagai railway station
• 
  Bridge over the Morleys Creek at Gundagai

References

1. Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition. Melbourne: The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. 2005. ISBN 1-876429-14-3. Missing or empty |title= (help);
2. Clark, L. A (February 1954). "Gilmore-Batlow-Kunama Branch". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin: 13–15.
3. Scrymgeour, R. (October–December 1991). "The Rise and Fall of the Cootamundra-Tumut Branch Line". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin: 238–247; 255–261; 294–299.
4. Scrymgeour, R. (January–March 1992). "The Rise and Fall of the Cootamundra-Tumut Branch Line". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin: 3–19; 42–47; 55–65.
5. Henderson, G (April 1994). "Gilmore to Batlow (and Kunama)". Railway Digest. Australian Railway Historical Society.
6. "Tumut Branch". www.nswrail.net. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
7. "Tourism". Gundagai Shire Council. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
8. Llewellyn, Marc (4 February 2007). "Beyond the tuckerbox". News Limited. Retrieved 26 June 2007.