Captains Flat railway line
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Note: All distances from Central station |
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The Captains Flat railway line was a country branch line in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales. The line branched off the Bombala line at Bungendore Junction, 5 km south of Bungendore and terminated 34 km further south at Captain's Flat.
Note: All distances from Central station
Mining activity at Captain's Flat began in 1882 on copper ore bodies. A railway connection from Bungendore to Captains Flat to support mining operations was considered as early as 1897, but the poor performance of the mine meant a railway was economically unfeasible. As the depth of mining increased, the constitution of the lode changed and the ore proved too complex to treat for extraction of mineral. From 1899 to 1926, production continued on a restricted basis, however within that period technological improvements were made which meant that the lode could again be economically handled. A pilot plant was erected to demonstrate the practicability of renewed mining.
A trial survey of a railway to Captains Flat was completed in May, 1928. The proposal was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works on 27 March 1929. Legislation authorising the construction of the line was passed on 16 June 1930. Due to the prevailing worldwide financial depression, in 1929 the New South Wales government petitioned the federal government for the Commonwealth Railways to construct the line and make it available to the New South Wales Government Railways, under a similar arrangement to the Queanbeyan to Canberra railway. This proposal was rejected the following year and the railway was shelved.
The line was re-sureveyed, a further Ratification Act was passed on 15 December 1937 and construction commenced in February, 1938, with 600 men employed. By June, work on the foundations for piers of bridges spanning Thurralilly Creek and Molonglo River was in hand. The strengthening girders used came from the original viaducts over Wollondilly, Boxers and Barbers Creeks on the Main South line which had been superseded by duplication work in the 1912-14 period.
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