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Camden railway line

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Not to be confused with the Camden Line, a railway line between Washington D.C. and Baltimore in the United States.

Camden line
The 'Camden Tram' approaches the first grade after departing from Campbelltown.
Overview
StatusDemolished
Termini
Stations9
Service
Operator(s)Department of Railways
History
Opened10 March 1882
Closed1 January 1963
Technical
Line length12.59 km (7.82 mi)
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map

All distances in km from Central
Legend
km
 Station
54.7
 Main South line at Campbelltown
57.6
 Maryfields
58.9
 Kenny Hill
61.3
 Currans Hill
63.1
 Narellan
63.7
 Grahams Hill
65.1
 Kirkham
66.4
 Elderslie
Nepean River
67.3
 Camden

The Camden railway line is a closed railway line between Campbelltown and Camden in the southwestern outskirts of Sydney, Australia. The passenger service was also known as the 'Camden Tram' and affectionately as 'Pansy'.[1]

History

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The Camden railway line was designed as a light railway and construction of the line started in 1881. The line opened on 10 March 1882 and ran between Campbelltown and Camden. The line was originally operated with Baldwin Steam Tram Motors, but these proved unsatisfactory. The NSWGR purchased two small 0-6-0 saddle tank locomotives from Manning Wardle, which were a standard K Class design. These became the S-292 class. The line carried freight and passengers but was rarely busy. From 1901, the line was upgraded to railway standard and typically operated by an E class (later Z20 class locomotive in the 1924 reclassification of locomotives) 2-6-4 side-tank locomotives. Starting in the 1950s, the usual locomotive power on the Camden Branch Line was provided by C30 class locomotives. Passenger trains in the early years used lightweight KA Tramcars which were specially built for the line, but were also used at Yass and Carlingford. Starting around 1917 the trains typically ran with a CCA type end-platform carriage, usually boosted in capacity by various independent carriages when the occasion demanded.

Due to the steepness of the ruling gradient of 1 in 19 (reported to be the steepest grade used by adhesion locomotives in Australia) between Campbelltown and Kenny Hill, there were often multiple attempts made at ascending the grade. Passengers would sometimes have to disembark from the train and walk alongside it, leaving their bags on board. When trains could not successfully ascend the hill, the train would be divided and the second half of train (invariably the part where the passengers were carried) would be left standing on the line until the first half of the train had been stowed at Campbelltown. Such delays on the line were a source of annoyance and inconvenience for passengers. The main source of income for the line was the coal loader at Narellan and the Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative depot at Camden. The line closed on 1 January 1963.[2]

Traces of the original line's route can still be seen along looking up Kirkham Lane from Camden Valley Way, including a wooden bridge along this section towards Narellan. The elevated section as it passed through this low-lying area are visible – the nearby Nepean River would flood the land around this area when it burst its banks. Cuttings through Kenny Hill are also visible from parts of Narellan Road near the Mount Annan Botanical Gardens. Photographs of the line are on display in the Camden Historic Society Museum in Camden.

The song 'The Camden Tram' by Buddy Williams, which is featured in the repertoire of the Camden Community Band, commemorates the train.[1]

Stations and route

[edit]
Name Distance from
Central 		Opened Closed Railway line Suburbs served Other lines
Campbelltown - Camden
Campbelltown 54.71 km 1858 - Main Suburban Campbelltown, Blair Athol
Maryfields 57.60 km 1936 1963 Camden Campbelltown
Kenny Hill 58.95 km 1882 1963 Camden Currans Hill
Currans Hill 61.33 km 1882 1963 Camden Currans Hill
Narellan 63.10 km 1882 1963 Camden Narellan
Grahams Hill 63.71 km 1882 1963 Camden Narellan
Kirkham 65.14 km 1882 1963 Camden Kirkham
Elderslie 66.43 km 1893 1963 Camden Elderslie
Camden 67.30 km 1882 1963 Camden Camden

Special working

[edit]

Every year, on Good Friday, three or four special trains were run from Sydney to Maryfields, to cater for public attendance to the Via Crucis religious ceremony held on the grounds of the Franciscan Brothers monastery near Campbelltown.[3] This required out-of-the-ordinary working over the branch line, which also included the provision of an additional locomotive at both the front and rear of each train. The station at Maryfields had a platform suitable for an 8 or 9-car train and was located opposite the entrance to the monastery.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Willis, Ian (6 January 2020). "Pansy the Camden locomotive". Camden History Notes. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  2. ^ Bayley, William A. (William Alan) (1978), Sydney Suburban Steam Railways, Austrail Publications, ISBN 978-0-909597-20-7
  3. ^ "Camden Branch". nswrail.net. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  4. ^ Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, August 1952
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Further reading

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  • Goodbye, Camden Tram Winney, I.K. & anor Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, April 1963
  • Oakes, John (William John) (2008), "Chapter 2 – Ups and Downs between Campbelltown and Camden", Sydney's Forgotten Park and Rural Railways (Revised and combined as a single volume ed.), Australian Railway Historical Society, NSW Division, p. 27, ISBN 978-0-9757870-2-1
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