Kurrajong Station
Lost Railways:
Richmond - Kurrajong Line
Richmond to Kurrajong. Length: 13.4 km. Opened: 8th November, 1926. Closed: 26th July, 1952. LiftedThe extension of the railway line from Richmond to Kurrajong was intended to open for development that part of Sydney west of the Hawkesbury River. Agitation for the extension began as earlier as 1883 but by the time it happened it was a few decades too late as transportation by road of the area's citrus fruit crop to Sydney was already firmly established.
The service did bring a fresh impetus to the development of the area and introduced a new source of income for a number of local families. Several of the larger homes in the area were converted into guest houses and were building up a good reputation when the depression hit and handicapped development for a number of years. The Nepean Sand and Gravel Company operated a quarry at Yarramundi Falls from April 1925, with sand for the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge being carried by rail over a section of the still uncompleted Kurrajong railway. The company continued to use the line and its siding until 1945, after which time the service slid into unprofitability.
Heavy rain in June and July 1952 caused land subsidence in cuttings near Kurrajong which resulted in land slips and buckled tracks. This and the unprofitability of the service led to it being officially closed on 26th July, 1952 though flooding of the Hawkesbury River had prohibited its use for a few weeks. The decision to discontinue the railway service sparked a storm of protest in the district. Locals claimed rather optimistically that the slip which blocked the line could be removed by bulldozers in a matter of hours but the Government stood by its decision. Attempts are presently afoot to re-establish the line as a tourist railway. Much of the formation from North Richmond to Kurrajong still exists and still passes through farmlands. A substantial bridge which took the line over Redbank Creek remains in good order and historic features such as the Kemsley platform and the Kurrajong goods shed still exist (although the latter is now located in the Pioneer Village at Wilberforce). Kurrajong even has a town square - Pansy Junction - named after the steam engines that worked the line.
