Lost Railways:
Oatley Deviation
If you ve ever shopped in the southern suburb of Oatley and thought that the town planners left room for a railway station between Oatley Parade and Oatley Avenue, you would be right. Oatley station once did exist there but it had to be moved. Soon after the opening of the Illawarra railway line in 1885, train drivers found that the grade up the hill from the original Como Bridge to Mortdale was too steep for fully loaded coal trains. A deviation was built around the centre of Oatley in 1905 to reduce the grade for Sydney bound trains to a maximum of 1 in 80. The new line deviates to the west of the original line through a cutting. Oatley station was moved from its original position to it present location.The route taken by the original line is still clearly visible at the Oatley end of the bridge. The walking path to the bridge follows the path of the original line. From the beginning of the houses the line continued north, occupying the narrow strip of land between Oatley Parade and Oatley Avenue. It crossed Hurstville Road near the roundabout and proceeded over the rise to Mortdale station. The two platforms of the original Oatley station are now buried under James Oatley Memorial Park. The most easterly line in the railway starage yards to the north of Oatley station is the original line.
UBD Map 293 Ref C 12