Lost Railways:
Holsworthy Line
Jctn. (Liverpool) to Anzac Rifle Range. Length: 3.4 km. Opened: 21 Jan 1918. Closed: 21 June 1977. LiftedAnzac Rifle Range to Holsworthy. Length: .5 km. Opened: 21 Jan 1918. Closed: 21 June 1977. Lifted
During World War I the Commonwealth Government decided it needed a branch railway to service the army facilities at Holsworthy, which included the Artillery Range, Ordnance (mounted guns and cannon) and Ammunition Stores, the Remount Depot and the Veterinary Depot and Prisoner of War camp. In fact the line was constructed using internee labour. It branched off the Macarthur Line before Liverpool station, crossing the Georges River via a bridge, the pylons of which remain today. The bridge had eight x 30 metre approach spans, four on each side which came from the old crossing of the Wollondilly River near Carrick and Solitary Creek near Tarana; while the main span was an eight foot truss from the old single-line bridge over Argyle Street, Moss Vale. After crossing the river the line followed Greenhills Avenue through Clinches Pond Reserve, then curved to the east, following Anzac Parade on its south side past the Anzac Rifle Range.
After the line was opened, several additional sidings were constructed. The first was the Ordnance Stores Siding, opened 29 April 1919, with standing room for 75 four-wheel vehicles on three loop sidings. On 3rd February 1930, the Commonwealth suspended services on the line beyond the Rifle Range and from that date only carried out repairs on the section of line between Liverpool and the Range. The last train ran on the line on 25th June, 1960.
A train crossing Moorebank Avenue
Besides the aforementioned bridge piers, there are a number of relics remaining. These include the solid bridge on Harris Creek (now modified as a foot bridge), substantial ruins of the platform at Holsworthy and a few ridge lines suggesting the original tracks, eg. at Clinches Pond Reserve. At the Harris Creek bridge (now a footbridge alongside the road bridge) there is a carved plaque with the words "Erected 1917" with kangaroo and emu carvings on each side and surmounted by a crown and the interleaved initials "GCC" (German Concentration Camp), identifying its builders. Traces of the line also show up on aerial maps, especially of the branches and sidings to the Moorebank Depot. UBD Map 269 Ref H 8
