Dargans Deviation 1897, New South Wales

The Dargans Deviation was a section of the original line over the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. It was constructed from 1896 to 1897 in an effort to ease the grades of the original alignment ( 1 in 33) from Newnes Junction to Zig Zag, with a ruling grade of 1 in 60. Along with a few crossing loops, it enabled much longer trains to use the line. The Ten Tunnels Deviation of 1910 saw its demise.

History

The deviation started construction around July 1896 due to a sudden rise in traffic along the Western Line. It was longer than the original alignment but it eased the grades to 1 in 60 and stretched three miles from Newnes Junction to Clarence. During construction, when the line rejoined the original alignment at Clarence, a number of changes had to be made. The original up platform was removed and a new platform was erected a few hundred meters west. This platform is currently used by the Zig Zag Railway as a terminus. The platform on the loop was also removed. The construction was initially planned to take six months but due to a number of delays, including one incident where among other things a charge exploded prematurely. The line was officially opened in April 1897.

Zig Zag Railway

The Zig Zag Railway have plans to extend the railway from Clarence to Newnes Junction, using the Dargans Deviation. They are currently halfway in converting the track to Narrow Gauge. One of the reasons is because Newnes Junction will provide a much better interchange with CityRail intercity services than Zig Zag Bottom Points, and this indicates that the Newnes Junction station will be restored in future.

References

*"Conquering the Blue Mountains" by Mark Langdon.