Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway

The Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway inc (OTHR) is a volunteer association aiming to restore the Oberon to Tarana Railway line in the central tablelands of NSW Australia. It is soon to become Australia's newest heritage rail operator. In the last few years the Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway Inc (OTHR) ^[1] have been steadily restoring the track between Oberon station and Hazelgrove. This task is almost completed and the only major work to do is to relay two road crossings. OTHR has received significant community support and it is the long term goal of the association to run trains all the way to the mainline at Tarana.

The Line

The Oberon railway line is a short, disused light branch railway line in western New South Wales, Australia. The line branches from the Main West at Tarana and heads in a southerly direction to the town of Oberon. It opened on the 3rd of October 1923.^[2] The line was lightly constructed with high grades (1 in 25) and tight curves, and was operated by lightweight steam and then diesel locomotives. These mainly being 19 class and 49 class.^[3] It transported local seasonal vegetables, timber and livestock. Passenger services ended in 1971, and goods services were suspended in 1979 with the line effectively closing.

Rolling stock

During 2010 two end platform carriages (on loan from NSWRTM) and some smaller wagons were delivered and are on the tracks in Oberon station. Two 73 class engines (7307+7321) are currently stored in the Oberon area and will form the OTHR's motive power with a future delivery of CPH railmotor number 13 to add to the fleet.

Goals

1. to ensure the preservation of the existing rail infrastructure between & including both the junction station at Tarana and the terminus at Oberon
2. to operate in consultation and co-operation with the local Councils, local landholders and the broader Oberon / Tarana community
3. to progressively rebuild the line in stages to accommodate light traffic such as Railmotors (possibly a CPH rail motor or others) or by means of a light locomotive and carriages.
4. in the first stages of development, utilise OTHR volunteers and donated machinery to facilitate reconstruction
5. to initially focus on the reconstruction of the line and associated infrastructure
6. to encourage the resumption of commercial use of the line

^[4]

The restoration of the line is being undertaken in three stages. Stage 1: Oberon to Hazelgrove Stage 2: Hazelgrove to Carlwood Stage 3: Carlwood to Tarana

References

1. ^ "Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway Inc". Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway Inc. http://www.ozsite.com.au/oberonrailway/default.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-07. 
2. ^ Bozier, Rolfe; et al.. "Oberon Line". NSWrail.net. http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW:oberon. Retrieved 2007-05-07. 
3. ^ Vergison, P. The Branch Line Goods Railway Digest February 2002
4. ^ "Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway Inc". Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway Inc. http://www.ozsite.com.au/OTHR/files/objectives.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-06. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Official Site