Crookwell rail derailment

The smash occurred due to heavy snow on the line between Goulburn and Crookwell.

The snow blocked the line at McAlister and this set off a motion of events, finishing with a grave-yard of crushed metal, twisted steel and overturned trucks from the Crookwell yard.

The train left the Crookwell station at 10am that morning with a mixed load of bagged potatoes, empty beer kegs and other sundry items.

The train become embedded in a four feet drift of snow.

Word of the smash was relayed back to Crookwell that help was needed to dig the train out.

The worst was yet to be discovered though.

The twelve S-trucks, louvre vans and the guards van became uncoupled from the engine and began rolling back towards Crookwell.

The train quickly gathered pace and as the runaway train passed Mr. Ron Southwell, who was working on an electricity line at the time, he contacted Mrs. Fenton who phoned ahead to the Stationmaster.

Junior Porter at the time, Russell Wray, raced 200 yards up the line to warn the gangers not to encroach onto the line.

Just then there was a huge rumble and crash as the speeding trucks came racing around the Roslyn road crossing.

After hitting the Roslyn level crossing, the guards van went careering down past the station eventually stopping on its own accord.

The remainder of the trucks leapt the line in a tumbling, bouncing, crunching, mess of wreckage and cascading potatoes.

Altogether, there were 2700 bags of potatoes, a truck load of empty beer kegs and other sundry items.

This was an amazing scene.

The louvre vans were ripped and torn to shreds; wheels were buckled and snapped off rolling stock.

There were two major piles of trucks telescoped into the air.

About 100 yards of tracks were literally reefed from the ground.

Potato bags were mashed along the track with some submerged completely in the side drains which were blanketed by snow.

It was 11.03am when the unscheduled train came roaring back into the Crookwell yards.

The clean-up had to begin and at 11.15am the Stationmaster Mr. Max Hawkins was in touch with Goulburn arranging for the repair gangs to come to Crookwell.

On Wednesday night the repair gangs under the supervision of Assistant District Supervisor Mr. S.O. Weaver, set to work and cleared the line so the train could run back into Goulburn on the Friday.

They brought with them new sleepers, rails and a 50-ton crane.

There were three fettling gangs (inmates from the Goulburn Jail) assisted by men from the locomotive and traffic sections.

The gang quickly began restoring the line and cleaning up the mess.

At the time the temperatures were well below zero.

The gangs worked all through the Wednesday night, all day Thursday and had the line reopened on the Friday at 5.30pm.

There was a big operation to salvage the potatoes, but, the potato growers were worried they may not receive compensation.

The decision of the compensation was at the discretion of the Department as the potatoes were sent on the train at the risk of the consignee.

The Goulburn to Crookwell railway line was opened in 1906 and the Crookwell Railway Station became the hub of the town,

A group of senior men recalled the working of the station in the earlier days.

Mr. Eric Whittington helped to unload 3000 wethers in the early 1950s that had travelled from Ivanhoe.

They were unloaded at the passenger station then taken by drovers to Julong at Binda, which took five days.

Harold Thorn recalled the massive train derailment in 1960.

In 1960 the trainload of sheep bound for Kenilworth, also at Binda, was being unloaded through the super dump and wool dump areas.

The guard at the time forgot to fix the catch points at the other end of the yard, derailing two trucks.

As the breakdown team arrived from Goulburn they were called then to Queanbeyan to attend a much worse derailment.

It took others, all day to get the trucks back onto the line so the sheep could be unloaded.

From the age of 10, Mr. Claude Collins has helped with the loading work at the station.

One time, they loaded five tonne bagged super onto two - two tonne trucks. He said, “You could do that back then.”

He spoke of how WWII affected train transportation.

Crookwell iron-ore used for ammunition and local honey used for explosives had ‘goods rail priority’.

Wool and produce was stored until transportation was available.

Improved roads and faster transportation impacted on the Goulburn to Crookwell rail line and the service ground to a halt in June 1988.

At present, there is an active group called the Goulburn Crookwell Heritage Railway, which is working to restore the station and sheds to become a busy part of town again, attracting tourist and locals.

In February 1954, an eight car passenger train was placed in service from Crookwell to Canberra.

This train carried an important service for school children and townsfolk for the first Royal visit to Australia.

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Canberra and Crookwell children and adults were able to visit, using the train service.

The rail line between Roslyn and Taralga, built all in good faith, could not compete with the much faster and more convenient road transport quickly developed in the post war years.

The line was closed on May 1, 1957 and the track work was taken out by December 7, 1959.

Road transport has met all transport demands since that time between Taralga and Goulburn and other centres.

The night trains to Goulburn were discontinued in January 1957.

The organisation of the days on which the trains run caused considerable agitation from time to time to fit trains to Crookwell’s commercial needs.

Despite reduction in passenger services the line was used for a Sydney steam enthusiast’s special in February 1962 when locomotive 1243 hauled a railway historical society train to Crookwell.

The goods train freight was largely seasonal and the incoming produce was mainly superphosphate fertilizer.

Outgoing produce was principally lambs, sheep and cattle, potatoes and wool.

Consignments of produce like apples, pears and cherries plus local honey supplies were also forwarded.

During 1948, Crookwell rail goods yard moved 611 trucks containing 130,000 bags of Potatoes and the larger number of 816 trucks of sheep, including 140,000 fat lambs, cattle and in addition 14,738 bales of wool.

Along the uplands plateau of rail lines, the mail was also carried.

During the 1950s up to 55 trucks of sheep were dispatched each Wednesday by special sheep trains.

During WWII, two special iron-ore trains left Crookwell for Port Kembla daily.

Special loading gear operated at the siding.

At this time, Crookwell was one of the largest loading stations for wool and potatoes in NSW.

In 1957 the railway carried into Crookwell 9,816 tons of superphosphate.

In 1970 it was announced that 19,000 tons of commercial traffic had been taken from the railway in a couple of years.

In 1971 the 4000 gallon water tank that was used to serve the steam engines, was removed for scrap, making the diesel engine haulage finalised.

Going back a few years now, ten bullocks were killed in a sensational collision with a mixed train on the Crookwell line. Fortunately only the leading bogey wheels of the engine were derailed.

The train left Crookwell at 8pm due to arrive in Goulburn at 10.30pm but on the Goulburn side of Roslyn the train overtook some cattle and then running into ten, derailing the wheels.

The train gang was called to get the wheels back on the track which they did by 11.20pm that evening. The train reached Goulburn at 1.47am being only 3 hours and 27 minutes late.

It is believed the cattle belonged to Mr. A McInnes and a section of the track wasn’t fenced.

On Thursday May 24, 1900 the first sod of soil was turned by the Hon. E.W. O’Sullivan at Crookwell. The ceremony was followed by a sports day and a grand ball that night.

On Saturday June 23, 1900 it is reported in the Goulburn Evening Penny post that work was progressing at various points along the Crookwell line fourteen miles from Goulburn. It was also estimated that 1000 pounds in wages would be paid to the workers for a fortnights worth of work.

The length of the line is 35 miles (56 Kilometres), 49 chains and the cost was 153,945 pounds.

There were eight stations along the length of the line and it took 19 years of construction.

Just prior to a half a century of service, the Crookwell rail line was closed on June 1988.

Rail staff was given their annual holidays and all the stations and the goods sheds were closed.