Hi everyone, I've just re-uploaded this video following feedback from a few viewers earlier today. The changes start from 15:38 and include what happened to the heritage footbridge at Rosehill Station.
no one used the carlingford rail link and no one was going to use that stupid Parramatta to Epping Rail Link Anyways. Because it doesn't go into the city which is where everyone wants to go
Great video, I grew up in Rosehill, so many memories! Fun fact, in Unwin Street there used to be a private bus company depot, being Delwood Coaches, that was there until the 1980's. Keep up the great work!
Hi Peter, that's amazing! Did you design any of the other Parramatta Light Rail substations? I'm planning to film them all for my next Parramatta Light Rail update video!
Another great video Paul - and you’ve answered a lot of questions I’ve had about what happened to the truncated bits of the Carlingford line between Clyde and Camellia. Now I know! For most of my childhood I lived adjoining the line between Dundas and Rydalmere, then travelled for work to Clyde. And my dad worked at James Hardie for many years - and that’s now gone (thankfully). You’ve brought back heaps of (happy) memories - can’t wait for the Sandown line video! And what about timing - the Track Inspection Vehicle exiting the shed- nice one. Great work mate!
Hi Andrew, thanks! Glad you enjoyed it, and wonderful that it answered your questions on what had happened to this part of the line. Yes, I was so lucky with the track inspection vehicle. The Sandown Line video will probably be during April, as I want to catch a ferry from Rydalmere to Parramatta to film part of the old track, and those ferries aren't running at the moment, due to a new bridge being built over the Parramatta River. Glad this video bought back lots of lovely memories of your childhood journeys on this line!
Yet another example of the NSW government throwing money down the drain. Parramatta LR and metro are costing $billions - but a few extra $million retaining a LR connection to Clyde or Granville, extending LR from Carlingford to Epping and building a LR-metro interchange at Cammelia would add so much to the utility of the LR and Metro. It is almost as though they are deliberately trying to avoid cost-effectiveness.
Remarkable reporting and cross editing allowing the viewer to compare the before and after sites. Thanks very much Paul. As for the Carlingford terminus. In my mind it is so very tantalising close to the N.W. Metro. It would be a boon to be able to have some sort of closeness with Parramata L.R and Epping keep up this outstanding work Paul.
I think Carlingford will get Train line again, In 1998, it was planned to go to Parramatta with a branch to Carlingford and Cancelled in 2003 because of overbudget. Parramatta to Epping will get a Metro Line in the Future Stopping at the Interchange with Carlingford, then oatlands, north parramatta, and a Major Interchange with Parramatta.
😄Paul, I temporarily live in Carlingford with my mother, who moved Alvon to the Northern Beaches. My Wife and I moved to the North Coast of NSW. I am in Lismore, NSW, and my Wife is on the Gold Coast. We have moved 54 times, not including Singapore and Asia. We have moved so many times because of buying and selling property. I am an engineer, and my wife is an interior designer. We are moving back Sydney on the North Shore - 😁Ian Cleland
Thanks Mark, Glad you enjoyed it - especially the lovely Duck Creek! - Some of that creek will be going underground as part of the Clyde Maintenance Facility Project.
Thanks for an interesting video, Paul. I remember the Carlingford and Sandown lines in regular use, but my limited photo collection doesn't reveal much of use to you. I remember the Carlingford line being double track all the way from Clyde to just before the Grand Avenue bridge - none of the silly arrangements at Rosehill as you see in the video. The double track ended just before Camellia station, with Clyde-bound trains all going through Platform 2 at Rosehill. On Race Days trains were stored on the Sandown branch, having run out from the city (possibly Hornsby via the North Shore) to Clyde and Rosehill, using Platform 3 at Clyde to access the Carlingford line. Further to the demise of the Carlingford line, the fact that it couldn't be more than a 4-car train didn't help. (I remember 2-car Double Deck trains, and 3 and 4 car Single Deck sets!) There were very few through trains from the city on weekdays, and none on weekends. The line was supposed to be extended across to Epping to join the Chatswood - Epping line, but government issues (possibly Greenies and anti-rail people) put paid to that. It will be interesting in a few years to see all this area with silly driverless trains and modern trams.
Thanks for that! - I guess that's a good alternative to using the Central Station platforms. North Sydney station often gets used as a terminus for other lines during trackwork weekends. I've seen T4 and blue mountains trains terminate there in the past.
Yes that's right. The cycleway turns off the original alignment to go over the Bidgee Bidgee Bridge. Most of the former trackbed has now disappeared as part of the Sydney Metro Clyde Maintenance Facility work.
The 2 Lines were supposed to go from Parramatta to Castle Hill and Macquarie Park. Not from Westmead to Carlingford Via Parramatta. Come on! The Carlingford line should stay open. I want T6 on the Sydney Trains Map. Why does the Government want to close the Carlingford Line to Built Parramatta Light Rail. That is the worst idea. Carlingford is in the middle of nowhere. The Parramatta Light Rail from Parramatta to Macquarie Park, Castle Hill, And Sydney Olympic Park is better than Westmead to Carlingford.
yay looking forward to the sandown video. have you ever mentioned or included any info on Pippita? not sure why, but i was always fascinated by that lonely ignored station. the very, very few pictures i saw of it never even had station signage. thanks as always for being so thorough.
Hi Karl, no not as yet, although I do plan to do a video on the Olympic Park line in the future, so I could include Pippita station in that video. Glad you enjoyed the Carlingford Line video.
That description basically comes down to “ a decent bit of early twentieth century engineering “ . The Warren Truss is that triangle structure, it is a very efficient way to build bridges out of steel. The steel bit means not 19th century because steel has gotten cheap enough to use for construction, replacing cast or wrought iron. the rivet bit means not late twentieth century or twenty first century because we now use welding as it is stronger and less labor intensive then rivets. The channel steps are steps Who’s main structure is a U shaped bar of steel, instead of timber or concrete. Very light . An efficient if utilitarian use of materials.
Thanks Francesco, your description is awesome, and so much better than the one from the heritage listing webpage! Thanks for explaining this is a way that won't go over people's heads!
Back in the 80's as guards we used to work trains from the city to the races then stable them on the old Sandown branch, then travel out and retrive them at the end of the day working them back to the city.. Same happened at Warwick Farm..
Thanks for sharing that Graeme. It's always great to hear from people that worked on the line in the past. I couldn't find anything online about raceday services, so its good to know that these ran from the CBD. It must have been quite a nice run to be rostered on to, especially if you're into the horse racing!
Parramatta Light Rail Testing during the Day, I wish to see the footage of Light Rail Testing during the Day from Carlingford Light Rail Station which will later get a Metro and Light Rail Interchange in the Future.
Would be nice if the new light rail could go to Epping along a widened Carlingford Road and possibly through the side of Boronia Park . Would make the light rail a more useful link for the folks folks along the north half of the line, as well a providing access to employment centres in Macquarie Park, North Ryde, Chatswood and North Sydney to people along the whole length.
I’m sure a professional could come up with a better alignment. Particularly in regards to grade/elevation and cost of using eminent domain. However to me at least it does seem like one could squeeze a couple of tracks in the median for most of the length without needing to acquire more than a metre or two of anyone’s front yard or adversely affecting traffic. It’s simply the two ends that will cause problems with traffic. For the Carlingford Cumberland Highway end, the intersection is right on top of a hill with the station at the foot of it. Building a relatively short tunnel through the hill to wherever the track joins Carlingford Road (east of Rembrandt Ave) is pretty obvious. For the Epping Beecroft Road side, it is less obvious. But if there is a level crossing (similar to the one on Alison Road and Anzac Pde) further up and away from the intersection, it wouldn’t cause problems, hence Boronia Park. This would let the line terminate in the current council car park, just close to the station where there is plenty of room for it. From there, the most practical option is finding a private sector entity to build a connecting arcade. Or just build a walkway straight over Rawson st at the level of Beecroft road. Or even a pedestrian tunnel to the metro concourse, which seems to be approximately level with Rawson St anyway.
I would have liked to have seen the route north to Carlingford as I lived there for a short while (1981/82) at Dundas Valley at 77 Marshall Rd and the property backed onto the line. On Sundays the electric train was replaced with a motor rail.
Hi Russell, you can see the whole line in Howie's video. When Parramatta Light Rail opens, I'm sure I'll film the whole line from the front of the tram! The ascent to Carlingford is one of the more memorable bits of this line.
The good thing about the railway line to Carlingford was that it nearly always seemed to be the one railway line in the Sydney metro area that you could travel on if you wanted to have a quiet train journey. It was the one railway line that I made certain that I went out of my way to use when I last spent time in Sydney.
Clyde Platform 1 Can not be used by passanger services to turn back as the city end signs show at 1:00 END SIGNALLEDAUTHORITY. DO NOTPROCEED UNLESSAUTHORISED, MAINTENANCEVEHICLES ONLY and also the overhead has been booked out since mid 2020. Even before the Carlingford line was closed platform 1 only had access to the up main hence you would have to arrive on the down on platform 3 then shunt to rosehill racecourse change ends and return to clyde either platfroms 1 or 2 to return to the city.
Thanks for that Bazza. I guess I should have taken a walk up to the east end of platform 1! I guess the track inspection vehicles might use the east end junctions, but nothing else. Thanks for clarifying how the racecourse trains worked. I thought they must have come from the city.
Hi Paul, thanks for sharing another awesome video. I remember riding a train from Clyde to Carlingford and back with my dad. We only did the trip once and that was more out of curiosity, as we didn't live anywhere near the area. I am just wondering will that piece of track used by the inspection vehicles remain?? One train line that I never travelled on was the branch line from the Clyde to Carlingford line. I remember my dad and i stayed on the train to return to Clyde, as the service was not too regular at that time. I remember we did use a single deck red rattler steel train for the trip. Anyway, wishing you the very best. Rob.
Hi Rob, glad you enjoyed it. I only did the line once myself, and like you, it was more out of curiosity! The service was hourly then, so I think I came back on the same train too! I reckon the piece of track used by the track inspection vehicles will be around for as long as the track inspection shed is at Clyde, and I can't see any reason to move it.
Interesting history of this area, very well done. It's pleasing to note the return of some major infrastructure to Clyde. Like other industrial lines, and Port Kembla springs to mind, the backbone of large manufacturing operations were served by such lines. Clyde Engineering was famous for the operation that produced the first five of the beautiful 38 Pacific class locos of which 3801 has been magnificently restored. She was held up during the WW2 effort but came into service in 1943. Other locos of that class were produced at Everleigh and Cardiff, Newcastle.
Hi Neal, It was closed to allow the light rail line to run more directly into Parramatta CBD. I don't think the usage of Rosehill Station was particularly high on non-race days, and the new light rail stop is close enough to provide a reasonable alternative.
Yes that's quite a bargain! There is very little in Clyde! I either bring my own lunch when I'm in this area, or pop into The Camellia hotel, but you won't get lunch for $16 there now!
It has a very large car park, so I guess lots of people drive. I don't think it's as popular as it used to be. Races only seem to be once or twice a month now. The Rosehill Gardens stop on Parramatta Light Rail will only be a 2 to 5 minute walk to the Grand Avenue entrance when it opens next year.
Yes, at Westmead Station, the metro entrance on the Hawkesbury Road bridge will be very close to the light rail terminus. And in Parramatta, the Parramatta Square stop (and perhaps the Church Street stop too), will be very close to Parramatta Metro station entrances.
It was decided that Parramatta was the preferred destination, which meant that this part of the Carlingford line was no longer required. And now Sydney Metro West are using a good chunk of it for access to the Clyde maintenance facility.
The keeping bridge Would have made a good location for a pop up stall or cafe to keep with heritage As a shortcut for locals & people at the racecourse
There were plans for rydalmere to have a metro station, though this was dropped after the initial station site was found to have been an asbestos dumping ground during digging of the site
Thanks for that Clam, I was aware of the possible route via Rydalmere, but didn't realise that asbestos was the reason for dropping this. That's a real shame, as it would have plugged the long gap between Parramatta and Sydney Olympic Park Stations.
We will probably regret having torn up the line for future needed Additional Capacity. On top of the now replacement light-rail line that is now planned taking up its place. Like most infrastructure transport plans & lines we have also taken down in the past .In instead of just keeping it as additional alternative ways to travel for the public.
This train line was initially meant to be extended from Parramatta to Chatswood via Epping. However, the Labor government failed to honor their promise.
Was moreless in the drawing board as due to high costs and more research into benefits of such things, similar to the badgerys creek airport. Going to spare politics but thats the reason
Not a sydney-sider, but as a train buff from melbourne, i do feel a bit sad about the carlingford line closure. Personally, i believe they didn't have to rip up the line, just duplicate the line for most of the way, or at least have passing loops at most stations so trains could be a bit more frequent on the line, potentially extend the platforms so longer trains could run on the line, and introducing direct services to and from the cbd during rush hours, and as a clyde shuttle during off-peak services, which would be a bit similar to services on the alamein line in melbourne
I think part of the problem is that it wasn't very convenient as a rail service, and connecting it to parramatta actually makes more sense (not everyone wants to go to Sydney CBD). They could have tried to run trains direct to parramatta by changing the junction at Clyde, but it probably wouldn't have been worth it. Additionally, it never saw enough people to justify the heavy rail service, and the light rail is more than capable of providing that capacity instead. Hopefully they extend the light rail to Epping one day, and make the network larger so that there is more reason to catch the light rail.
@@pwhnckexstflajizdryvombqug9042 with what you said about running trains to Parramatta, couldn't they create a y junction at clyde similar to how there's a junction that allows T2 trains to either go on to Parramatta or Leppington?
Yes I agree. Converting it to light rail seems like the right thing to do. Although it always sad to see old lines go, its great to see more new lines opening. And Melbourne's got Metro Tunnel and that's pretty exciting!
@@matheuswolters3448 God Almighty. Nostalgia is a stupid principle to guide public transport infrastructure policy and decisions. At the end of the day, the Carlingford Line for heavy rail was very long obsolete, the fact that it crossed critical Parramatta Rd was patently unacceptable for modern times. The culture of Sydney is different compared to Melbourne. Sydneysiders have no compunction in replacing buildings and structures which are no longer relevant and useful to modern times. Otherwise, the monorail white elephant circling the CBD would still be in service nearly 4 decades after its 1988 Bicentenary opening.
When the Carlingford Line opened on the 21st of January 1885. It run from Clyde to Subiaco (Later Renamed Camellia). The Sandown Branch opened on the 18th of November 1888 with Rosehill Racecourse Station Opening. The Extension to Carlingford Opened on the 20th of April 1896. Telopea was opened on the 13th of June 1925. The Sandown Branch was Closed on the 19th of December 1991. It was Expected to Close in 2019.
Thanks for that Richard. I wasn't aware that the Hardies platform was moved! I'l definitely mention that in the Sandown video! Do you know if Carlingford Line trains stopped there as well before it was moved?
Impressed that you organised to have the Track Inspection Vehicle run out 👍. And the red Beware of High Overhead Wiring sign is still in place at the level crossing (4.04).
I used to live in Carlingford from 1987 when the red rattlers frequented the line, the trains back then still not being frequent (were they ever?). You felt every bit of breeze when it was cold, and every bit of heat when it was hot, and the windows were openable. I also ended up on the Sandown line once by accident - sometimes I thought I'd imagined it so thank you for confirming it was real. I don't really understand why they stopped the Carlingford line and then let all these residential buildings sprout up around the site afterwards that might have finally given the line some more usage.
Thanks for sharing your memories of the Carlingford (and Sandown line). The majority of the Carlingford Line has been converted to light rail as part of the Parramatta Light Rail project. And that's the main reason for the high-density development along the line. Do check out my Parramatta Light Rail videos, as they cover the conversion of the Carlingford line to light rail, including duplication and a number of new bridges.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6EbWGE7JrWQ.html footage of the sandown line which was probably around the time I was still in high school so I'm showing my age. I miss the old 46 class...
They could convert the small remaining section to a bike path, but I'm not sure how useful it would be, as it would go to the Clyde industrial area. Perhaps in the longer term when this area is redeveloped.
Good old cassette tape?? I not only remember them, I still use them as well. Incidentally, how do they now cater for racegoers for Rosehill Racecourse without any trains there? Also, will Sydney Metro be serving this area in the future?
Hi Rob, good to hear that you still use cassette tapes. I got rid of all mine when I emigrated to Australia in 2009! When Paramatta Light Rail opens next year, Rosehill Gardens will be the closest stop for the racecourse. It won't be served by Sydney Metro. The dive site at Rosehill is purely for empty trains to access the maintenance facility.
@@TransportVlog I bought a number of cassette tapes in bulk not long before they started to become scarce. As i have plenty of equipment to play them, I always find them useful.
Glad that the footbridge is preserved albiet disassembled rather then being flat out demolished. Shame the like closed but honestly its probably just a port Melbourne line type story where it was bound to happen, just hope they extend the LR to Epping with potential of terminating at Castle Hill
Hi Clam, I reckon it would have stayed open if it hadn't been for Parramatta Light Rail, but the Parramatta Level Crossing would have needed to go, and that would have been expensive! Converting it to light rail seems like the right thing to do, and yes it would be wonderful it is eventually goes to Epping!
Another great explanatory overview of past, present and future transport solutions. I'm sure race-goers will be pleased when they can once more access Rosehill Gardens via convenient rail transport!
The bridge will definitely be regretted.As all shortcuts even not in connection with public but for foot traffic pedestrians.As are always regretted by locals in the ability to get around quicker .
Hi Henry, yes that's a good point! Clyde station is very close to Granville, and it's definitely one of the quieter stations. It would be interesting to see how busy it is in peak hour!
