Steam in the Valley

‘Choo, choo’ the engine sounds

Here starts the wizened train,

‘Choo. Choo’ again it hums

And we’re lost in time again

 

A cloud of steam engulfs us all,

As if a tunnel unto time,

Can you smell the burning coal and smoke?

Can you feel the sooty grime?

 

For a hundred years, these engines rolled

And hurtled on these hills,

Their echoes sound even today

Their roar, the valley fills

 

As Whitton’s dream conquered the Blues,

The little colony grew,

Engines of steam traversed the land –

Earthy, red and new

 

And tracks of iron forged these hills

In these ancient lands, a scar

As locomotives sped past zig-zag hills

To Katoomba and afar

 

 With changing times, the old gives way

For new roads and rails to grow

Though plenty clues are to be found

If you run a little slow

 

Of the older times, the Age of Steam

When the hills were conquered all,

A mural here, a memoir there –

Or rolling stock upon a knoll

 

At Valley Heights, such shards abound

To remember bygone days

Roundhouse bays, a turntable too

Those bank engine railways

Memories stashed in engines few

Memories now so rare,

Of timeless tales from a glorious past,

At Eagar's Platform here

 

Even today, the hill-folks say

You can hear on a quiet dawn,

The chug-chug-chug of a choo-choo train

Of days that were never gone

 

And if lucky be, you still can see

Those visions from the past,

Up Lapstone vale, a carriage chugs

Trapped in a steamy blast…

 

It was a warm Sunday morning at the quaint little village of Valley Heights in the Blue Mountains, the peacefulness perturbed only by the noisy whistle from an old steam engine, meticulously maintained from the past. It was a glowing memoir, a flowing tribute to the engineering skills of a young colony that needed steam trains to grow, develop and nourish itself. This need was nurtured by a John Whitton, father of the Blue Mountain railways (And in a way father of Australian railways) who in the 1850s devised zig-zags to scale the steep Blue Mountains ridge from the plains of Greater Sydney. (In a railway zig zag – designed to climb steep gradients with minimal need for tunnels and heavy earthworks - a train is required to switch its direction of travel in order to continue its journey. For a short distance corresponding to the middle leg of the letter "Z", the direction of travel is reversed, before the original direction is resumed, allowing the train to ascend in steps until it reaches the top of the ridge).

Whitton created two zig-zags, one in Lapstone for trains to ascend from Emu Plains, and a grander one in Lithgow for the trains to descend. The railway track comprised a single line operation catering for both “Up” (east bound) and “Down” (west bound) trains crossing the Blue Mountains. On arrival at Penrith, down trains required the assistance of a second locomotive (Pilot) for the subsequent climb. After Lapstone, near today’s Valley Heights, a depot was established to house these bank engines that would be used to provide additional horsepower to push the trains over the steep ascent to Katoomba. The line included many small stations, some with passing loops or sidings to allow for the safe passing of trains traveling in the opposite direction (you will find a Wascoe’s siding even today after Glenbrook).

In 1875 a platform was opened at today’s Valley Heights to service the private residence of the Colonial Treasurer, Geoffrey Eager. The platform was originally called Eagar's Platform but was renamed The Valley and in 1890 it was renamed to its present name, Valley Heights.

Over time, as more powerful engines were developed the need for bank engines declined and the depot at Valley Heights was shut down in the late 1980s. The rolling stock and infrastructure has still been thankfully preserved as the Valley Heights Rail Museum – rated as one of 49 modern wonders of the world by the Sydney Morning Herald.

A few of the steam trains are run on special days at the Museum so that train enthusiasts - children and grown up alike – can relive the memories of that bygone era when man conquered the mountains, and a young colony realised it could wrap its arms around a continent.

Photos and videos: Author's archives

1^st December’2023