20 class loco number 24 at Kurrajong in 1938. Source: J.L. Buckland The Kurrajong railway line was a railway line in the rural western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. It was an extension of the branch off the Main Western line from Blacktown to Richmond and was operated by the New South Wales Government Railways.
After decades of lobbying, approval for the railway was eventually granted by Parliament in 1919. This untimely delay coincided with major improvements to roads, rendering the railway unnecessary as trucks had taken over as an efficient means of transporting goods from the region west of the Hawkesbury River in to Sydney.
Operating as a minor branch line from 1926 to its closure in 1952, the railway faced challenges, including the high cost of bridging the flood-prone Hawkesbury River and limited available agricultural land. Efforts to extend the Richmond line to Kurrajong then began in 1884, but construction was hindered due to afore mentioned challenges.
Persistent political lobbying by local landholders eventually succeeded, leading to the groundbreaking on 2 June 1923. Regular passenger services commenced on 8 November 1926, with the official opening following on 20 November 1926.
The official opening 1926 with Mrs Julia Peck cutting the ribbon. Source: W. Walsh The branch began in the back platform at Richmond and continued across East Market Street on a level crossing which was protected by a station employee with a red flag or red light. It then passed around Richmond Oval, continuing in a north west direction along March Street, at the far end of which it left the town centre and entered its own right of way. That dropped through a cutting towards the river on a 1 in 50 grade, before making its way across the alluvial soil of the level floodplain. Trains were running to that point by April 1925.
Gravel trains ran from the Nepean Sand and Gravel Siding, located just before the line crossed the Old Kurrajong Road. The material was being used in the construction of Sydney Harbour Bridge.
A very short passenger platform was located on the eastern bank of the Hawkesbury river. It opened in 1928 with the misnomer of Nepean Bridge, and was renamed Phillip in 1934. The location was a favourite swimming and picnic spot.
Richmond Station and level crossing. Source: K. McMahon The railway bridge over the Hawkesbury River was erected on concrete piers which were an extension of those supporting the adjacent road bridge. Upon leaving the river, the line ascended on a 1 in 36 grade through the western river bank and reached Bells Line of Road which it crossed at a 45 degree angle and entered North Richmond station, which had a 200-foot (61 m) long platform with shelter and a goods siding.
After leaving the station, the railway continued in a straight alignment, largely through the property of farmers. Being classed as a "pioneer line", the route was unfenced and the rails second-hand, laid on wooden sleepers with ash ballast. Stopping locations were established between North Richmond and Kurrajong at locations which, in 1928, were named Red Cutting, Kemsleys, Thompsons Ridge, Nurri and Duffys. The line through those locations passed orchards and small farms as it slowly climbed into what is the foothills of the Blue Mountains.
Embankments and cuttings became a feature of the line as it headed towards its terminus, Kurrajong station, which was located on a site carved from the side of the ridge on which the village was situated. A concrete slab station building stood on the platform. There was a run-round loop, and looped goods siding which served a goods shed and hand crane.
The regular passenger train was a Z20-class tank locomotive pulling two carriages, affectionately known as "Pansy," for its diminutive size and lack of pulling power. Covering the 11 km journey would take Pansy 30 to 35 minutes, with extra time allowances for potential shunting at North Richmond or the Nepean Gravel siding.
Pansy crossing across the Hawkesbury River. Source: Hawkesbury City Library The closure of the railway came abruptly, without the customary advance notice. Heavy rainfall during the weekend of June 12 and 13, 1952, led to the flooding of the Hawkesbury River, prompting the suspension of railway services—a common response to such weather events. Subsequent floods necessitated a bus substitution on the Kurrajong side, with a floodboat ferrying passengers across the deluged stream. A collapsed cutting near the terminus resisted stabilization efforts, requiring prolonged dry weather for resolution.
Amidst protest meetings, the announcement came on September 17, 1952, from the newly appointed Commissioner for Railways, Reg Winsor: the line, never a commercial success and now damaged, would not reopen. The total annual income of the line fell short of covering repair costs.
Today, you can still see remnants of the Pansy line at Redbank. Under the main bridge that crosses the creek the original tracks are visible that would carry passengers, sand, gravel and orchard fruits in to Sydney. There are also two locations with original culverts incorporated into the landscape.
The Pansy heading into March Street from Richmond Park. 1940. Source: J.L. Buckland 
Kurrajong railway station sign circa 1950, two years before the trains closure. Source: ARHS Rail Resource Centre 
The original culvert crossing Redbank Creek is still visible today. 
A sandstone pavers feature within Redbank marks where the original Pansy line ran before it's closure in 1952. 
