Historical context Although Cadia had been mined for gold and copper, a significant deposit of iron ore also had been identified there. A branch line to Cadia had been advocated for some years, with alternative routes from Spring Hill,
Millthorpe or
Carcoar being identified. After the blast furnace at Lithgow opened in May 1907, one reason for the iron ore deposit at 'Iron Duke' (Big Cadia) not being mined—although
William Sandford had taken out a sub-lease to do so—was the absence of a rail connection and the poor state of the nearby roads. Sandford instead opened an ore quarry at
Coombing Park near Carcoar, The subsequent owner of the
Lithgow Blast Furnace, G & C Hoskins Ltd, let the sub-lease over the Cadia deposit lapse but later took out a new sub-lease, for a payment of £1,000 per year and 6d. per ton of ore. The final arrangement agreed was that the N.S.W. Government would own the branch line, and provide rolling stock other than locomotives; G & C Hoskins Limited would provide a locomotive, maintain and operate the branch line, and pay the Government at a rate of 15% of the standard freight rate. Contemporary reports state that G. & C. Hoskins surveyed and constructed the line, at a cost to the company of £118,000. The route of the line was surveyed in early 1916 and work at the Spring Hill end also commenced then.
Route and description The line branched off the
down track of Main Western Line just past the Orange end of Spring Hill railway station, turning to the west about a quarter of a mile later and passing through the Spring Hill exchange sidings. The line then ran just south of the road to Orange, 'Spring Terrace'—at a location to the west of the modern-day village, approximately 4 miles along the line—'Summit' approximately 5.5 miles along the line, and 'Cadia Road', The line terminated on the eastern side of
Cadiangullong Creek and the northern side of Cadia Creek—about three-quarters of a mile from the ore quarry and one and a half miles from the town—at the location of the powerhouse. The line could go no farther due to the steep-sided valley. Ore from the quarry was carried by an
aerial ropeway, across the valley to the loading point for the trains. The line was laid in 80 lb. rails, Locomotives could not be turned around at Cadia and ran in reverse for one leg of the round trip. In 1921, there were four trains per day operating over the line. As well as the iron ore from Cadia, grain was loaded at the siding at Spring Terrace and wool elsewhere. The line also brought in coal for the powerhouse—presumably back loaded from Lithgow—and goods from Sydney for the town of Cadia and other sidings on the line. Trains could consist of both ore wagons and goods wagons. On at least one occasion, an excursion train carrying passengers ran over the line. Otherwise, if trains carried passengers, it was unofficially.
First closure, wartime reopening, and final closure Iron ore mining at Cadia ended, around time of the relocation of blast furnace operations from Lithgow to Port Kembla in late 1928, and the branch line also closed. There was insufficient other traffic on the line to justify the N.S.W. Government taking over the operation of the line. The line was remediated and reopened in 1941. A shortage of shipping, under wartime conditions, made it sensible to mine local sources of iron ore in New South Wales, rather than rely upon
ore carried by sea from South Australia. Cadia was among the largest of these local iron ore deposits and the branch line allowed its ore to be transported to Port Kembla. During this second period of operation, all operations were carried out by the
New South Wales Department of Railways. Once mining of iron ore ceased around June 1945, the rail line closed in August 1945 and the tracks were lifted. == Remnants ==