Re: Ropes Creek Branch.

["chris@enet21.com.au" <chris@enet21.com.au>]

I heard the Defence Dept. used to have a smallish diesel loco out there (inside to
factory area), if they did is it still there?

Chris

David & Julie Donald wrote:

> All that has been stated so far is totally correct.  My understanding that
> officially the "branch" is regarded as being a private siding owned by / under
> the control of FreightCorp for the purpose of unloading the sandstone trains,
> with the eventual situation that a large freight terminal will be built on the
> site - one suggestion was that it was to augment Clyde, and that it would be
> capable of handling up to 70,000 containers annually, whilst there has been talk
> that a wheat storage facility might also be included.  Already Smorgon has built
> a large complex on the eastern side of the line.
> There has been much talk over the last few years about what to do with the line,
> especially once ADI vacates the area, and it is turned into a housing area, with
> some talk that a light railway might be built into the area using some of the
> existing formation, but that has not really received too much press in
> connection with some of the other transport proposals for the west..
> One question that has to be asked is who officially still owns the line,
> especially the component beyond Dunheved - one of the apparent reasons for its
> closure, apart from the fact that ADI was downscaling and there was no perceived
> need to run trains, was the fact that there was allegedly a dispute between
> State Rail and the Commonwealth over maintenance funding.
>
> --
>
> Regards
>
> David Donald
> Springwood, NSW
>
> dsjmd@hermes.net.au