Re: Gundagai - Last Use Of Line?

[Chris Brownbill <cbrnbill@enternet.com.au>]

David Proctor wrote:
> 
> I believe that the passenger services were replaced by buses (oops, luxury
> co-ordinated road coaches) in the late 1980's (could have been 1986, but I
> am not sure) - not sure about freight!
> 

Actually the last timetable containing passenger trains to Gundagai was
the 28/November 1982 SRA country and interstate timetable.  Table 10 was
for the Cootamundra to Tumut line, and listed two trains per day six
days per week.  The first departed Cootamundra at 0540 Mondays to
Saturdays, connecting with the South Mail from Sydney, then Coolac 0613,
Gundagai 0629, Mt Horeb 0704 Tumut 0740.  This train then returned as
follows Tumut 0805, Mt Horeb 0840, Gundagai 0914, Coolac 0931 and
Cootamundra 1005 connecting with the Up Riverina XPT to Sydney.  Then in
the afternoon another return run was made connecting with the down
Riverina XPT, departing Cootamundra at 1725, Coolac 1758, Gundagai 1814,
Mt Horeb 1949(sic!), Tumut 1925 and return Tumut 2010, Mt Horeb 2049,
Gundagai 2133, Coolac 2152 and Cootamundra 2237 connecting with the up
South Mail to Sydney.

It was quite a site to see, as I did on one occasion in 1983, a CPH
railmotor making a connection with an XPT.  Having arrived at
Cootamundra on the down Riverina XPT at 1712 on a Saturday afternoon
there was the delightful site of simulataneous departures at 1725 of CPH
railcars to Tumut and Wyalong Central.

The next timetable, that of 27 November 1983 saw the replacement of the
Cootamundra to Tumut railcar with "road coaches" running Cootamundra
Tumut Adelong to more or less the same schedule as above.  This was a
very sad timetable because in one fell swoop it saw the abolotion of
services on very many branch lines, Cootamundra-Tumut,
Cootamundra-Wyalong-Lake Cargelligo, Narrandera-Hay,
Narrandera-Tocumwal, Harden-Young-Cowra, Cowra-Blayney, Parkes-Forbes,
Moree-Inverell, Tamworth-Barraba and Narrabri to Walgett. All in all a
candidate for the worst timetable ever published!