Camden railway line

The Camden railway line is a closed railway line between Campbelltown and Camden, in the southwestern outskirts of Sydney. The passenger service was also known as the 'Camden Tram'.

History
The Camden railway line was designed as a light railway and construction of the line started in 1881, opening on 10 March 1882. The line was originally operated with Baldwin Steam Tram Motors, but these proved unsatisfactory and small 0-6-0 saddle tank locomotives were then used. From 1901 the line was upgraded to railway standard and typically operated by an E class (later Z20 class locomotive in the 1924 reclassification of locomotives) 2-6-4 side-tank locomotives. Starting in the 1950s a C30 class locomotive was used. CCA type end-platform carriages were used to convey passengers, with various other carriages added in times of high patronage.

Due to the steepness of the ruling gradient of 1 in 19 (reported to be the steepest grade used by adhesion locomotives in Australia) between Campbelltown and Kenny Hill, there were often multiple attempts made at ascending the grade. Passengers would sometimes have to disembark from the train and walk alongside it, leaving their bags on board. When trains could not successfully ascend the hill, the train would be divided and the second half of train (invariably the part where the passengers were carried) would be left standing on the line until the first half of the train had been stowed at Campbelltown. Such delays on the line were a source of annoyance and inconvenience for passengers. The main source of income for the line was the coal loader at Narellen and the Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative depot at Camden.

The line was never very profitable. The steep gradient meant that the train couldn't carry much passengers or cargo. The rise of the motor vehicles meant it was better for passengers to drive themselves and for goods to be trucked to a main line station. The line closed on 1 January 1963 as a cost-cutting exercise by the government.

Special working
To cater for public attendance at a religious ceremony, held on Good Friday of each year, in the grounds of a monastery near Campbelltown, three or four special trains were run from Sydney which required out-of-the-ordinary working over the branch line, including the provision of an additional locomotive at both the front and rear of each train. Maryfields, a platform opposite the entrance to the monastery, had a platform suitable for an 8 or 9-car train.

Stations and route
The line branched off the Main South line at Campbelltown, passing through Maryfields (formerly Rudds Gate), Kenny Hill, Currans Hill, Narellan, Grahams Hill, Kirkham, and Elderslie, before arriving the terminus of Camden. The entire line was single track.

Traces of the original line's route can still be seen along looking up Kirkham Lane from Camden Valley Way. The elevated section as it passed through this low-lying area are visible - the nearby Nepean River would flood the land around this area when it burst its banks. Cuttings through Kenny Hill are also visible from parts of Narellan Road near the Mount Annan Botanical Gardens. Photographs of the line are on display in the Camden Historic Society Museum in Camden.

Services
Trains were usually mixed, carrying both passengers and freight. The first train departed at 5:47am to connect with a Sydney-bound train at Campbelltown, with the last train leaving Campbelltown at 9:44pm.

Future
The construction of Sydney Metro Greater West may mean train service to this area will be restored around 2026. The project is still in the planning stages, however one of the proposed stations is Narellan.