• yes, the branch is still intact & connected to the main western line at Tarana
• the branch line was never closed - services were "suspended" on 1st October 1979
• the sleepers and rails are mostly in place although most need replacing.
• some sections of line have been stolen (about 490 metres) and 1100 metres of sleepers have been stolen
• approximately 2/3 of the line is in good enough condition to enable a light section car to carry work materials for repair and maintenance.
• there are 3 bridges and no tunnels. The iron bridge over the Fish River is in very good condition and the two trestles (Snakes Valley Creek & Emu Valley Creek) are in poor condition but intact.
• there are 83 culverts ranging from excellent to poor (the 23 concrete culverts are in excellent condition)
• the first stage in funding the proposal to restore the permanent way is in place - Oberon to Hazelgrove is undergoing reconstruction.
• our planning focus is on the line and infrastructure and not on collecting rolling stock & locomotives with the exception of rail maintenance equipment and a rail motor for the expected First Stage.
• OTHR volunteer member workers are covered by Public Liability Insurance and Volunteer Workers Insurance.
• Stage One is a project backed by Council for the Oberon to Hazelgrove section
• a grant application to the Australian Tourism Development Program has been successful and has seen the rail component of Stage One benefit to the sum of $100,000
• this money will be spent on purchasing sleepers for the approximate 5km section between Oberon and Hazelgrove.
• we plan to run a train initially between Oberon and Hazelgrove and return then gradually extend that to Tarana.
• no – rail motors did not run on the line in its heyday.
• yes – we would like a 19 class steam locomotive to run on the line (or a Z26 class or even a 47, 48, 49 class diesel).
• several critical rail crossings are in the Stage One section ( Albion St , Lowes Mt Rd , Clover Lane , Rutters Ridge Rd, Oberon Tip Rd and Black Bullock Rd ) and are not included in the project funding.
• Council funding and community work backed by OTHR volunteers will see a co-operative effort to replace the crossings.
• both the junction station at Tarana and the Terminus at Oberon are heritage buildings and are in a good state of repair. OTHR intends to replace the Hazelgrove and Carlwood stations with replicas (they are identical pre-fab concrete buildings of type Pc1 and not difficult to replicate).
• the rail corridor is listed on Council's Local Environment Plan.
• funding for the restoration of the entire line will be a long term project and OTHR will be applying for grants both in cash and in kind from - Local Government, State Government, Federal Government, Heritage Funds, Regional Partnerships, Businesses, Service Clubs, philanthropists and the local communities.
• the last major proposal to re-open the line was in the mid 1990s. This foundered for various reasons, not the least of which was lobbying on behalf of vested interests. Realistically, there was also insufficient export product from the Timber Complex and that component was the only viable one at that stage for rail transportation. This may change in the coming years due to a number of changing factors viz. - ever increasing fuel costs making rail more competitive with road transport (see our website for a position paper on Commercial Operation )
• we would welcome commercial re-opening of the line as it would significantly reduce the burden on our management of the line
• if you would like to contribute to the project, as a first step we would welcome your membership of OTHR and
  on-line membership forms are available