Travel Australia

Classic Railway Stations: Ben Lomond, New South Wales

he highest town in northern NSW, Ben Lomond is home to the longest hand cut railway cutting in Australia, the highest passenger railway station in the southern hemisphere (at the time of the construction of the railway), and a scattering of old and historical relics of times past.

Travellers on the New England Highway in northern NSW between Guyra and Glen Innes have a treat in store when they take a short detour at Llangothlin and visit the historic village of Ben Lomond. The road winds alongside an abandoned railway line through some extremely picturesque farming country on its way up the hillside to the sleepy village of Ben Lomond.



Ben Lomond Railway Station is a significant location on the former Great Northern railway line which, although now closed to rail traffic, was the only rail link between Queensland and the southern states in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and which was directly or indirectly associated with major historical events and themes, including for example the transportation of troops during wartime and the transportation of rural produce and livestock.

The railway station is also significant as the highest railway station in NSW (1,363m) and for its important historical role in the economic development and community life of Ben Lomond and surrounding districts (for many years it was the town's post office and was a place where the local community did their banking).



Settlement in the Ben Lomond area began in the 1840s and intensified in the 1860s and 1870s but it wasn't until the 1880s that a school opened (1881) and the railway arrived (1884). Construction of the railways in NSW commenced in the 1850s and by 1878 the Great Northern line had reached West Tamworth. During the construction of the line, Ben Lomond was a vibrant community boasting modest local industry, several schools (although only one was a state school), and several sporting teams.

Upwards of 3000 people attended the festivities at Uralla on August 2, 1882, which celebrated the official opening of the 63.5-mile extension of the Main Northern Line from West Tamworth; the day was declared a public holiday in the Armidale and Tamworth police districts. The program of events concluded with a ball in the highly decorated goods shed.

The line continued north to the Queensland border via Armidale, Glen Innes and Tenterfield. By 1883 construction reached its peak with hundreds of people employed on the project. The Great Northern line reached Tamworth in 1880, Armidale (1883), Glen Innes (1884) and Tenterfield (1886). The line to Wallangarra was opened on January 16, 1888 where it met up with Queensland Rail’s narrow gauge line, which had reached that point some 12 months earlier.



The station building at Ben Lomond opened on 19 August 1884 and in the same year a twenty thousand gallon tank was installed. By 1885 a "receiving office" opened at the railway station and it was upgraded to a post office in 1886. The passenger station comprises a central brick pavilion enclosing two waiting rooms and a ticket office for the Station Master, flanked by freestanding brick pavilions for the lamp room at the north end and toilets at the south end. Other extant items within the railway precinct include the platform, weighbridge, fences and station signs.

During the late 19th century Ben Lomond station also provided additional community services including a telegraph service and banking facilities. During the mid-1880s the station is said to have been used for Anglican Church services before the erection of a chapel in 1897. The goods shed was used as a community hall until 1905. Other additions to the railway yard included a dam and an additional water tank installed between 1903 and 1905.



The mid 1920s were probably the heyday of railway activities at Ben Lomond when passenger journeys, freight tonnage and revenues all peaked. During both world wars, stations along the Great Northern line, including Ben Lomond, were closely associated with the movement of troops.

The decline of the Main Northern Line began with the opening of the North Coast Line, which reached the Queensland border north of Kyogle in September 1930. A standard gauge line was constructed from there to Brisbane, making it a much more convenient route for interstate rail traffic than the Main Northern Line, despite the tardiness in building a rail bridge across the Clarence River at Grafton, where a passenger ferry service was in use until May 1932.



Many stations along the Main Northern Line closed during the 1970s. Wallangarra was the first to go, closing in May 1973 with quite a few closing in February 1975, including Wollun and Kentucky South. In 1983 the Ben Lomond goods shed was sold and removed and on December 10, 1985, 101 years after its official opening, the station closed. Rail operations ceased along the Great Northern line in 1989 and in 1991 the Station Master's residence at Ben Lomond was sold. All rail traffic north of Armidale ceased when Ben Lomond Station closed.

The population has dwindled to around 30 persons in the village, and a further 70 or so in the surrounding district. In recent years the village has formed something of a local rivalry with neighbouring Glen Innes in the form of an annual inter-town friendly cricket match. Whilst at a substantial size disadvantage, Ben Lomond have won four of the games so far, and drawn the other. Games are played on the Ben Lomond Recreational Ground, which once played host to regular games but is seldom used outside of the fixture.

Ben Lomond is 571 km north of Sydney, 402 km south of Brisbane, 62 km north of Armidale and 37 km south of Glen Innes