Stockrington Mine to Richmond Vale Disused Railway Line and Tunnels 4wd

A bit of a look at the disused Stockrington mine Railway and associated tunnels or better known as the Richmondvale railway line. built by John Eales in 1856 to service his colliery at Minmi. At Hexham the railway crossed the then Hunter River Railway Company's line to Maitland (the current Main North line) and several coal loading staiths were built on the bank of the on the Hunter River to allow the loading of coal onto ships.
On a personal note my Grandfather also came to Australia from Durham England to work at the Stockrington mine back in 1914 and worked his way up as under-manager at that mine. My uncles also followed suite. So to experience at least this one little part of their past was mind blowing for me.
The latest plan is to turn the Railway into a tourist attraction by converting the old trail into a bicycle trail spanning from Hexham NSW to Richmondvale Railway museum and continue onward to Kurri Kurri and Cessnock.
I used to ride my Trail bike YZ 80D through these tunnels and surrounding trails when I was 14 years old. I had not seen them since only on videos on TH-cam since around 2011 and have wanted to go and see them one last time to reminisce my childhood memories riding with my friends in the sugarloaf bush before the heritage related relics are transformed forever to only those fit enough to ride the distance to experience them. SO over the moon that I got to experience a childhood memory one last time

[@4WheelingInNSW]

What an awesome track and a fantastic bit of old Australian’a history right there. Thanks for sharing 👍

[@steveelliott7893]

Thanks mate and thanks for watching

[@4WheelingInNSW]

@@steveelliott7893 thanks for sharing 😉👍

[@Littlegibbonewtriton]

How overgrown is it mate?

[@steveelliott7893]

Was fairly overgrown heading out towards Stockrington road. Got a few pinstripes haha. Wasn’t too bad throughout most of the railway track though. A few obstacles to get over but that’s about it. Probably been just over a year since we were out there though

[@dangoesfast]

January 2024 - tunnel #2 accessible but with knee-high grass in the cutting so snakes are an issue if walking... I ran into one and turned back instead of chasing it down the cutting and backing it into a corner. I'm s**t scared of snakes though so YMMV 😂
Eastern approach to tunnel #3 suuuuuper overgrown with heavy lantana and looks inaccessible on foot, maybe not even by 4wd.
Part of the cutting north of #2 (between where the cutting crosses Haul Rd and where it comes close to George Booth Dr) is inaccessible due to both lantana and a collapsed overbridge between Haul Rd and the fire trail on the other side.