I live on the other side of the planet but am connected to Illawarra district by family who have lived there for the past half century. My cousins used to explore this area as kids and this would have been very familiar to them.
Thanks for your kind words. Since making that video I've moved to Tassie and discovered there is lots of old railway infrastructure here. There may be some more videos coming out at some point...
Spent the early 90s mountain biking the whole area, it was a magnet that had everything ‐ rainforest, old railway cuttings and the Otford pie shop overlooking the ocean
There was a railway station at Cawley from December 1912 to April 1914, no doubt for the benefit of construction workers. It obviously was a temporary arrangement, and I would think it likely was not much more than a basic wooden platform; I wonder if that old rail sticking up out of the ground at 12:12 might have been part of it.
I remember taking photos of Lilyvale station with my brother about 1978. It had two gravel surfaced platforms, an overhead bridge and a single large sign. I wish I could find them now as there seem to be no such images on line.
Might I suggest you use a digital voice recorder for your "piece-to-camera" sequences? Video camera microphones leave a lot to be desired when it comes to picking up voices from a distance when outdoors. I have found this myself when doing my own videos. When using a digital voice recorder, start recording your sequence with camera and recorder started at about the same instant, then give a good, loud handclap which will provide the synchronising between the recorder's audio and that picked up by the camera's microphone.
Thanks for the feedback. I used a mobile phone to record the video. I also thought the audio wasn't the best after I recorded it and that prompted me to buy a small wireless lavalier mic that I can plug in to the mobile.
Interesting report. It disappoints me that not more of these old railway formations and tunnels are not integrated into walk trails and mountain bike tracks.The closed off tunnel at Lapstone/Glenbrook is another that is near a lot of well used walking and mountain bike trails but is sitting there defunct.
Cawley Tunnel is 381 metres long, so your estimation is about right. You can't walk through the eighth tunnel of the original 8, as it's still used by trains (Clifton Tunnel between Coalcliff and Scarborough).
Had you gone further down stream after the 2nd culvert, you would have come across a dam. Most likely used for the steam trains. I have placed the township of Cawley to the South of the road that crosses over Cawley Creek. I’ve found relic in there. I’ve also found relic of the siding before it got so overgrown.
I haven't gone further down the creek, so will have to check it out. That's interesting about the alternate location of Cawley. Do you have GPS co-ords of where you found the siding?
I have been upstream of the two culverts in the video (along Cawleys Creek), and don't recall seeing a dam. Downstream, I don't know. There is a dam though at the upstream end of the culvert that takes Wilson's Creek under the rail line near Helensburgh Station. Actually, the culvert is actually the original 1888 culvert with that cream brickwork joined to the "modern" 1915 culvert;. The join in the middle is obvious not only because of the different brick colour, but also due to a slight change in direction; it's about 100 metres long, almost a tunnel in its own right.
Very interesting. I grew up at Austinmer just a few stops south of Waterfall and never knew there was an old village there. I knew about the old railway line and road which I used to travel to Sydney on as a kid. Thank you for sharing this video in my part of the world.
The place you are looking for is just S.E . of Otford station. That is the tunnel from Otford through the mountain and comes out at stanwell park . You tarted at Waterfall which is too far north.
@@eScapes1 Well I went through the tunnel from Stanwell Park to Cawley on my own, and I had a very ethereal experience. Yes, I was attacked by a poltergeist. I am definitely sure it was the spirit of the woman killed walking through the tunnel because I could faintly hear a train's brakes and whistle as it was happening. (Something akin to a door to another dimension opening for a second) I never want to go to that place alone again!
frontier towns were usually really small and quickly vacated to move to more urban centres. Once the few people who lived there died, the roads to it have grown over and the buildings collapse - the only evidence of its existence would be old maps marking it out. You'll be surprised of how many, especially in the royal national park, there are!
I live on the other side of the planet but am connected to Illawarra district by family who have lived there for the past half century. My cousins used to explore this area as kids and this would have been very familiar to them.
Gday from the Gong. Used to ride my dirt bikes though them and around the old mines. 👍🇦🇺
Great work mate ,love old tunnels and railway memories, thanks a lot .😊
Thanks for your kind words. Since making that video I've moved to Tassie and discovered there is lots of old railway infrastructure here. There may be some more videos coming out at some point...
@@eScapes1 great that would be fantastic just be careful of the locals with two heads 🤣🤣🤣👍
😅
Great video!
Fascinating, well done! Thank you so much for sharing your research & wonderful history. ❤👍
Thanks for the info much appreciated and interesting 🤔 😮👍✅🇦🇺🙌💯🙏
Spent the early 90s mountain biking the whole area, it was a magnet that had everything ‐ rainforest, old railway cuttings and the Otford pie shop overlooking the ocean
There was a railway station at Cawley from December 1912 to April 1914, no doubt for the benefit of construction workers. It obviously was a temporary arrangement, and I would think it likely was not much more than a basic wooden platform; I wonder if that old rail sticking up out of the ground at 12:12 might have been part of it.
Thank you! That brickwork was just gorgeous!
I took a brickie mate through the tunnels. He is a brickwork afficianardo and was impressed by the quality of the work.
@@eScapes1 That`s awesome to hear mate, i admired it too, I can`t beleive how good the mortar still looks after all this time! cheers.👍
Great video, all the information packed into it really kept me watching. Thank you
Good video 👍🏻 waiting to see more
I recently moved to Tassie, and there appears to be lots of old railway infrastructure around the state.
Great content
Great video, very interesting and well put together. Came across this via your geocaching page. Hopefully get over that way to find it sometime soon!
@@eScapes1 hehe... That's the one I was looking at when I came across your link. Definitely keen to go have a look ☺️
I remember taking photos of Lilyvale station with my brother about 1978. It had two gravel surfaced platforms, an overhead bridge and a single large sign. I wish I could find them now as there seem to be no such images on line.
I think you're right. I searched for images on various historical sites and couldn't find any.
Great video gents. Really enjoyed it looking forward for the next video
Here you go: th-cam.com/video/04DQvz-jCUo/w-d-xo.html
Might I suggest you use a digital voice recorder for your "piece-to-camera" sequences? Video camera microphones leave a lot to be desired when it comes to picking up voices from a distance when outdoors. I have found this myself when doing my own videos. When using a digital voice recorder, start recording your sequence with camera and recorder started at about the same instant, then give a good, loud handclap which will provide the synchronising between the recorder's audio and that picked up by the camera's microphone.
Thanks for the feedback. I used a mobile phone to record the video. I also thought the audio wasn't the best after I recorded it and that prompted me to buy a small wireless lavalier mic that I can plug in to the mobile.
🎉interesting 🎉 good video
14:25 Cawleys Creek, actually. Wilson's Creek is much closer to Helensburgh Station.
Interesting report. It disappoints me that not more of these old railway formations and tunnels are not integrated into walk trails and mountain bike tracks.The closed off tunnel at Lapstone/Glenbrook is another that is near a lot of well used walking and mountain bike trails but is sitting there defunct.
Totally agree. There was talk about turning the Otford tunnel into a cycle path but that never went anywhere.
Cost/benefit?
Cawley Tunnel is 381 metres long, so your estimation is about right.
You can't walk through the eighth tunnel of the original 8, as it's still used by trains (Clifton Tunnel between Coalcliff and Scarborough).
Had you gone further down stream after the 2nd culvert, you would have come across a dam. Most likely used for the steam trains.
I have placed the township of Cawley to the South of the road that crosses over Cawley Creek. I’ve found relic in there.
I’ve also found relic of the siding before it got so overgrown.
I haven't gone further down the creek, so will have to check it out.
That's interesting about the alternate location of Cawley.
Do you have GPS co-ords of where you found the siding?
I have been upstream of the two culverts in the video (along Cawleys Creek), and don't recall seeing a dam. Downstream, I don't know. There is a dam though at the upstream end of the culvert that takes Wilson's Creek under the rail line near Helensburgh Station. Actually, the culvert is actually the original 1888 culvert with that cream brickwork joined to the "modern" 1915 culvert;. The join in the middle is obvious not only because of the different brick colour, but also due to a slight change in direction; it's about 100 metres long, almost a tunnel in its own right.
Very interesting. I grew up at Austinmer just a few stops south of Waterfall and never knew there was an old village there. I knew about the old railway line and road which I used to travel to Sydney on as a kid. Thank you for sharing this video in my part of the world.
Great video thank you! 8^)
You're welcome.
17:14 in the 1910s that was built when the railway was rerouted and duplicated to bypass bottleneck problems
You are correct.
The place you are looking for is just S.E . of Otford station. That is the tunnel from Otford through the mountain and comes out at stanwell park .
You tarted at Waterfall which is too far north.
Check out a video of did on my other channel where we explored all the tunnels.
th-cam.com/video/04DQvz-jCUo/w-d-xo.html
@@eScapes1 I bet you didn't go on your own.
@@2001cavador I didn't on the video, but I have in the past.
@@eScapes1 Well I went through the tunnel from Stanwell Park to Cawley on my own, and I had a very ethereal experience. Yes, I was attacked by a poltergeist. I am definitely sure it was the spirit of the woman killed walking through the tunnel because I could faintly hear a train's brakes and whistle as it was happening.
(Something akin to a door to another dimension opening for a second) I never want to go to that place alone again!
@@2001cavador Wow that sounds scary. I have been through there numerous times over the years and the only thing I have seen is the occasional bat.
Is that map drawn by Myles J Dunphy? He is regarded as the father of the national parks system of NSW
Don't know.
How can one lose a village ?
frontier towns were usually really small and quickly vacated to move to more urban centres. Once the few people who lived there died, the roads to it have grown over and the buildings collapse - the only evidence of its existence would be old maps marking it out. You'll be surprised of how many, especially in the royal national park, there are!
Still Caching?
When I get motivated. 😅
Nothing new here mate! This information has been available for over 40yrs! John Oates has written a book about the "Forgotten Illawarra Railway"
Well I never heard of it blessed one and appreciate the content 😂❤🇦🇺💯
Maybe so but many of us are unaware of these bits of history and really appreciate the upload 😊🎉
O more a culvert than a viaduct.
Not more than, in fact a culvert.
✅✅✅🇦🇺