Fernleigh Track - Trail Description

The track through Kaihbah Alexander McCooke 2009

Location: Near Newcastle , 160km from Sydney

Start/end: Adamstown to Whitebridge

Region: Newcastle Area, New South Wales and ACT

Length open: 5.5km

Surface: Bitumen

Description

This is a high quality rail trail through a range landscapes from suburbia to dense bushland. A major feature is the brick lined tunnel under the Pacific Highway. Considerable effort has gone into preserving the history of the corridor with rail track being left in place where practical and removed rail and sleepers used for features along the trail.

The Newcastle City and Lake Macquarie councils bought the land of this former private coal railway to Belmont and opened the first section of the rail trail, Adamstown - Kahibah (Burwood Rd), in 2003. Stage 3 of the Fernleigh Track (Whitebridge to Redhead commenced construction in May 2009 and it is planned ot have it open by October 2009 (not withstanding wet weather and variations).

The two councils with the support of the Fernleigh Track Committee are also applying for Federal Grants for the completion of Stage 4 (Redhead to Jewells Station) and 5 (Jewells Station to Belmont Station) which would see an additional 5.5km and completion of the project, providing 15km of continuous off-road shared cycle and pathway.

The railway opened in the late 1880's. It was used to transport coal from mines in the Lake Macquarie area to the Port of Newcastle. Evidence of some of the mines is still visible from the track.It was also used as a passenger service between Belmont and Newcastle with stations at Kahibah, Whitebridge and Redhead. The last passenger train ran in 1971 and during the 1980's as coal mines along the corridor began to close down the line ceased to be used in 1991.

Last updated June 2009.