Traditional owners

We acknowledge the Gumbaynggir people, the traditional custodians of the land and waterways on which the rail trail will be built.

Development and future of the rail trail

In 2023. Tallowood Ventures Ltd, a not-for-profit registered charity,  took over the lower section, (Glenreagh to Ulong), from the “Glenreagh Mountain Railway”, and renamed the corridor “Tallowood Mountain Rail Trail” to reflect the timber history of the area. This organisation is currently clearing sections of the line between Glenreagh and Ulong. restoring the infrastructure, including the steam engine, 1919,  and surveying the complete route to be re-used as a rail trail.

Glenreagh Mountain Railway built a shed to preserve the 1919 steam engine, a diesel engine and carriages. This infrastructure has been transferred to Tallowood Ventures in 2023 who have been working to restore the engine, and have plans in the future to restore the carriages.

Rail line history 

The 69km Dorrigo railway branches off the North Coast main line at Glenreagh and climbs climbs 664m up to the Dorrigo Plateau. It was built to allow products to be brought to nearby port towns and several routes were surveyed, with the route from Glenreagh eventually chosen.

The steep terrain and high rainfall made construction and maintenance difficult. Due to the tight curves, a check rail was employed in numerous places. Two tunnels and many bridges were required.

Apart from the end points of Dorrigo and Glenreagh, the stations on this line were very small, often consisting of a short platform with a small shelter. The major traffic on this line was timber.

The line was unprofitable for much of its life and when several washaways occurred in 1972, it was decided to suspend services rather than to repair the damage.

Two groups then tried to reopen different sections of the railway line. Unusual legislation for NSW was passed in 1993 to allow the line to be officially closed and sold.

The Glenreagh to Ulong section was bought by the Glenreagh Mountain Railway.

The Ulong to Dorrigo section was bought by the Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum (DSRM) who formerly had plans to run services on the top half of the line. Dorrigo station and yard are currently used to store DSRM’s large rolling stock collection which is not open to the public. The station has not yet been restored. An impressive viaduct bridge remains about 1 km from Dorrigo and all the railway crossing signposting remains on the road as it criss-crosses the line.