page_title: North Coast railway line, New South Wales
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: North Coast railway line, New South Wales / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Paterson Railway Bridge, 1910. Source: New South Wales Department of Public Works. Photographs illustrating report for 1909–1910. No. 2 - "North Coast Railway. Bridge over the Paterson River". Published 1909–1910. Copy available in the State Library of New South Wales, among other places: see here or else search the PICMAN database (a copy is not available online).
context_page_description: The North Coast Line is the primary rail route in the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers regions of New South Wales, Australia, and forms a major part of the Sydney–Brisbane rail corridor.
  The line begins at Maitland and ends at Roma Street railway station in Brisbane, although freight services terminate at the yard at Acacia Ridge on the outskirts of Brisbane. Along the way, the railway passes through the towns of Dungog, Gloucester, Wingham, Taree, Kendall, Wauchope, Kempsey, Macksville, Nambucca Heads, Urunga, Sawtell, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Casino and Kyogle. After the standard gauge line ends at Acacia Ridge, it forms a dual gauge line into Brisbane, running alongside parts of the Beenleigh railway line.
  Since the Main Northern Line was closed north of Armidale in 1988, the North Coast line is now the only route between Sydney and Queensland. With the closure of former branches to Dorrigo and Murwillumbah there are no operating branches off the line.
  The Bonalbo branch from Casino was stillborn, with partial construction left incomplete.
  At the NSW/Queensland border is a long tunnel called Border Tunnel.
context_section_description: The first North Coast railway was opened between Murwillumbah, Byron Bay and Lismore in 1894 and extended to Casino in 1903 and Grafton in 1905. A branch line was built to Kyogle in 1910 and extended to South Brisbane in 1930.
  The line was built between 1905 and 1932, and when completed, bypassed the Main North line and provided a quicker route up the eastern seaboard. The development of the line was hampered by the many large rivers that flow through the North Coast. The line also features the Cougal Spiral, which is one of only two spirals in New South Wales.
  A railway was built from Maitland to Paterson and Dungog in 1911. It was extended to Gloucester and Taree in 1913 and Wauchope, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, Glenreagh and South Grafton (now Grafton station) in 1915.
  The Clarence River was the most difficult river to cross and it was not crossed until 1932. In the meantime services were connected by rail ferry that carried the carriages across the river. The opening of the Grafton Bridge in 1932 completed the Sydney – Brisbane line as the first standard gauge inter-capital link.
  The completion of the Sydney–Brisbane link saw the Casino–Murwillumbah line become a branch line. In 1930 a branch line had been added to Ballina but this closed in 1949. The Murwillumbah branch closed in 2004.
  A picturesque branch was opened from Glenreagh to Dorrigo in 1924, but was difficult to maintain due to the steep terrain and high rainfall and it was closed in 1972 after a washaway.  The Glenreagh to Ulong section is proposed for reopening as a heritage tourist railway by the Glenreagh Mountain Railway.  The Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum is also being set up in Dorrigo as a museum and working exhibit.
caption: Paterson bridge under construction in 1910
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