With the second part of my trip to Newnes, we left Mt Wolgan Sidings and headed North towards the town. As we drove in I could see the 3 wagons sitting just down the road a bit from the old Newnes pub. We parked the car and began to photograph them for a while. Unfortunately with all the excitement though, I forgot to take a photo of the actual pub building!
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| The sign on the way to Newnes reads NEWNES Everything money can't buy |
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The cliffs around Newnes are an impressive sight.
It's a shame the pics don't do them justice
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| The 3 wagons just meters away from the pub |
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| I'm not too sure what this 4 wheel wagon is, so if anyone knows could you please let me know?? |
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| A steel under frame of a S truck |
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A wooden under frame NSWGR S truck painted up like a John Fell & Co LTD
wagon |
As we entered the old front bar, we met the owner who was very friendly and informative. He pulled out a map and took the time to give us an interesting history lesson about the area and pointed out the directions to the Old Shale Refinery, which was really helpful. There were a number of books for sale and historic pictures on display.
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A HO scale representation of a Wolgan Valley loco and wagons in
Newnes pub |
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A few historic pics which are displayed in the front bar. Unfortunately ginger
beer is the only type of beer you can buy there these days. |
Our next plan was to see the old Newnes platform. The owner told us to walk approximately 150 meters north from the pub until we could see some stepping stones in the water, which he had placed there for easier access across the river. You can also cross with a 4WD.
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| A pic of me crossing the Wolgan River. Thanks Rachel, not my best angle! |
As we approached the Newnes station platform, we came across the Shay locomotive tender body, which was another thing I was hoping to see. It was upside down and rusted out but still very cool to see! The platform itself is still in good condition for its age.
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| The Newnes station platform |
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| The camping ground at Newnes |
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| A few Kangaroos in the camping grounds |
And so our exploring through Newnes came to an end... It was definately a great place to visit and I would love to go back there again, as a few hours just wasn't long enough. I am sure there are alot more hidden treasures around the Valley that we didn't come across (including a wombat) however, we were farewelled by a big group of Roos which were sitting at the campground!
Stay tuned for my Old Shale Oil Refinery adventure!!
Till next time
Mathew Hughes
The open wagon at Newnes painted in the John Fell & Co Livery isnt actually an S wagon, Its very similar but very different at the same time, Its actually a Modified B wagon (The sides were cut down) and these were called W wagons (W, I believe was the wagon class for service vehicles). The box van painted in Commonwealth Oil Corp livery Is, I believe, A CW (Cattle wagon/Van) which has been modified to have complete sides, I believe this is so due to the large doors on one side of the wagon.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
-Brett Leahy