Bowenfels | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Station front in October 2004 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | Bowenfels, City of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia Australia | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 33°28′37″S 150°08′08″E / 33.4769°S 150.1355°E | ||||||||||
| Owned by | Transport Asset Holding Entity | ||||||||||
| Operated by | Public Transport Commission | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | Main Western | ||||||||||
| Distance | 158.2 km (98.3 mi) from Central | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side (1 demolished) | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Architect | John Clifton; NSW Government Railway | ||||||||||
| Architectural style | Victorian Rustic Gothic | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Status | Closed | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 18 October 1869 | ||||||||||
| Closed | 21 September 1974 | ||||||||||
| Electrified | Yes | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Official name | Bowenfels Railway Station and Stationmaster's House; Old Station Masters Residence and Station | ||||||||||
| Type | State heritage (complex / group) | ||||||||||
| Designated | 2 April 1999 | ||||||||||
| Reference no. | 475 | ||||||||||
| Type | Railway Platform/ Station | ||||||||||
| Category | Transport - Rail | ||||||||||
| Builders | G. Watsford, NSW Government Railway | ||||||||||
The Bowenfels railway station is a heritage-listed disused railway station and now visitor's centre and restaurant located on the Main Western line at Bowenfels, in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John Clifton and the New South Wales Government Railways and built from 1869 to 1869 by G. Watsford, NSW Government Railway. It is also known as the Bowenfels Railway Station and Stationmaster's House and Old Station Masters Residence and Station. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.[1]
The sandstone station opened on 18 October 1869 with the construction of the railway and was electrified in 1957 as part of the Blue Mountains line electrification programme. The electrification was to continue to Wallerawang but was curtailed 300 metres (980 ft) west of Bowenfels station.[2][3] On 14 August 1972, the station staff were removed and two of the three daily passenger services were cut back to Lithgow, with the remaining service following on 21 September 1974 and the station closed.[2][3][4]
In 1989, with State Rail Authority road coaches causing congestion around Lithgow station, one of the solutions considered was building an interchange at Bowenfels and reinstating electric services from Sydney.[5] This wasn't pursued with an interchange being built at Lithgow instead. The station was restored in 1994 and operated as the Lithgow tourist information office until 2004.[6] A new Visitor Information Centre was built nearby that year, the main feature being a giant representation of a miner's lamp. Although not in regular use the overhead electric wires remain in situ and up until at least 1987 were kept serviceable by running light engine movements.[7]
- ^ "Bowenfels Railway Station and Stationmaster's House". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00475. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
- ^ a b Bowenfels Station NSWrail.net
- ^ a b "Bowenfels Railway Station Group & Residence". New South Wales Heritage Database. Office of Environment & Heritage.
- ^ "20 Years Ago" Railway Digest August 1992 page 323
- ^ "SRA Buses Cause Trouble in Lithgow" Railway Digest May 1989 page 172
- ^ Bowenfels Railway Station Lithgow Tourism
- ^ "Western Report" Railway Digest July 1987 page 212
