The Great Zig Zag | |
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Lithgow Zig Zag | |
Top, middle, and bottom parts of the Zig Zag railway | |
Locale | Western Blue Mountains, New South Wales |
Coordinates | 33°28′33″S 150°11′52″E / 33.475882°S 150.197875°E |
Commercial operations | |
Name | NSW Government Railways Great Western Railway |
Built by | Patrick Higgins (contractor for NSWGR) |
Original gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
Preserved operations | |
Operated by | Zig Zag Railway Cooperative (established 1972) as Zig Zag Railway |
Stations | Clarence, Mt Sinai Halt, No1 Viaduct, Top Points, Cockerton, Bottom Points |
Length | 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) |
Preserved gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) |
Commercial history | |
Opened | 18 October 1869 |
Closed | 16 October 1910 (bypassed by the Ten Tunnels Deviation) |
Website | |
zigzagrailway | |
Official name | Great Zig Zag Railway and Reserves; Zig Zag Railway |
Type | State heritage (complex / group) |
Criteria | a., c., d., e. |
Designated | 2 April 1999 |
Reference no. | 542 |
Type | Railway |
Category | Transport – Rail |
Builders | Patrick Higgins (contractor) |
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The Lithgow Zig Zag is a heritage-listed former zig zag railway line built near Lithgow on the Great Western Line of New South Wales in Australia. The zig zag line operated between 1869 and 1910, to overcome an otherwise insurmountable climb and descent on the western side of the Blue Mountains. It was designed by John Whitton and built from 1863 to 1869 by Patrick Higgins as contractor. It is also known as the Great Zig Zag Railway and Reserves and Zig Zag Railway. The property is owned by Department of Planning and Infrastructure (State Government). It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.[1]
Part of the railway line is now used by the Zig Zag Railway, a narrow gauge tourist railway.