The Barraba branch railway line is a closed railway line in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The line, which was opened on 21 September 1908,Barraba branch
– NSWrail.net ran for north along the Manilla valley to the town of

Barraba Barraba is a town in the New England region of northern New South Wales, Australia. It was formerly the centre of Barraba Shire local government area, but most of this, including Barraba, was absorbed into Tamworth Regional Council in 2004. On ...

from the

Main North railway line The Main North Line (also known as the Great Northern Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia, running from Strathfield in Sydney to Armidale. The 1980s saw the line closed progressively north of Armidale; passenger services ...

West Tamworth West Tamworth is a suburb of Tamworth, New South Wales, Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia, in the city's west. It is between South Tamworth and Taminda (Tamworth Industrial Area). It is an important commercial and residential area of Tamworth. ...

. The railway line crossed the

Namoi River The Namoi River, a major perennial river that is part of the Barwon catchment of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands and North West Slopes districts of New South Wales, Australia. The Namoi River rises on the west ...

at Manilla over a large viaduct and crossed the Peel River just before Attunga. Two Howe timber truss bridges, one over Borah Creek in Upper Manilla (575 km from Sydney Central) and the other over Oakey Creek between Manilla and Attunga (539 km), are heritage listed. In the 1970s, the Barraba line was served by the unique railmotor, CHP38 (also known as the

Creamy Kate Creamy Kate is a former New South Wales Government Railways railmotor, numbered 38. It is an evolution of the CPH rail motor class. Overview Between 1923 and 1930, the New South Wales Government Railways took delivery of 37 of the 42-Foot (CPH) ...

).''Return Trip to Barraba in CHP38'' Blackwell, Greg

Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin ''Australian Railway History'' is a monthly magazine covering railway history in Australia, published by the New South Wales Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society on behalf of its state and territory Divisions. History and pro ...

, July, 2000 pp259-266 At that period, large quantities of asbestos was railed from Barraba in containers for export. The line is now open for only for use as grain wagon storage. A stop block is in place at Dampier Street, Tamworth and the line was damaged by flood along Wallamore Road on 29 November 2008 On 24 November 2017, it was announced that the line from West Tamworth to Westdale silos would be rebuilt for a new freight centre.

References

Closed regional railway lines in New South Wales Railway lines opened in 1908 1908 establishments in Australia Main North railway line, New South Wales {{NewSouthWales-rail-transport-stub