The Final Years
Until the early 1960s, coal trains on the Belmont Branch consisted of rakes of non-air-braked, 4-wheel hopper wagons hauled by either a 50 class or a 53 class Standard Goods locomotive on allotment to Port Waratah depot. Locomotives operated tender first towards Belmont and carried respirators for working through Fernleigh Tunnel. From 1,963 bhp (1,464 kW) progressively introduced its own CXD bogie hopper wagons to the Belmont line traffic.
From August 1965, 48-class diesel locomotives took over from the steam engines on the coal trains, however there were brief periods when steam returned because of a shortage of diesel motive power. Later, 44, 45 and 47 class diesels were authorised to work the line, 47 class being particularly prevalent.
Following the closure of Lambton Colliery at Redhead, the last operating pit in the area in late 1991, the Belmont Branch was closed from 19 December 1991.
Read more about this topic: Belmont Railway Line
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