HISTORY OP CIVIL ENGINEERING IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 601 



of both compaiiies of the hopelessness of carrying out the works 

 so as to yield a fair return for tlie capital invested, and they 

 ultimately agreed to transfer their property to the Government. 



Three Railway Commissioners were appointed, with Captain 

 Ward as chief, and the railways became the property of tlie Govern- 

 ment from the 3rd September, 1855, from which time up to the 

 present they have been carried on by Government officers. On 

 the 15th June, 1857, Mr. John Whitton, M. Inst. C.E., was 

 appointed Engineer-in-Chief for Railways, which position he 

 still holds. 



The railways of New South Wales (PL XLL), though essentially 

 -one entire concern as the property of the Government, consist 

 of the following : — Southern Line : Main Southern line, Sydney to 

 Albury, three hundred and eighty-eight miles ; South-Western 

 line, Junee to Hay and Jerilderie, two hundred and thirty-two 

 miles ; Cootamundra to Gundagai, thirty-three miles ; Goulburn 

 to Cooma, one hundred and thirty miles ; Darling Harbour 

 branch, one mile ; Illawarra branch, Sydney to Kiama, seventy- 

 one miles. Western Line : Main Western line, Granville to 

 Bonrke, four hundred and eighty-nine miles ; Richmond branch, 

 Blacktown to Richmond, sixteen miles ; Mudgee branch, Wallera- 

 wang to Mudgee, eighty-tive miles ; Blaney to IVlurrumburrah, 

 ninety-five miles; Orange to Molong, twenty -two miles. Northern 

 Line : Strathtield to Wai*atah, ninety-two and a-half miles ; 

 Newcastle to Tentei'field, three hundred and eighty-two miles ; 

 Werris Creek branch to Narrabri, ninety-seven miles. Grand 

 total: 2,1385^ miles. 



All the railways in the colony are constructed for a single line, 

 except the following which are double : — 1. Darling Harbour 

 branch. 2. Sydney to Penrith. 3. Sydney to Hurstville. 4. 

 Newcastle to Maitland. 5. Bottom Points of Great Zig-zag to 

 Bowenfells. 



LINES CONTEMPLATED. 



Southern Line : Wagga Wagga to Tumberumba, Gundagai to 

 Tumut, Tarago to Braidwood, Goulburn to Cookwell, Eden-Bega. 

 Western Line : Orange to Wilcannia, Nyngan to Cobar, Bathurst 

 to Lockley, Dubbo to Young through Forbes and Parkes. 

 Northern Line : Narrabri to Walgett, Muswellbi-ook to Cassilis, 

 Glen Innes to Inverell and Grafton, Maitland to Cudgen through 

 Grafton. See map prepared by Mr. John Whitton, M. Inst. C.E., 

 Engineer-in-Chief. (PI. XLI.) 



The English gauge of four feet eight and a-half inches is used 

 throughout the New South Wales Railways (Mr. Shields recom- 

 mended the Irish gauge, five feet three inches, and an Act was 

 passed in 1852 fixing this gauge for the colonies) the reason of its 

 adoption is to be found in Mr, Wallace's letter to the directors, 

 ^th of September, 1853, in which he says : — "The narrow gauge 



