The first railway to operate in NSW was between Sydney and Parramatta in 1855. It was not long before other population centres were demanding rail transport to replace the existing horse drawn transport of carts and coaches.
Orchardists in the Hills district were concerned that the fruit that was being transported overland to the river jetties on the Parramatta River at Ermington and Parramatta or to the new railway at Parramatta were prone to damage on the rough roads in the area.
With the building of the Northern rail line to Hornsby in the 1880s, railway stations were opened at Pennant Hills and Thornleigh with a goods yard at Thornleigh in 1886. However, in 1897 six residents from Pennant Hills formed a deputation to the Railway Commissioner to argue for a goods siding at Pennant Hills which was built the following year.
Whilst the Hornsby or Northern line assisted residents and orchardists in the eastern part of the Hills, and the western portion of the district was being assisted by the extension of the line with stations at Toongabbie, Seven Hills, and further, with the creation of the Hawkesbury branch line to Riverstone, Mulgrave, Windsor and Richmond, residents and orchardists in the remainder of the Hills felt overlooked.
A private railway was established in 1886 from Clyde to Rosehill, known as Bennett’s Railway. In 1893 legislation was passed authorising the building of an additional railway line, Simpson’s Railway, which was to run from Bennett’s existing railway to Dural and to be built in three sections.
The first section was to Carlingford, second to Rogan’s Hill, and third to Dural. Only the first section was completed when both Bennett’s and Simpson’s Railways ran into financial difficulties. The State government then bought the private lines creating what was to become the Carlingford line.
In 1881, a deputation of property owners from the Hills met with the Minister for Public Works to urge for the construction of a light railway from Parramatta to Baulkham Hills, Castle Hill and Dural and as far as Pennant Hills. This was put forward again in 1884.
Fruit growers in the Hills decided to form a co-operative society to be called the Central Cumberland Co-operative Tramway and Fruit Packing Ltd. The idea was to construct and operate a tramway to run from Castle Hill to Parramatta Park gates where they would link up with the Redbank tramway which ran down George Street to the Parramatta River at Camellia.
The Co-operative also intended to purchase the Redbank tramway. The potential loss of freight for the Government-owned railways concerned the Government so much that in 1887 the Government decided to build and operate a tramway from Baulkham Hills to Parramatta, six years after the initial deputation.
The Baulkham Hills line opened on the 16th August 1902. Construction commenced in 1909 on an extension to Castle Hill which opened to the public on 1st August 1910 the line was extended to Rogan’s Hill in 24th November 1924. Rogan’s Hill had finally got a railway.
The line had served initially as a tram line when first opened and as a railway when it closed on the 31st January 1932. It was not until June 1934 that the last of the tracks and platforms had been removed. You can still see signs of where the railway once stood. Model Farms Siding reserve between Folini Ave and Windsor Rd Northmead is one such location. Other indications are evident in street names such as Railway St, Baulkham Hills and Terminus St, Castle Hill.
