Farewell to the Carlingford Line

John Bennett constructed a new private railway line from Clyde to the Rosehill racecourse by 1888, along with the new Sandown Line to service the industrial area along the banks of the Parramatta and Duck Rivers. 

A few years later in 1896 Simpson built another private railway that extended from Rosehill to Carlingford, primarily to transport produce to Sydney. 

Both the Bennett and Simpson private railway lines failed to prosper and by the end of 1896, both railways were in the hands of bank. 

By 1901 the NSW Government had bought the lines and recommenced passenger railways which have serviced the local community until this year. 

From 2020 the Carlingford Line will closed ahead of conversion to the Parramatta Light Rail which will connect Westmead to Carlingford via the Parramatta CBD and Camellia.

On Saturday 4 January 2020, Sydney Trains, Transport Heritage NSW, the Carlingford Rotary Club and Parramatta City Council teamed up with the local community and enthusiasts to celebrate 132 years of railway history. 

Read more about the history of Carlingford Line in the below PDF and enjoy our commemorative video.  

The Carlingford Line - Celebrating  132 Years (PDF, 9.15 MB)

Find out more about the history of the Carlingford Line and local area.