Cooerwull Footbridge

A station at Cooerwull, just west of Lithgow, and its footbridge, were provided in 1941 as a wartime expedient to accommodate the very large number of workers at the nearby Lithgow Small Arms Factory. Residential needs were in excess of the local area’s housing capacity, so commuting by train from other Blue Mountains towns had to be arranged.

The platforms were quickly built of timber, obviously intended to be in use only for the duration of the war. A footbridge was provided to cross the track and it was also quickly built, consisting of pairs of heavy timbers leaning against each other across a cutting as a kind of simple arch supported by relatively large concrete foundation thrust blocks.

Two other footbridges of essentially the same design had been built further east at Hazelbrook and Woodford in the early 1920s.

Even after the station had closed, the timber bridge was useful for locals wishing to cross the line so it was maintained until about 1995 when it was replaced with a modern steel and concrete structure. But the quirky old bridge was deemed to have some historical value so was lifted bodily and placed on new thrust blocks, as well as being propped midspan, and displayed parallel with the railway above the cutting.

Later it was decided that this static and inaccessible preservation without purpose could be improved, so the bridge was relocated to Top Points station on the Zig Zag Tourist Railway, just east of Lithgow. The bridge thus performs a useful role in preservation. The bridges at Hazelbrook and Woodford have not survived.