The Sunnyside of Life

The line north of Glenn Innes saw it's last train on Sunday 22 October 1989 - a steam train hauled by 3001 - commemorating Henry Parkes Federation address of 100 years earlier. This train only made it to Tenterfield. The last train to Wallangarra is believed to be a private extension of the Friday's only north Mail to Tenterfield which ran on 18 November 1988, hauled by 4491. Since the demise of regular passenger trains to Wallangarra in 1972the 19 kilometres between Tenterfield and Wallangarra had seen considerably few trains, by the 1980s they were few and far between.
783.957 kilometres from Central is the platform of Sunnyside. Just over 10 kilometres from Tenterfield and 8.2 kilometres before Wallangarra it is the last but one station on the Main North Line. Opened on 16 January 1888 and closed as a station on 12 May 1973, the platform still exists.
280 metres to the north of the platform is the bridge over Tenterfield Creek. It is one of the delightful Whitton queen post ballast top bridge's and has up of six 42 foot spans spans.
A passing visit in late December 2013 saw that at least two of the spans have failed and it is only a matter of time before one of the spans collapses.

A view from the Up side northern end.

The two northern spans

The northernmost span

The abutment at the northern end

The two centre spans

The 'builder's plate on the adjacent road bridge

The abutment at the northern end

The northernmost span

The second to last northernmost span

The southernmost span, another failed span

The southern abutment

The two southern spans

The centre spans

The centre spans