Steam at Clarence Station, Zig Zag

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Originally uploaded by gtveloce

The Great Zig Zag, indeed.

It's a bit out of Sydney but hey, this is part of Sydney's history too. There was a zig-zag section on both sides of the Blue Mountains in the 19th Century. Whilst this was slow - it required engines to stop, decouple and 'run around' to drive the train up or down the next section, it was cheaper and easier to build at the time.

There was also a zig-zag railway at Thornleigh in Sydney that went from the station area down to a mine.