The Zig Zag Railway

 I had held on to a long term hope that one day, I could travel on the Zig Zag Railway (originally built in 1869) to carry goods and passengers up the steep sided valleys of the Blue Mountains.  The track was cut over a three year period with picks and wheelbarrows in the form of a sloping "Z" up the side of a valley.  The engine had to be detached, moved to the other end of the train and reattached to move up each section of the "Z".  My father had ridden the train years ago but bushfires had destroyed the infrastructure.  However volunteers have restored the train to immaculate condition so I had my opportunity.  

We traveled west from Sydney onto the Blue Mountains. Having seen the terrain, it is not difficult to understand the problems of the pioneers trying to move from east to west in the Blue Mountains.  The valleys are huge and steep.

We booked into our luxury accommodation at Blackheath (the only rooms available) ready to travel the railroad the following day.