Title Trackwork for the Perisher Skitube
Author Crook, N
Conference Permanent Way Institution (PWI) NSW 1988 Annual Convention: Railways in Focus
Publication Date 1988-10-14
Location Server
ARRB library
Abstract The Snowy Mountains in south eastern New South Wales contains Australia's most popular skifields and each winter there is a huge influx of visitors to the mountain resorts. Access to the resorts has till now been by private car supplemented by buses but during the past decade it had become apparent that the existing road and parking facilities were inadequate for the steadily increasing demand. Construction of a rack railway from below the snow line to the two major resorts at Perisher and Blue Cow with almost all of it running underground thus preventing major environmental damage was accepted by the National Parks and Wildlife Service as a preferred way to overcome the road problems. Construction of the 1435 mm gauge rack railway is now complete. The railway is a stand alone railway and is only 8 km long. Its primary purpose is to transport snowfields enthusiasts from below the snow line in the Thredbo River Valley to the Perisher and Blue Cow snowfields. The railway commenced operation from Bullocks Terminal to Perisher on 26 July 1987. Operation from Perisher to Blue Cow commenced during the 1988 Easter weekend. The Perisher Skitube Joint Venture appointed Maunsell and Partners to design the earthworks external to the tunnel, to investigate and report upon the type of track structure to be used for the Skitube and to prepare detailed trackwork designs. This paper reports on the investigations undertaken and recommendation made for the track structure. It also reports on the track structure actually used in constructing the Skitube.
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Paper 1 Trackwork for the Perisher Skitube
Subjects Railway track
Rail transport
Structural design
Structural analysis