Bowenfels Railway Station - Bowenfels, NSW
Posted by: 
Tuena
S 33° 28.593 E 150° 08.131
56H E 233816 N 6292208
Bowenfels Railway Station (the first station in the Lithgow valley) opened on 18 October 1869.
Waymark Code: WMKNK0
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 05/06/2014
Views: 6
No expense was spared on the construction of the buildings which survive today as the station and station master’s residence. Both were finely crafted in sandstone by the contractor G. Watsford and designed by John Clifton, New South Wales Government Railways engineer.
Passenger services were withdrawn in 1974 and the station was closed.
The station was restored in 1994 and operated as the Lithgow tourist information office until 2004. It is presently vacant. You can walk around the station but the Station Master's Residence is surrounded by security fencing.
The Environment & Heritage Office NSW Government (
visit link) states of Bowenfels Railway Station:
Bowenfels station and residence is of state significance as the earliest railway station beyond the Blue Mountains and remaining in use with minimal alteration for 105 years. The quality of the stonework and Victorian Rustic Gothic design of the buildings are of aesthetic significance. It is one of the best surviving stone station groups with intact early buildings that represent the first major phase of railway construction over the Blue Mountains during the 1860s and 1870s.
The Station Master's residence is an unusual railway structure exhibiting excellent design as does the station building with intact slate roofs and original detailing. Bowenfels railway station is of historical significance for its role in the development of the Bowenfels area paving the way for the exploitation of local coal reserves, which lead to the development of Lithgow as a mining and industrial centre.