Summit Tank To Unanderra Cab View (Steepest Continual Railway Grade In Australia)

Construction began on the Unanderra - Moss Vale line in June 1925 and was completed in August 1932 with the rail industry eager for a direct link between Moss Vale and Wollongong/Port Kembla. Today the line sees only freight with the occasional heritage train traversing the line with ticketed passengers. Summit Tank where this video begins has an old station and is situated around 575m above sea level. Unanderra where this video ends has an elevation of just 14m above sea level making for a steep descent down to the South Coast of NSW. This video takes place in real time as a fully loaded grain train drops from Summit Tank to Unanderra heading to Wollongongs Inner Harbour. Drivers utilise both Dynamic and train braking to get the load down the Illawarra Mountain safely. Trains heading to Wollongong must not reach a maximum speed of over 30km/h, due to the steep grades it is thought that any speed reached over 30 train crew may not be able to bring the train to a stand again. Crew will usually aim to keep the train travelling at no more than 25-28km/h making for a relatively slow but safe trip. The hold test conducted at Summit Tank indicates to drivers the time in which it takes from releasing the brakes to when the train starts rolling, this indication gives a rough idea as to how long it takes for the brakes to fully release on the train. The video has been posted without sound out of respect for crew privacy.