Boxvale Colliery Coal Colliery (Australia)

Boxvale Colliery was constructed in 1883 to supply coal to the Fitz Roy Iron Works in Mittagong, NSW. This ironworks was the first to be constructed in Australia, the remains of which can be inspected beneath the Woolworths supermarket! A standard gauge track was constructed in 1888 to a point on a bluff above the colliery and was in operation until 1896 when the colliery closed. This track is now the Boxvale Walking Trail. A steep incline (it descends 170m over a horizontal distance of 500m) was built down to the drift mine. The inclined railway comprised of a double narrow gauge track which incorporated a counter balance system and was powered by a steam engine at the top of the incline. The coal seam was said to be 10m thick but only the lower 2m was economic to extract.