Overview
Below is a drawing showing main inclines,
sawmills and tramways in the Mt Donna Buang and Mt Victoria forests, in the years 1902 to 1932. The route of the O'Shannassy
Aqueduct (built 1911-1915) is indicated.
The Richard's Mill tramway incline terminated very close to the present-day "Warburton
View Lookout", on the Mt Donna Buang Tourist Rd.
Inclines
A
common element of timber tramway systems were inclines. These took the form of two-railed winch-operated haulages where the
load had to ascend the incline, or three-railed gravity-operated lowering-gears where the load had to descend the incline.
While the valuable cast-iron wheels of the latter were often
removed, isolated examples remain intact, and many still retain frames of heavy timbers in which the wheels were originally
mounted.
In the map, the red
arrows show where the main inclines crossed the O'Shannassy Aqueduct - the concrete bridges still exist
and may be inspected along the Aqueduct Trail!
