Abandoned Helensburgh Railway
Details
As of Now, this location has been closed and fenced off.
Old Abandoned Helensburgh Tunnel
This hidden gem is tucked away in the suburb of Helensburgh near Wollongong in NSW, and can be very easy to miss if you don’t know where to find it, but it is truly fascinating and is an insight into the past. Built in the mid 1800s and retired in 1920, the tunnel is now used for exploring and is excellent for photography. If you are brave enough to walk deep into the darkness of the tunnel and turn off your torch, wait awhile to let your eyes adjust, look up, and you will see hundreds of glow worms. The tunnel also creates some interesting echoes, or some say its haunted! Because the tunnel sits at the bottom of a gully between two rock cliffs ensure that when you go you are wearing sturdy comfortable shoes that you don’t mind getting wet (or completely destroyed!) because of the often muddy conditions. Don’t forget to take a torch and see how far into the tunnel you can make it before getting spooked...
How to get there
Address- 2 Vera Street Helensburgh
Drive down the winding road to the bottom of the hill, to your left there is a carpark and a dirt track off the suburban road. Depending on the day you may also be able to park in the carpark at the new Helensburgh train station. Take a short walk back up the road from the new station, and through the trees. The rock corridor is straight ahead in a temperate rainforest. Look out for the tunnel entrance, the big, bold ‘HELENSBURGH’ sign on the old platform, and remains of the old rail tracks. The tunnel can be accessed at any time of the day, but after it has rained there will be a small waterfall down the right-hand side. Once inside the tunnel (watch your step) you can walk as far as you want and view the glow-worms on the walls and ceiling.
Dear pioneer walks……
The information I have indicates the tunnel is closed.
Could you pls confirm?
Hi Lisa,
We believe this to be true. However access can be organised, we are just unaware as to how or who to contact. Sorry we couldn’t be of more help.
We used to do this walk with st John’s Anglican church Penshurst in the 90s. I’d guess the walk leader would be passed now he was not so young back then. There is more than one tunnel and we used to maintain the track with machetes for the national parks as part of our access agreement I would say it would be state or national parks you need to contact to get access there is also in one of the old tunnels a mushroom farm now.tjere are tunnels from Helensburgh to Stanwell tops area
All good
The tunnel is now open again (Dec 2022) with all gates removed 🙂