Rhodes Timber Company Siding

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Type : Siding
Line : North Coast Line
Distance from Sydney : 341.100km
Opened : unknown
Closed : unknown
Status : Closed
Name meaning : After the name of the company that operated the mill
Notes: Mentioned in the 1930 local appendix

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Location of the siding 300 metres to the north of Somerset station.

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1923 fire at the mill

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Article from 1927:



The Rhodes Timber Co., which for a good many years has been spending large sums of money in the Mount George district, recently
completed a new mill on Knorrit State Forest, as an adjunct to the one at Mount George. Their tram line goes some eight miles into the
mountain spur, rising about 900ft., right into the big timber in this State forest. It had been the practice to bring the logs down with
a tractor, but the new move is to cut the logs on the hill and rail the sawn timber down to their siding on the railway line. At the new mill
some 35,000ft. of logs are cut weekly.


The logs are drawn to the tramline by a powerful hauler, which operates for distances up to 50 chains, pulling the logs out of the gullies and
ravines to where they can be trucked for the mill. At the present time there is not a bullock team working for this mill, the hauler being sufficient to supply a capacity
output, keeping the mill constantly going. Sixteen men are at present engaged thereabouts. Under ordinary circumstances water would provide a difficulty so far from creeks,
but Mr. W.. J. Sinclair (Manager) informs us that they were successful in locating a spring which gives more water than is required and it
gravitates to the mill through 65 chains of 2-inch pipe. This supplies the hauler as well.


Mount George Mill, which has been working for the last month, had to be closed on Thursday owing to shortage of logs, and it is not expected that it will he reopened till
the first week in the new year. In the meantime it is intended to install a second and larger hauler some three-quarters of a mile down the
hill from Knorrit mill with which to ensure a permanent supply of logs for thee Mount George mill. The water will be gravitated through an
Inch pipe to this hauler. A new and improved type of tractor is also to he installed for this work. When this is complete the company expect to
he able to keep both mills running at full capacity, and there will not be one 1 bullock team on the job.. .

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The Final Flutter, Tulloch's home-made standard-gauge geared steam locomotive at Mount George sawmill. It weighed over 36 tons and was too heavy for the wooden-railed logging tramway and apparently broke 14 rails and 28 sleepers during its first and only trial on the line in 1925. An extra chock has been put between the sleepers to support the wooden rail under the leading bogie's trailing wheel. An NSWGR goods truck can be seen on the mill's private siding just behind and to the right of the locomotive. Photo: P Sellars courtesy of Jim Longworth