In June, 1950, the North Coast railway line was subjected to cyclonic conditions and the coastal rivers soon rose but the water rose too fast and too high for authorities to retain control.

Anxiety increased as heavy rain continued in the catchment. Local rain had flooded the Lower Macleay where floodwater was unable to get away because of the high tide and the siltation of the river.

The relief ferry at Greenhill was swept from its moorings and smashed into the old pump station before crashing through a section of the railway viaduct, finishing upside down beside the Kempsey Park.

The railway bridge had been repaired in 1949 costing £80,000. The damage to the timber viaduct in 1950 was more extensive than the 1949 flood but there was no damage to the steel bridge which was unharmed by the force of the debris washing against it. The bank between the steel bridge and the viaduct was 75 per cent washed away while the middle viaduct had three spans washed away, undoing all the previous temporary work.

Because of the damage, passengers were transferred by bus and goods were trans-shipped by lorries between Kempsey and Middleton St where a depot had been established.

By the middle of July, about 200 men along with bulldozers and trucks were employed working two 12-hour shifts.

Thirty of the 160 new piles had been driven despite frequent icing-up of the compressed air pipes.

Traffic on the line between Kempsey and Murwillumbah resumed a week after the flood while it was expected that rail communication from the south would be blocked for at least a month.

After six weeks, on August 18, the final span was put in place and the track was tested. Full service was resumed on Sunday, August 20.

In the time that the line had been out of commission, over 18,000 tons of goods and 29,000 passengers had been transferred between the Kempsey Railway Station and the depot at Middleton St using 850 buses and lorries.

Never before in the history of Australia had there been an attempt at trans-shipment of passengers from four passenger trains daily over such a long period — six weeks.

The highest praise was given to the local railway workers who had played such a vital role in reopening the line for traffic.

Macleay River Historical Society

Watch for more railway snippets leading up to the Kempsey Centenary of Rail on November 27. Copies of the photographs are available from the Macleay River Historical Society, phone, 6562-7572.