Ropes Crossing is a suburb of Blacktown, Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ropes Crossing is located 49 kilometres (30 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.
Ropes Crossing was originally part of the suburb of St Marys. The suburb is named as a crossing of Ropes Creek, a watercourse which is approximately 23 kilometres (14 mi) long rising near Devils Back Tunnel and flowing north into South Creek. The creek itself was named for Anthony Rope, a First Fleet convict who it is assumed was granted land fronting the creek.
The area was the site of a World War II munitions area, now formerly known as Australian Defence Industries or (ADI). The area had its own railway line which was electrified in 1957. When the line first opened on 1 May 1942, it only ran from St Marys to Dunheved at a distance of 50.350 rail kilometres from Central railway station and on 29 June 1942 the line opened from Dunheved to Ropes Creek at 53.010 rail kilometres from Sydney.
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As of 2013, the suburb is being developed for housing by Lend Lease with up to 2,200 homes and will contain a regional park in the centre. Housing is divided up into five villages – Aurora, Barinya, Brookwood, Talloway and Woodlands. Rochford Place is allocated as “Over 55’s Living”.
The Ropes Creek line was named after a nearby creek bearing the same name. It was built during World War II to transport munitions factory workers to and from St Marys. The line opened from St Marys to Dunheved on 1 March 1942 and Dunheved to Ropes Creek on 29 June 1942. When electrification arrived in the 1950s, there was a plan to electrify the Ropes Creek line. For the most part all the sidings in the Dunheved station area were electrified to enable the New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) to use electric locomotives of the 46 class to shunt trains without the need to change to diesel-electric or diesel-hydraulic locomotives.
No more bullet trains ;(