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Extending the railway line from Penrith up the Blue Mountains to Weatherboard (Wentworth Falls) in 1867 created a demand for a local, guaranteed water supply to replenish the tenders of steam locomotives once they had climbed the steep Lapstone Monocline by zig zag from Emu Plains to Glenbrook. The most accessible, cheapest and reliable water source for this purpose was Glenbrook Lagoon, a body of water first noted and documented by explorer Gregory Blaxland, Wednesday 12 May 1813.The long drought, 1877- 1884, reduced the lagoon water level to a critical level, potentially disrupting the rail service. Water trains, also known as 'water gins' from Penrith in the east and Eskbank near Lithgow in the west kept the trains operating until an additional reliable supply was developed. This was ultimately achieved by installing a steam pump at the Duck Hole in Glenbrook Creek and related infrastructure to Glen brook StationThe water from the Duck Hole on Glenbrook Creek was lifted by a steam pump about 100m to a tank on a high point . From there it then flowed by a gravity line to rail side tanks at Watertank. In 1913, changes to the railway alignment, better water supplies from higher up the mountains and less demanding track grades inaugurated that year rendered the whole water re supply operation at Glenbrook obsolete.