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History of Rail Transport in Glebe
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Whilst history was made in 2000 with the
extension of the light rail system to Lilyfield, the suburbs of
Glebe and Lilyfield were once served by an extensive
government-owned tramway infrastructure.
The Darling Harbour Line
Sydney's original goods station was opened in
1855. It was located just east of the passenger terminal near
Redfern and handled all goods traffic in and out of Sydney (except
for local firewood which was unloaded at Newtown). The goods station
at Darling Harbour (DH) opened soon afterwards and was once one of
the largest depots in the world, occupying almost 65 acres. When the
branch line to DH was built, it only ran to the toll bridge at
Pyrmont. The line passed through the oldest railway tunnel in NSW
(running below Railway Square and the current UTS/'Marcus Clark'
building). Services on the line to DH were limited by the shallow
depth of the harbour (restricting the size of ships), shortage of
wharves and the expensive toll on the privately owned Prymont Bridge
which provided access to the CBD.
Pyrmont Bridge was
purchased by the government in 1884 and the toll was removed. The DH
yard was then further expanded towards Union Street. Increased
demand on Redfern resulted in DH being expanded in 1875 from six
people handling 35,19 tons to volumes exceeding 152,543 tons in
1879. In 1890, extensions across Union Street were erected to
service the newly build coal wharves.
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By 1915 it was obvious that movement of goods trains in and
out of DH via the suburban lines was interfering with the
passenger timetables. Numerous freight-only lines around
Sydney were constructed in 1919 (including a double track
from Canterbury below Lewisham viaduct through Leichhardt,
Rozelle, Glebe and Pyrmont to Darling Harbour). |
A tram
departs the Rozelle Depot (adjacent to Harold Park) bound
for Sydney University and the city.
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It is over the
section of this historic rail line (between Bridge Road, Glebe and
Catherine Street, Lilyfield) that The Society's members and friends
travelled in an inaugural trip using a Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) in
July 2000, stopping at Glebe, Jubilee Park, Rozelle Bay and
Lilyfield. Darling Harbour continued in use until 1984 when
operations ceased to make way for the current tourist and trade
exhibition development.
The Bellevue Street Rail Bridge
In 1919 the NSW Government Railway built the
first reinforced concrete railway bridge on its system over the
northern end of Bellevue Street, Glebe. The experimental single span
was restricted to 21ft in length and supported the goods line which
was being built at the time from Rozelle to DH. Whilst The Society's
inaugural trip did not travel over this small but historic bridge,
full public service crosses it continuously.
The Western Goods Line
The viaducts were built across Wentworth Park
and Jubilee Park in 1919 and have heritage significance today. In
its heyday this line had up to forty train movements a day. It
closed in January 1996, by which time it saw only weekly use to the
Edwin Davey Flour Mill (adjacent to Metro Light Rail's (MLR) present
terminus at Wentworth Park Station).
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Modern trams
(aka Light Rail Vehicles) now
use the viaduct over Bi-Centennial Park.
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The Glebe Point Tunnel
This double track tunnel is 500m long
and runs from Pyrmont Bridge Road to Jubilee Park, passing
below Glebe Point Road. The western portal is adjacent to
the former Rozelle Tram Depot. Both portals now frame MLR's
Glebe and Jubilee Park Stations
The Glebe Point Line
The tramway service along Glebe Point
Road to the Point was opened in 1892 using steam tram motors
and trailer cars.
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It was the
first western suburbs line to be converted to electric operation in
1900 and it used power from the Ultimo Powerhouse. A six-minute
service was provided on weekdays, increasing to four minutes during
peak hours and on Saturday evenings. Trams ran every 15 minutes on
Sunday mornings, and at six-minute intervals for the rest of the
day. The city terminus of the Glebe Point service was Millers Point,
located to the west of Circular Quay. Services continued until 23
November 1958, when buses replaced the then "unfashionable trams" as
a method of public transport. Old tram lines still exist under the
surface of Glebe Point Road.
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An R1 class tram at Stop 30 in Glebe Point Road opposite
Palmerstone Avenue (January 1958).
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The Lilyfield Line
Between April 1909 and November 1958,
electric trams provided services from the city to the
original terminus at nearby Piper Street, Lilyfield. The
track was progressively duplicated and extended to a
crossover facility on the deck of the Bridge in 1925. The
road level station and entrance constructed for the Metro
Light Rail system stands adjacent to where once 'light rail'
vehicles of a previous era performed safe working
procedures. |
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Special thanks to
www.glebesociety.org.au
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Heritage Register
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Item Name: |
Darling Harbour Rail Corridor |
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Location: |
West side of Darling Harbour to Pyrmont , Darling
Harbour & Pyrmont |
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Primary Address: |
West side of Darling Harbour to Pyrmont
Darling Harbour & Pyrmont
NSW |
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Area/Group/Complex: |
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Group
ID: |
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Item Type: |
Built |
Group: Transport - Rail |
Category: Railway |
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Owner |
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Current Use: |
Light Rail |
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Former Use: |
Goods Rail |
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Assessed Significance: |
6 |
Endorsed Significance: |
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Statement of
Significance: |
The Darling Harbour goods line was part of the first
railway opened in New South Wales in 1855, the
current corridor corresponds with that purchased
from the Harris family in 1853 for this purpose. It
therefore has a high degree of significance as a
place. The Ultimo Road Bridge is believed to be
constructed in the 1850s, and is therefore one of
the only remaining features of the original railway
which joined Darling Harbour and Granville
(Parramatta Junction) in 1855. The siting of the
railway along what was the edge of Darling Harbour
strongly influenced the development of Pyrmont and
Ultimo. Because of it, woolstores, engineering works
and other industries were built here after the
1870s, giving this part of Ultimo its industrial,
rather than residential, flavour. The site also
contains two railway bridges. The Railway Square
road overbidge (outside the curtillage of this
listing) built in 1855 is historically significant
as the oldest railway bridge to be constructed and
still in use in New South Wales. It is a strong
connection to the first railway construction and the
original Redfern (Sydney) Station. The Ultimo
railway underbridge is a mid 19th century
construction with classic revival inspired cast iron
columns and mid 19th century sandstock brick
abutments. Both items are assessed individually as
historically rare, scientifically rare,
archaeogolically rare and socially rare. |
Historical Notes
or Provenance: |
It is difficult to judge whether the Ultimo Rail
Corridor site would have had any aboriginal
occupation. European development of the site
occurred by the mid-19th century, when maps and
plans indicate buildings on the George Street
frontage. The 1853 plan indicates a stream or creek
running from George Street across the site some 20
metres north of the street frontage. Such
watercourses were often the source of food and water
for the Aboriginal people of Sydney. A similar
geographic scenario existed for the study area. The
former swampy areas directly to the north of George
Street (now Central railway yards, Carlton Brewery)
drained via creeks such as that indicated in the
1853 plan into Darling Harbour. Darling Harbour
itself was known before the 1830s as Cockle Bay due
to the extensive Aboriginal shell middens on its
shores. It is therefore more than likely that the
vicinity of the subject site was at least
intermittently visited or occupied by Aboriginal
people in the course of gathering food or making
camps. European occupation of the study area occurs
by the 1790s when much of the land in the Pyrmont/
Ultimo peninsula was granted to members of the
military. By 1804 John Harris had consolidated much
of these holdings into the Ultimo Estate, Governor
King had granted this part of the Ultimo Estate to
Harris in December 1803. In 1830-31 a strip of land
along the north side of George Street was sold as
town allotments, with buildings indicated to the
east of the subject site by 1836. This strip had
been built out by 1843, shown on the map of that
year. John Harris died in 1838, leaving the Ultimo
Estate divided between his brothers, and eventually
their families. The complexities of the wills and
land transfers meant that the property remained
jointly owned by the family until late in the 1850s,
although small parcels were often leased. Unlike
other areas on the outskirts of the city, including
adjoining Pyrmont, Ultimo remained largely
undeveloped up to the mid-19th century. The Sydney
Railway Company, formed in 1849, approached the
Harris family with the prospect of purchasing a
strip of seven acres of land for the construction of
one mile of railway line joining the Sydney railway
terminus near what is now Central Station, with
proposed wharfage facilities at Darling Harbour. The
proposal was accepted by the Harris family who saw
the economic advantages of industrial and port
development on the western side of the Harbour. The
land was sold in 1853, however, like most
international private railway companies, the Sydney
Railway Company fell into financial difficulties and
was taken over by the NSW Government in 1854. The
railway, ultimately connecting Darling Harbour and
Parramatta, was opened in 1855. The railway reserve
of 1853 follows the current corridor and extended
almost to Pyrmont Bridge. A series of cuttings and
embankments carried the railway from the Redfern
terminus (near Central). At George Street (Broadway)
a sandstone bridge, still in existence, carried the
street over the railway cutting. The cutting for the
railway here obliterated evidence of any structures
that fronted George Street. At Ultimo Road, the
northern boundary of the area under study, a bridge
carried the railway over the road. Little
development occurred in the period of almost 20
years following the opening of the railway. The line
divided the peninsula, largely alienating the
Darling Harbour shoreline strip of land from Harris
Street, a factor which was to influence the
development of Ultimo and is still strongly evident
today. Pyrmont Bridge opened in 1857, and it was
intended that there should be a rail and bridge
interchange or terminus, so that goods could be
brought across the Bridge from Sydney (and indeed
the Darling Harbour wharves) and thence transported
by rail, and vice-versa. By 1870 the NSW rail
network had connected to Goulburn and was crossing
the Blue Mountains. Disputes between the Harris
family and the Pyrmont Bridge Company, along with a
decreased demand for woolstores and export from
Darling Harbour stymied the proposed development.
The railway was rarely used apart from the landing
and transport of coal and ballast at Darling Harbour
for the railways. The Harris family demanded
compensation for the stagnated development and in
the 1860s the NSW Government awarded the them
reclaimed land to the east of the railway in the
vicinity of what is now Haymarket, between Ultimo
Road and Hay Street. The Government’s reclamation of
the southern end of Darling Harbour led to the
construction, in 1874, of the Iron Wharf. This was
the first substantial wharfage on the western side
of the Harbour and was conveniently located close to
the railway to enable its use. By 1882 Sydney was
linked by rail to Albury, Hay and Dubbo, and after
the completion of the Hawkesbury River Bridge in
1889 with the Queensland border. By that time all
the major primary production regions of New South
Wales had been connected with Sydney, and therefore
with the Darling Harbour goods line. Industrial
developments from the 1870s onward saw Darling
Harbour emerge as an important intercolonial and
international transport and manufacturing centre.
Thomas Mort established his NSW Fresh Frozen Food
and Ice Company on what is now the site of the
Chinese Gardens in 1875, experimenting with
refrigeration of meat. Mort also had slaughter yards
located over the Blue Mountains at Bowenfels, from
where frozen meat was transported by rail to Sydney.
In 1879 the first refrigerated shipment of meat left
Darling Harbour for England. In 1889 the first
refrigerated rail cars were bringing produce from
all over NSW to Darling Harbour for Sydney’s
consumption as well as international export. The
Atlas Engineering Works at Pyrmont was building
railway engines and passenger and goods rolling
stock from 1878 on land adjacent to the Darling
Harbour line. On the city side of the Harbour,
engineers Peter Nicol Russell & Co. had been making
rolling stock since 1869 in a purpose built factory
only demolished in 1985. Livestock was also brought
to Darling Harbour by rail for export. An 1888 map
of the site indicates animal pens located within and
adjacent to the study area south of Thomas Street,
still indicated in the 1897 map of the site. The
1888 map also shows a number of buildings
concentrated on either side of the railway line at
the Broadway end of the site. The three buildings on
the western side are gone by 1897 which could
suggest they were timber, more or less temporary
structures. In the 1880s Goldsborough & Co built a
woolstore near the railway on the corner of Fig &
Pyrmont Streets, accessible not only to the rail but
also Harris Street. Other woolstores followed in the
ensuing decades, all conveniently located close by
the railway. Around this time the railway pushed
further into Pyrmont. The Ultimo Power House was
built in 1898-99 on the railway line by which it was
supplied with coal, as was the Pyrmont Power Station
some ten years later. Following the Government
resumptions after 1901 and subsequent wharfage
developments at Jones Bay and Darling Island, the
railway expanded and fostered the industrial boom
first predicted in the 1850s. By the 1910s Darling
Harbour south of Pyrmont Bridge was becoming too
shallow for large vessels and was largely reclaimed
in the late 1920s using fill from Sydney’s
underground railway excavation. The Iron Wharf was
demolished and operations concentrated further to
the north. By this time the subject site had become
simply the location of rail lines with no need for
buildings associated with the loading or unloading
of goods. Thus it was to remain for the rest of the
active life of the goods line. By the 1960s many of
the woolstores and other port functions were moving
out of Sydney. Road transport was often a less
expensive medium than rail for transshipment of
goods. The functions of the railway decreased
significantly. Finally in the 1980s the Darling
Harbour Redevelopment spelt out the final chapter of
the Darling Harbour goods yards, which were
demolished and redeveloped in 1985-88. Trains have
not generally used the Ultimo railway line since the
1980s with the exception of occasional use to bring
steam engines to the siding at the PowerHouse
Museum. In the 1990s the line north of Hay Street
was utilised for the light railway through Pyrmont,
accessed from Hay Street, and thus continuing the
traditional use of this corridor. |
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National Themes: |
3. Economy
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State Themes: |
Industry
Technology
Transport
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Study Themes: |
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Designer: |
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Maker/Builder: |
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Year Started: |
1853 |
Year Completed: 1911 |
Circa: No |
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Physical Description: |
Rail Link as part of Railway Square to Powerhouse
line. This line is one of the oldest active extant
railway tracks. It is being restored to take the
3801 train. Part of this system is the Railway
Bridge over Ultimo Road. |
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Physical Condition: |
The rail link is free from development, it is used
for the light rail through Pyrmont from north of Hay
Street. Archaeologically the site holds potential
for evidence of the remains of 1897 buildings and
the remains of a brick lined water tank. |
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Modification Dates: |
The reserve was purchased from the Harris family in
1853, and the railway line first laid in 1855. By
1888 there were a number of buildings associated
with the railway on either side of the tracks,
mostly concentrated at the Broadway end of the
corridor. After 1901 the railway expanded to
accommodate the industrial boom in the Darling
Harbour area. By the 1920s the buildings had been
demolished and the area was simply the location of
goods lines. The functions of the railway in the
area decreased significantly in the 1960s, and in
the 1980s the goods yards were demolished and
redeveloped. Part of the line is used by the light
rail network, and occasionally the Powerhouse Museum
uses the track to bring steam trains to its siding. |
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Recommended Management: |
With any archaeological remains it is preferable to
leave them undisturbed. In the case of the Ultimo
corridor, the site is covered in a layer of
approximately 350-450mm of ballast which potentially
protects any potential archaeological remains. |
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Further Comments: |
No substantial excavations are proposed for the site
with excavation limited to some service trenches and
tree plantings. Since the rail lines have always run
through the centre of the site, no buildings were
sited here after 1853. It is therefore expected that
any service trenching located in the centre of the
site will have no impact on potential archaeological
deposits. Alternatively, existing service trenches
could also be utilised for new services. In any
case, if the existing covering of 350-450mm of
ballast is maintained, services or tree plantings
could be confined within this layer without
impacting on potential archaeological remains. Any
disturbance of potential archaeological remains will
require the application for and granting of an
excavation permit from the Heritage Council of NSW
under the Heritage Act, 1977. Structural changes to
items on the State Heritage Register require
submission under Sec. 60 of the Heritage Act, 1977.
The Heritage Office may require the preparation of a
Conservation Management Plan for the site, prepared
by a conservation architect which details what can
and can’t be done to an item. This may take up to a
month to prepare, and then must be endorsed by the
NSW Heritage Council before any work commences. It
is recommended therefore that any stairs or ramps to
Ultimo Road be sited so as not to impact on the
Bridge and its immediate southern abutment. If there
is no alternative to siting the access to Ultimo
Road so that it does not impact on the southern
abutment, the post-1850s fabric might be considered
to be removed in part after consultation with the
Heritage Office. |
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Historical Significance: |
The Darling Harbour goods line was part of the first
railway opened in New South Wales in 1855, the
current corridor corresponding with that purchased
from the Harris family in 1853 for this purpose. It
therefore has a high degree of significance as a
place. The Ultimo Road Bridge is believed to be that
constructed in the 1850s, and is therefore one of
the only remaining features of the original railway
which joined Darling Harbour and Granville
(Parramatta Junction) in 1855. Future development
should respect the definition of the space, allowing
for its interpretation as a former railway corridor. |
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Historical Association: |
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Aesthetic/Technical Significance: |
Aesthetically the space is free of development
within an urban context dominated by multi-storied
buildings. In itself, it is no different to any
other disused railway line littered with ballast,
old sleepers and railway lines. The site is not
considered to be aesthetically significant in its
current state. |
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Social Significance: |
The siting of the railway along what was the edge of
Darling Harbour strongly influenced the development
of Pyrmont and Ultimo. Because of it, woolstores,
engineering works and other industries were built
here after the 1870s, giving this part of Ultimo its
industrial, rather than residential, flavour. |
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Research Significance: |
Apart from potential archaeological remains of
buildings in existence by 1897, and other
sub-surface remains, the site has little research or
technical potential. |
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Representativeness: |
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Rare Assessment: |
The two railway bridges on the line are both
classified as rare. |
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Integrity/Intactness: |
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Consent as Owner: |
Before doing any building work to an item on this
Register or lodging a development application, the
proponent should obtain the consent of the relevant
owner of the site, usually the SHFA. Early
consultation is recommended. |
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Development Approval: |
Development work to any item on this Register,
including internal works, repainting and signage,
requires development approval under the EP&A Act.
Contact the relevant consent authority or if the
work is in The Rocks, the SHFA's town planner. |
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Archaelogy: |
Aboriginal and European cultural archaeological
sites are protected under the National Parks and
Wildlife Act 1974 and the Heritage Act 1977
respectively. Excavation permits may be required.
Contact the National Parks and Wildlife Service,
Heritage Office |
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SHFA Policies: |
The SHFA has developed a number of policies which
guide work to heritage places. These include
Signage, Outdoor Seating & Telecommunications. New
policies are to be prepared including Lighting;
Building Services & Disabled Access. Contact the
SHFA. |
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Conservation Plans: |
Before considering major changes to, or adjacent to,
a heritage item on this Register a Conservation
Management Plan should be prepared. Many of the
items already have Plans (see References). Copies
can be obtained from the SHFA. |
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The Rocks: |
N/A |
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| References: |
Author: |
Title: |
Year: |
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Wayne Johnson |
Archaeological Assessment, Ultimo Rail
Corridor, Ultimo |
1999 |
| Studies: |
Author: |
Title: |
Number: |
Year: |
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Sydney Cove Authority (SCA) |
SCA Register 1979-1998 |
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1998 |
Special thanks to SHFA Heritage Register
http://www.shfa.nsw.gov.au/dynheritage.cfm?MenuID=285
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