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Central railway station, Sydney

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A train station , railroad station , or railroad depot (mainly North American terminology) and railway station (mainly UK and other Anglophone countries) is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers , freight , or both. It generally consists of at least one platform , one track , and a station building providing such ancillary services as ticket sales, waiting rooms , and baggage/freight service. Stations on a single-track line often have a passing loop to accommodate trains travelling in the opposite direction.

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128-426: Central is a heritage-listed railway station located in the centre of Sydney , New South Wales , Australia . The station is Australia's largest and busiest railway station, and is a major transport interchange for NSW TrainLink inter-city rail services, Sydney Trains commuter rail services, Sydney Metro services, Sydney light rail services, bus services, and private coach transport services. The station

256-404: A bar or pub . Other station facilities may include: toilets , left-luggage , lost-and-found , departures and arrivals schedules , luggage carts, waiting rooms , taxi ranks , bus bays and even car parks . Larger or staffed stations tend to have a greater range of facilities including also a station security office. These are usually open for travellers when there is sufficient traffic over

384-406: A bypass line, used by freight trains that do not need to stop at the terminus. Some termini have a newer set of through platforms underneath (or above, or alongside) the terminal platforms on the main level. They are used by a cross-city extension of the main line, often for commuter trains , while the terminal platforms may serve long-distance services. Examples of underground through lines include

512-404: A few intermediate stations that take the form of a stub-end station, for example at some zigzags . If there is a station building , it is usually located to the side of the tracks. In the case of intermediate stations used for both passenger and freight traffic, there is a distinction between those where the station building and goods facilities are on the same side of the tracks and those in which

640-472: A few small railway stations are designated as "halts" ( Irish : stadanna , sing. stad ). In some Commonwealth countries the term "halt" is used. In Australia, with its sparse rural populations, such stopping places were common on lines that were still open for passenger traffic. In the state of Victoria , for example, a location on a railway line where a small diesel railcar or railmotor could stop on request, allowing passengers to board or alight,

768-831: A further 40 from other companies at the Grouping of 1923. Peak building periods were before the First World War (145 built) and 1928–1939 (198 built). Ten more were opened by British Rail on ex-GWR lines. The GWR also built 34 "platforms". Many such stops remain on the national railway networks in the United Kingdom, such as Penmaenmawr in North Wales , Yorton in Shropshire , and The Lakes in Warwickshire , where passengers are requested to inform

896-472: A hood and a corrugated iron roof, with a roof vent. Internally, the stud framing and timber truss roof members were exposed. The offices and public facilities were contained in the adjacent lean-to, which faced George Street. Only one platform and the main up-line served the passenger station. A similar platform and line layout was used for the Mortuary Station , constructed 15 years later; however,

1024-432: A less grandiose Scheme prepared by Norman Selfe. Its main feature is the raising of Belmore Park to the level of the station platform between raised roads in the eastern half of a widened Pitt Street on the one hand and the western half of a widened Elizabeth Street on the other, with a connecting viaduct along Eddy Avenue and a retaining-wall to support the raised park along its Hay Street alignment. Although neither scheme

1152-571: A line was dual-purpose there would often be a freight depot apart from the passenger station. This type of dual-purpose station can sometimes still be found today, though in many cases goods facilities are restricted to major stations. Many stations date from the 19th century and reflect the grandiose architecture of the time, lending prestige to the city as well as to railway operations. Countries where railways arrived later may still have such architecture, as later stations often imitated 19th-century styles. Various forms of architecture have been used in

1280-407: A long enough period of time to warrant the cost. In large cities this may mean facilities available around the clock. A basic station might only have platforms, though it may still be distinguished from a halt , a stopping or halting place that may not even have platforms. Many stations, either larger or smaller, offer interchange with local transportation; this can vary from a simple bus stop across

1408-449: A magnificent entrance to the city will be established and the trees will set off the new station. He considers that this opportunity for the improvement and ornamentation of Sydney should not be lost, especially as it will not entail a very heavy cost upon the tax payer, most of the land utilised already being the property of the crown. There will be four double and four single platforms, or practically twelve single platforms in all... Between

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1536-504: A member of on-board train staff if they wish to alight, or, if catching a train from the station, to make themselves clearly visible to the driver and use a hand signal as the train approaches. Most have had "Halt" removed from their names. Two publicly advertised and publicly accessible National Rail stations retain it: Coombe Junction Halt and St Keyne Wishing Well Halt . A number of other halts are still open and operational on privately owned, heritage, and preserved railways throughout

1664-403: A much larger building than originally proposed, but it is thought in the future it will come into use. In the meantime, certain parts can be left out and added afterwards, but in spite of all such reduction the estimated cost of the new building and the main roof will amount to about £ 400,000 as compared with £ 230,000". As it was being built, it was reported that "Everything in connection with

1792-600: A much modified building was actually constructed. The total estimated cost of the works was to be £ 561,000 with the general works estimated at £ 138,000, the Station Building estimated at £ 233,000 and the Resumptions estimated at £ 140,000. Almost immediately these estimates proved conservative, there was much public concern regarding the removal of bodies from the Old Burial ground and a new cemetery,

1920-675: A new through-station, including the cases of Berlin Hauptbahnhof , Vienna Hauptbahnhof and numerous examples throughout the first century of railroading. Stuttgart 21 is a controversial project involving the replacement of a terminus station by a through-station. An American example of a terminal with this feature is Union Station in Washington, DC , where there are bay platforms on the main concourse level to serve terminating trains and standard island platforms one level below to serve trains continuing southward. The lower tracks run in

2048-467: A prominent Sydney builder and local politician, proposed a scheme to provide a circular city extension to the railway. The route included stations at Oxford Street , William Street and Woolloomooloo in the east, Circular Quay , then Dawes Point and a line parallel to Darling Harbour in the west. John Whitton designed a grand city terminus at the corner of Hunter and Castlereagh Streets two years later. Neither of these schemes eventuated. In 1895,

2176-485: A ramp, descending from the north west corner of the building to Belmore Road. A subway for pedestrians to enter the building is to be provided from a point in Pitt Street, nearly opposite the north western corner of the building. The tramway approaches have been so designed as to take them completely clear of all other classes of traffic and congestion, and interference and risk of injury will be altogether obviated. It

2304-517: A scheme that did not involve the disturbance of or use of land in Hyde Park was sought. The extension of Belmore Park was initially proposed in the 1897 scheme as compensation for the use of the northwestern corner of Hyde Park as a railway station. Following a change of government the St James scheme was abandoned and Deane prepared, c.  1899 , a further two schemes, one of which was for

2432-580: A separate line which could be electrified without impact on the remainder of the rail system. However, due to the necessity of building the City Underground Railway and the proposal for a Sydney Harbour Bridge , not to mention the expansion of the Illawarra and Bankstown lines, the program was altered in order that the electrification could be linked with these proposed expansions. From Well Street, Redfern eight tracks would continue as

2560-407: A spot at the station to board and disembark trains is called station track or house track regardless of whether it is a main line or loop line. If such track is served by a platform , the track may be called platform track. A loop line without a platform, which is used to allow a train to clear the main line at the station only, is called passing track. A track at the station without a platform which

2688-417: A station and various other features set certain types apart. The first is the level of the tracks . Stations are often sited where a road crosses the railway: unless the crossing is a level crossing , the road and railway will be at different levels. The platforms will often be raised or lowered relative to the station entrance: the station buildings may be on either level, or both. The other arrangement, where

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2816-576: A station stop does not. A station stop usually does not have any tracks other than the main tracks, and may or may not have switches (points, crossovers). An intermediate station does not have any other connecting route, unlike branch-off stations , connecting stations, transfer stations and railway junctions . In a broader sense, an intermediate station is generally any station on the route between its two terminal stations . The majority of stations are, in practice, intermediate stations. They are mostly designed as through stations ; there are only

2944-405: A station track as a temporary storage of a disabled train. A "terminus" or "terminal" is a station at the end of a railway line. Trains arriving there have to end their journeys (terminate) or reverse out of the station. Depending on the layout of the station, this usually permits travellers to reach all the platforms without the need to cross any tracks – the public entrance to the station and

3072-401: A temporary timber and corrugated iron building, constructed rapidly in late August to early September 1855, in time for the opening of the line to Parramatta for passenger trains. This station (one wooden platform in a corrugated iron shed), called "Sydney Terminal", had Devonshire Street as its northern boundary. It was frequently but unofficially called "Redfern Station", while at that time,

3200-405: A three-way junction and platforms are built on all three sides, for example Shipley and Earlestown stations. In a station, there are different types of tracks to serve different purposes. A station may also have a passing loop with a loop line that comes off the straight main line and merge back to the main line on the other end by railroad switches to allow trains to pass. A track with

3328-650: A tunnel beneath the concourse and emerge a few blocks away to cross the Potomac River into Virginia. Terminus stations in large cities are by far the biggest stations, with the largest being Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Other major cities, such as London, Boston , Paris, Istanbul , Tokyo, and Milan have more than one terminus, rather than routes straight through the city. Train journeys through such cities often require alternative transport ( metro , bus , taxi or ferry ) from one terminus to

3456-464: Is Arbroath . Occasionally, a station serves two or more railway lines at differing levels. This may be due to the station's position at a point where two lines cross (example: Berlin Hauptbahnhof ), or may be to provide separate station capacity for two types of service, such as intercity and suburban (examples: Paris-Gare de Lyon and Philadelphia's 30th Street Station ), or for two different destinations. Stations may also be classified according to

3584-504: Is also known as Sydney Terminal (Platforms 1 to 12). The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. It recorded 85.4 million passenger movements in 2018 and serves over 250,000 people daily. Central station occupies a large city block separating Haymarket , Surry Hills and the central business district, bounded by Railway Square and Pitt Street in

3712-455: Is any longer served by trains), or military base (such as Lympstone Commando ) or railway yard. The only two such "private" stopping places on the national system, where the "halt" designation is still officially used, seem to be Staff Halt (at Durnsford Road, Wimbledon) and Battersea Pier Sidings Staff Halt, both of which are solely for railway staff. In Portugal , railway stops are called halts ( Portuguese : apeadeiro ). In Ireland ,

3840-404: Is frequently, but not always, the final destination of trains arriving at the station. Especially in continental Europe, a city may have a terminus as its main railway station, and all main lines converge on it. In such cases all trains arriving at the terminus must leave in the reverse direction from that of their arrival. There are several ways in which this can be accomplished: There may also be

3968-560: Is intended that the railway traffic should run as now arranged over the Castlereagh and Pitt Street route, but, instead of approaching the station on the ground level, the two lines begin to rise from a point in Belmore Park on a grade of 1 in 20, where they will terminate with a wide colonnade of (sic) platform level. This design, with pavilions and a mansard roof, was strongly influenced by French Renaissance chateaux. The scale of

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4096-666: Is recognised as one of approximately twenty of the greatest railway civil engineers in the first century of world railway construction. Whitton was survived by his wife, one son and two daughters, he died of cardiac disease on 20 February 1898 at Mittagong , and was buried in the cemetery of St Thomas' Anglican Church, North Sydney . His estate was valued for probate at £10,396. Whitton's works in both New South Wales and Victoria are extensive and include railway stations, railway bridges, viaducts, railway yards, and other infrastructure where he has designed projects and/or they have completed under supervision. 25 items of his work are listed on

4224-514: Is the terminology typically used in the U.S. In Europe, the terms train station and railway station are both commonly used, with railroad being obsolete. In British Commonwealth usage, where railway station is the traditional term, the word station is commonly understood to mean a railway station unless otherwise specified. In the United States, the term depot is sometimes used as an alternative name for station , along with

4352-411: Is used for trains to pass the station without stopping is called through track. There may be other sidings at the station which are lower speed tracks for other purposes. A maintenance track or a maintenance siding, usually connected to a passing track, is used for parking maintenance equipment, trains not in service, autoracks or sleepers . A refuge track is a dead-end siding that is connected to

4480-478: The 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) broad gauge adopted by the South Australian and Victorian Railways , Whitton set about extending the railway into the city and resisted pushes for 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of cheaper, light tramways, such as horse-drawn lines with wooden rails, proposed by Governor William Denison . Whitton strongly opposed the government's uncritical acceptance of

4608-513: The Botany Cemetery, had to be constructed, at public expense, at La Perouse . When the third station was built in 1906, it moved one block north, closer to the city. It fronted Garden Road, which was realigned to form Eddy Avenue. If Belmore Park is included, all the land now occupied by the railway at Central and Redfern coincides with the company's original selection of four blocks between Hay and Cleveland Streets. The present station

4736-481: The Cleveland Street Bridge and flyovers. The Devonshire Street subway and Devonshire Street wall were extended through the new suburban section. The new viaduct along Elizabeth Street included new bridges over Eddy Avenue, Campbell Street and Hay Street and a new retaining wall along Elizabeth Street. Modernisation programs were undertaken in 1955 and again in 1964. In the 1955 work, a booking hall

4864-619: The Main Northern line over the Parramatta River also bear his name. The bridge at Meadowbank stands next to an earlier iron lattice railway bridge that was constructed under his direction. A memorial dedicated to Whitton is located on the Lapstone Zig Zag walking trail and commemorates his substantial seven-span, sandstone Lapstone Knapsack Viaduct . A plaque bearing his contribution to New South Wales Railways

4992-823: The NSW Heritage Register as significant under the Heritage Act, 1977 (NSW). An additional 37 other works are listed as significant in various local government areas. The town of Whitton in Leeton Shire , where the Hay extension of the Great Southern Line reached in 1881, is named in honour. Whitton Park in Glenbrook and the May 1980 built John Whitton Bridge that carries

5120-684: The Shinkansen in Japan, THSR in Taiwan, TGV lines in France, and ICE lines in Germany. Stations normally have staffed ticket sales offices, automated ticket machines , or both, although on some lines tickets are sold on board the trains. Many stations include a shop or convenience store . Larger stations usually have fast-food or restaurant facilities. In some countries, stations may also have

5248-1000: The Thameslink platforms at St Pancras in London, the Argyle and North Clyde lines of Glasgow's suburban rail network , in Antwerp in Belgium, the RER at the Gare du Nord in Paris, the Milan suburban railway service 's Passante railway , and many of the numerous S-Bahn lines at terminal stations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, such as at Zürich Hauptbahnhof . Due to the disadvantages of terminus stations there have been multiple cases in which one or several terminus stations were replaced with

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5376-807: The 125th Anniversary of the NSW Railways and it was at a time when many major service advances were being made to the State Rail System. Railway station Locations at which passengers only occasionally board or leave a train, sometimes consisting of a short platform and a waiting area but sometimes indicated by no more than a sign, are variously referred to as "stops", " flag stops ", " halts ", or "provisional stopping places". The stations themselves may be at ground level, underground, or elevated. Connections may be available to intersecting rail lines or other transport modes such as buses , trams , or other rapid transit systems. Train station

5504-693: The 1840s for a railway linking Sydney and Parramatta , with an eastern terminus close to the Sydney city centre. Although the Sydney Railway Company first applied to the government for four blocks of land between Hay and Cleveland streets in 1849, the Surveyor General favoured Grose Farm, now the grounds of the University of Sydney . It was further from the city and less costly to develop. The company finally exchanged land in

5632-417: The 1874 station at midnight of 4 August 1906. During the remainder of that night, the passenger concourse was demolished and the line extended through the old station into the new station. The Western Mail arrived at 05:50 on 5 August 1906 at the new station. Devonshire Street, which separated the two stations, became a pedestrian underpass to allow people to cross the railway line and is now known by many as

5760-575: The Benevolent Asylum grounds, the convent along the northern side of Pitt Street where it debouches upon George Street. The result will be a fine, broad thoroughfare, tree bordered to form the entrance to the city... ...Mr O'Sullivan is also conferring with Mr S Horden to see if an arrangement can be made for the purpose of widening Gipps Street, at present a narrow thoroughfare before any new buildings are erected. By planting these broad streets on each side with trees, Mr O'Sullivan contends that

5888-485: The Blue Mountains line that included two zigzags . In 1880-85 the unprecedented growth in railways, 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of new track and nine million more passengers exposed existing inadequacies in administration of railways. A royal commission into railway bridges exonerated Whitton of the charges of faulty design and of using inferior materials. In 1888 Henry Parkes 's Government Railways Act reorganized

6016-609: The British Isles. The word is often used informally to describe national rail network stations with limited service and low usage, such as the Oxfordshire Halts on the Cotswold Line . It has also sometimes been used for stations served by public services but accessible only by persons travelling to/from an associated factory (for example IBM near Greenock and British Steel Redcar – although neither of these

6144-537: The City Railway whilst four would carry the country trains to the Sydney Terminal. An above ground station would include a link to allow the transfer of passengers and baggage to the Sydney Terminal. This new station was constructed on the east side. South of the station buildings, additional works built to accommodate the electrification and expansion of the city and suburban lines included extensions to

6272-776: The Colony of New South Wales in 1856. He was an engineer for the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincoln railway line (1847), and supervised the building of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton line from 1852 to 1856. Appointed in March 1856 as Engineer-in-Charge, Whitton arrived in Sydney and found the Colony with 23 miles (37 km) of 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge railway, four locomotives, 12 passenger carriages and 40 trucks. An advocate of

6400-627: The Devonshire Street Tunnel. An 85.6-metre-tall (281 ft) clock tower in the Free Classical style was added at the north-western corner of the station, opening on 12 March 1921. The clock was designed by Richard Lamb and Alfred Fairfax, the co-founders of Fairfax & Roberts. On a continuous axis with the first station building, Belmore Park originally fronted the first Hay and Corn Markets in Hay Street. When

6528-480: The Devonshire Street station could accommodate was 20,000; the new station would be able to accommodate 40,000. The location of the cab rank was also discussed, it having been decided not to incorporate a cab rank inside the building so that the new station could be "kept entirely free from the smell, which the standing of horses under the roof must certainly involve". The last train departed platform 5 of

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6656-856: The Father of New South Wales Railways. Under his supervision, it is estimated that 2,171 miles (3,494 km) of railway around New South Wales and Victoria were completed. Whitton was responsible for the construction of parts of the Main Western railway line , in particular the section over the Blue Mountains and the Lithgow Zig Zag , and much of the Main Southern railway line . Indentured in England, Whitton gained extensive railway engineering experience prior to his arrival in

6784-493: The Old Burial Ground Site. The royal commission in 1897 again considered the city railway extension because of dangerous congestion at Redfern and recommended using Hyde Park. Then, after an investigative trip overseas, Henry Deane prepared alternative proposals for a new railway terminal for the government in 1900. The second scheme proposal called for the resumption of the Devonshire Street cemeteries, but this

6912-675: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works advised that a royal commission should be constituted to "inquire into the question of bringing the railway from its present terminus at Redfern into the city". The findings of the commission, favouring a site in St James Road, were released in 1897. The term Central Station was now in common use. The public works annual report of 1896–1897 noted that "the Railway Construction Branch

7040-520: The Railway Commissioners with the accompanying comment by the "Board of Experts" advising on the design of Central Station "we are of the opinion that either one or the other of the architectural designs which accompany this report may with confidence be adopted". Of the two façade options, that of Gorrie McLeish Blair was reputedly selected. The 1901/02 Annual Report describes the progress a year later, "work has progressed vigorously during

7168-505: The Sydney Terminus was to be a collaboration between the architect and the railway engineers. The layout was largely determined by the planning requirements of the railway engineers, to which an appropriate architectural style was overlaid. However, the initial scheme did not contain the required accommodation and an enlargement of the building was approved by the minister. The cost estimate was now £ 610,000. The board were to fulfil

7296-533: The brick fields. The adjacent field which is today Belmore Park was known as the "police paddock", after the police barracks. The remains exhumed from the cemetery were re-interred at several other Sydney cemeteries including Rookwood and Waverley cemeteries. Bodies were moved to Botany by steam tram motors and flat cars. E. O'Sullivan, the Minister for Works, in 1901, established the [Central] Station Advisory Board, comprising railway experts to "investigate

7424-546: The building of retaining wall, Pitt Street, between Hay Street and the Ambulance Depot, near Devonshire-street; the tramway arrival and departure bridges, the piers of which have been carried up to impost and girder-bed level. Shop fronts and arcades in Pitt-street ... the whole of [the] arcade with shop fronts and front wall to the main building from Pitt-street to the extreme eastern end of the building, including

7552-474: The building, arrangement of the approaches and viaducts, the ground level colonnade and the position of the clocktower are all similar to the subsequent scheme, which was actually constructed. By June 1901, work had begun on forming the site of the new station at Devonshire Street, the PWD Annual Report for 1900/01 noting that "a great deal of preliminary work has had to be done in the preparation of

7680-477: The burial ground in Devonshire Street was offered as compensation, public sentiment still opposed the loss of Hyde Park. The initial designs for a near Sydney Terminal were prepared by Henry Deane, the Engineer-in-Chief of Railway Construction in consultation with the Railway Commissioners. Deane is reputed to have prepared 10 schemes for the royal commission. Although the St James location was preferred,

7808-440: The case of Central station, "the levels permit of its being carried on underground by means of subways and lifts at suitable points". The mail was also to be transferred by subway. The train shed roof was to be designed to have a central span of 198 ft (60 m) with two sides spans of 78 ft (24 m). Three pin trusses were to be employed, which were to be brought to the ground to provide intermediate support. The roof

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7936-419: The charges were proved groundless. Following a select committee on railway extension that recommended the construction of cheap narrow-gauge railways, necessitating a break of gauge within the Colony, as well as at the border; estimates were prepared but Whitton, determined to sabotage the committee's recommendation, suspended all surveys and new work. Whitton overcame the engineering problems and in 1876 completed

8064-408: The clerical, professional, traffic and audit branches. The railway is to cross Devonshire Street, which as a street for heavy traffic will cease to exist. It will be lowered and modified, to suite pedestrian, cab and light traffic only, with a width of 50ft. The heavy traffic hitherto taken over Devonshire Street will be diverted along Belmore Road and a new street which is to be made on the east side of

8192-413: The completion of the first stage of the main terminal building c.  1906 , was a gloomy building, the glass in the roof lantern not permitting a great deal of light to enter and the soot from the steam locomotives coating the surfaces with grime. The second station grew to 14 platforms before it was replaced by the present-day station to the north of Devonshire Street. In major metropolitan areas

8320-478: The compound forms train depot , railway depot , and railroad depot —it is used for both passenger and freight facilities. The term depot is not used in reference to vehicle maintenance facilities in the U.S., whereas it is used as such in Canada and the United Kingdom. The world's first recorded railway station, for trains drawn by horses rather than engined locomotives , began passenger service in 1807. It

8448-533: The construction of stations, from those boasting grand, intricate, Baroque - or Gothic -style edifices, to plainer utilitarian or modernist styles. Stations in Europe tended to follow British designs and were in some countries, like Italy, financed by British railway companies. Train stations built more recently often have a similar feel to airports, with a simple, abstract style. Examples of modern stations include those on newer high-speed rail networks, such as

8576-600: The cross-loading of freight and may be known as transshipment stations, where they primarily handle containers. They are also known as container stations or terminals. John Whitton John Whitton (1820 near Wakefield , Yorkshire , England – 20 February 1898), an Anglo – Australian railway engineer , was the Engineer-in-Charge for the New South Wales Government Railways , serving between 1856 and 1890, considered

8704-405: The demand for platform space during peak times resulted in additional branch lines and platforms being constructed adjacent to the passenger station. These lines were brought in front of the station, obscuring it from view and isolating the verandah. By 1890 Whitton's station building had become engulfed within a sea of sheds and tram platform canopies. The second Redfern station, demolished following

8832-524: The department and made Whitton's position easier. In 1886 and 1887 Whitton submitted drawings for a proposed suspension bridge across Sydney Harbour from Dawes Point Battery to Milson's Point . On 1 May 1889 the Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge was opened; it was the final link in the railway system from Brisbane through Sydney to Melbourne and Adelaide and Whitton had fought for adequate finance for it. However, by

8960-558: The earlier scheme. During 1899 a Parliamentary Standing Committee had debated whether the major public buildings should be constructed of brick with a sandstone trim or all sandstone. This committee determined that, for major public buildings, sandstone should be used. Two designs, by members of the Government Architects Branch, were submitted for the façades in October 1901 to the Minister for Public Works and to

9088-562: The east wing have been carried up to the first floor level. The 1908 Royal Commission for the Improvement of the City of Sydney and its Suburbs offered two schemes which, in providing vehicular access, attempted to resolve the discrepancy in scale between Belmore Park and the station building. The scheme presented by John Sulman consisted of two circular roadways, one above the other, around Belmore Park. The Commissioners, however, favoured

9216-493: The end of his long tenure as Engineer-in-Chief, the British wrought-iron lattice truss bridge designs that Whitton employed had been superseded by lighter steel truss designs, following more modern American practice. The first Hawkesbury Railway Bridge was the first major rail bridge for which he had not specified the design. Whitton's successors would use steel truss designs for the other bridges built after he retired. He

9344-401: The end of the docks and the main buildings is the assembly platform, 70ft wide. On the platform level will be booking offices, waiting rooms, cloak and luggage offices, lavatories, convenient refreshment rooms, dining rooms, etc. The basement will be devoted to kitchens, stores, baggage rooms, offices for minor officials, and a dining room for the Railway Commissioners and their staffs, including

9472-510: The first stage of the station in 1906. It was the obvious location for expansion when new platforms were added to the original complex to provide the electrical city and suburban connection in 1926. The grand station building is eclipsed from view at street level by the Elizabeth Street ramp, and the later semi-circular classical entrance portico to the city connection is in refined contrast to the rusticated blocks and heavy treatment of

9600-473: The first, second and third blocks, between Hay and Devonshire Streets, for an increased area of eight hectares (twenty acres) in the fourth block, the Government Paddocks, between Devonshire and Cleveland Streets. Hence, the site of the first Sydney railway terminus was located here from 1855. The original Sydney station was opened on 26 September 1855 in an area known as Cleveland Fields. It was

9728-476: The goods facilities are on the opposite side of the tracks from the station building. Intermediate stations also occur on some funicular and cable car routes. A halt , in railway parlance in the Commonwealth of Nations , Ireland and Portugal , is a small station, usually unstaffed or with very few staff, and with few or no facilities. In some cases, trains stop only on request , when passengers on

9856-419: The gradual enlargement and extension of the railway to the northern end of the city and in the same year Railway Commissioner, E. M. G. Eddy, proposed a terminal city station at the corner of Elizabeth Street and St James' Road. The route of the latter was virtually the same as that for 1879, however, the new site for the terminus included half of the northern end of Hyde Park . Although 6 hectares (16 acres) of

9984-424: The laying of 2,171 miles (3,494 km) of the track on which no accident had occurred attributable to defective design or construction. Parkes regarded him as 'a man of such rigid and unswerving integrity, a man of such vast grasp, that however, his faults may occasionally project themselves into prominence, it would be difficult to replace him by a man of equal qualifications'. In international references, Whitton

10112-401: The layout of the platforms. Apart from single-track lines, the most basic arrangement is a pair of tracks for the two directions; there is then a basic choice of an island platform between, two separate platforms outside the tracks ( side platforms ), or a combination of the two. With more tracks, the possibilities expand. Some stations have unusual platform layouts due to space constraints of

10240-417: The less developed KTM East Coast railway line to serve rural 'kampongs' (villages), that require train services to stay connected to important nodes, but do not have a need for staff. People boarding at halts who have not bought tickets online can buy it through staff on board. In rural and remote communities across Canada and the United States, passengers wanting to board the train at such places had to flag

10368-410: The level of Prince Alfred Park." In early 1902, the design of the terminus building was changed yet again, at the request of the "Board of Experts" advising on the design of Central that "the station building has been increased in height by one storey, and considerably in length of front, and an east wing added. A tower also of fine proportions has been included. The completed building consequently shows

10496-399: The level of detail and materials varied considerably. The first station building was extended almost immediately, a shed being constructed at the southern end to cover an additional 30 metres (100 ft) of platform. When the station became inadequate for the traffic it carried, a new station was built in 1874 on the same site and was also called Sydney Terminal. The Second Sydney Terminal

10624-541: The loading and unloading of goods and may well have marshalling yards (classification yards) for the sorting of wagons. The world's first goods terminal was the 1830 Park Lane Goods Station at the South End Liverpool Docks. Built in 1830, the terminal was reached by a 1.24-mile (2 km) tunnel. As goods are increasingly moved by road, many former goods stations, as well as the goods sheds at passenger stations, have closed. Many are used purely for

10752-439: The lowest tenders for railway construction. Whitton did, however, introduce cheaper so-called pioneer lines for use in easier terrain once the mountains had been crossed. Money was saved by building for lower speeds and the lightest of axleloads , with ash ballast, no fencing, etc. These pioneer lines retained the same gauge as the main system. Whitton was accused of fraud, along with his brother-in-law, Sir John Fowler , and

10880-472: The main building. The Liverpool riot of 1916 , sometimes called the "battle of Central station", took place after soldiers rebelling against camp conditions had raided hotels in Liverpool and travelled to the city by commandeered trains. Upon arrival at Central station, the rioters set about destroying the station facilities, and fire was exchanged between rampaging rioters and military police . One rioter

11008-403: The main reception facilities being at the far end of the platforms. Sometimes the track continues for a short distance beyond the station, and terminating trains continue forward after depositing their passengers, before either proceeding to sidings or reversing to the station to pick up departing passengers. Bondi Junction , Australia and Kristiansand Station , Norway are examples. A terminus

11136-590: The new road in front of the Station, also for the Devonshire-Street subway and for the whole of the basement floors, including drainage, telephone tunnels, &c." At this stage, the estimated cost of the works was 561,600 pounds, however, it was "probable that his estimate will be exceeded". The necessary tramway deviations, 2.75 miles (4.43 km) of track, were laid in 1901–02 using day labour. The track consisted of rails laid on sleepers. The curve and

11264-718: The new station appears to have been designed on a grand scale, from the great elevated approaches down to the system of handling luggage underground." It is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register and the now defunct Register of the National Estate . Henry Deane, in a lecture given to the Sydney University Engineering Society in 1902, describes the layout of the Central Railway Station that

11392-816: The other. For instance, in Istanbul transfers from the Sirkeci Terminal (the European terminus) and the Haydarpaşa Terminal (the Asian terminus) historically required crossing the Bosphorus via alternative means, before the Marmaray railway tunnel linking Europe and Asia was completed. Some cities, including New York, have both termini and through lines. Terminals that have competing rail lines using

11520-596: The platform indicate that they wish to board, or passengers on the train inform the crew that they wish to alight. These can sometimes appear with signals and sometimes without. The Great Western Railway in Great Britain began opening haltes on 12 October 1903; from 1905, the French spelling was Anglicised to "halt". These GWR halts had the most basic facilities, with platforms long enough for just one or two carriages; some had no raised platform at all, necessitating

11648-528: The poles were manufactured by local engineering firms including Clyde Engineering Co. The Permanent Way (i.e. track) was imported either from England or America. The construction of the first stage of the station began in June 1902 and was completed in August 1906. By 30 June 1903 the following works had been completed: ... the total quantity earth removed is about 250,500 cubic yards. This has been used to level up

11776-515: The present Redfern Station was officially called "Eveleigh". Although called "Redfern Station", the first and second Sydney Terminals were never actually located in Redfern, being to the north of Cleveland Street, which is Redfern 's northern boundary. The first and second station buildings were both in the form of a shed which covered the main line. A photograph of the exterior of the first station taken in 1871 shows vertical boarding, windows with

11904-469: The provision of steps on the carriages. Halts were normally unstaffed, tickets being sold on the train. On 1 September 1904, a larger version, known on the GWR as a "platform" instead of a "halt", was introduced; these had longer platforms, and were usually staffed by a senior grade porter, who sold tickets and sometimes booked parcels or milk consignments. From 1903 to 1947 the GWR built 379 halts and inherited

12032-588: The question of the design and arrangements of the station". The members included Walter Liberty Vernon , both of the chief engineers of the New South Wales railway (for railway construction and existing lines respectively), and the chief engineers of the Queensland and Victorian railways. The committee also considered a suitable design for the new Flinders Street station in Melbourne . The design for

12160-480: The rail terminus tended to be located within the inner core of the city. The site of the first and second station termini was inconveniently located for the city. Initially, a horse-bus service operated from the station to the city and both the engineer-in-chief, John Whitton , and the Chief Commissioner for Railways, B. H. Martindale, recognised the urgency of a city rail extension. In 1877, John Young,

12288-446: The remains to a cemetery of their choosing, however, the majority of bodies removed were relocated, at government expense, to the new cemetery at La Perouse. The Belmore Park to Fort Macquarie Electric Tramway was also constructed in 1900–1901. The earlier brick and sandstone design, with a mansard roof, was abandoned in favour of an all sandstone terminus building which largely incorporated the same passenger, tram and vehicle separation as

12416-465: The resumption there would, in addition to a terminus, be room for the extension of the goods yard and the erection of a carriage shed and post office. The existing lines were at a higher level than the Burial Ground, so rather than lowering the existing railway track, the tramlines were to be raised to serve a high level station. The Public Works Committee passed the design on 7 June 1900, however,

12544-456: The site for the new station and the extension of the railway, owing to the necessity of removing the bodies from the old cemetery and providing a new cemetery to receive the remains, as well as the demolition of the buildings and disposal of the material. The work of clearing and levelling is now well in hand." "Private removals were commenced on the 29th of February 1901 and at the end of the year 1,145 bodies had been removed." Families could remove

12672-494: The spoil excavated for the foundations". A more detailed account is given of the excavation: "the excavation to the docks and main building containing some 80,000 cubic yards, has been taken out and the material removed to Belmore Park, where it forms the tramway embankments and raises the general level of the park. About 30,000 cubic yards of material from the Castlereagh-street cutting have been utilised in improving

12800-405: The station entrance and platforms are on the same level, is also common, but is perhaps rarer in urban areas , except when the station is a terminus. Stations located at level crossings can be problematic if the train blocks the roadway while it stops, causing road traffic to wait for an extended period of time. Stations also exist where the station buildings are above the tracks. An example of this

12928-477: The station frequently set up a jointly owned terminal railroad to own and operate the station and its associated tracks and switching operations. During a journey, the term station stop may be used in announcements, to differentiate halts during which passengers may alight and halts for another reasons, such as a locomotive change . While a junction or interlocking usually divides two or more lines or routes, and thus has remotely or locally operated signals ,

13056-567: The station location, or the alignment of the tracks. Examples include staggered platforms, such as at Tutbury and Hatton railway station on the Crewe–Derby line , and curved platforms, such as Cheadle Hulme railway station on the Macclesfield to Manchester Line. Stations at junctions can also have unusual shapes – a Keilbahnhof (or "wedge-shaped" station) is sited where two lines split. Triangular stations also exist where two lines form

13184-406: The station site as required. Belmore Park has been raised to carry the tramways to the station... The Sports Grounds Moore Park (cycling ground) have been formed and the best of the clay had been disposed of to Messrs. Goodlet & Smith at their brickworks ... The whole of the foundations to the main buildings have been taken out and concreted. On 21st July, 1902, the first order for building stone

13312-441: The station. Cabs will enter the station from Devonshire Street. The exit for cabs will lead into Pitt Street by an inclined ramp and subway, thus avoiding any crossing on the level of the path of either pedestrians or tramcars. The main approach to the station will be opposite the intersection of George and Pitt Street, and foot passengers, and cabs and other vehicles will enter here. Departure for vehicles will be effected by means of

13440-557: The street to underground rapid-transit urban rail stations. In many African, South American, and Asian countries, stations are also used as a place for public markets and other informal businesses. This is especially true on tourist routes or stations near tourist destinations . As well as providing services for passengers and loading facilities for goods, stations can sometimes have locomotive and rolling stock depots, usually with facilities for storing and refuelling rolling stock and carrying out minor repairs. The basic configuration of

13568-555: The third station was located one block further north, it linked up with the southern side of Belmore Park. The park then fortuitously provided a green foil to the commanding city front of the station. In 1902, the Railway and Tramway Construction Branch, headed by Henry Deane, reported that "plans and detail drawings have been prepared in the office for the whole of the retaining wall and shops in Pitt-Street, both north and south of

13696-442: The train down to stop it, hence the name " flag stops " or "flag stations". Accessibility for disabled people is mandated by law in some countries. Considerations include: In the United Kingdom, rail operators will arrange alternative transport (typically a taxi ) at no extra cost to the ticket holder if the station they intend to travel to or from is inaccessible. Goods or freight stations deal exclusively or predominantly with

13824-475: The west, Eddy Avenue in the north, Elizabeth Street in the east and the Devonshire Street Tunnel in the south. Parts of the station and marshalling yards extend as far south as Cleveland Street , and are located on the site of the former Devonshire Street Cemetery . There have been three terminal stations in Sydney. The railway arrived in New South Wales in 1831. Proposals began in

13952-566: The wishes of the minister that "the building should be a monumental work of stateliness and beauty". An early proposal for the new terminus, and the changes to the surrounding area, were reported in the Sydney Mail in 1901: One of the reforms to be incidentally effected will be the widening of Pitt Street near the railway to 100ft. The width will secured by taking in land on the right already resumed or in Government hands, and including

14080-562: The world was Crown Street railway station in Liverpool, England , built in 1830, on the locomotive-hauled Liverpool to Manchester line. The station was slightly older than the still extant Liverpool Road railway station terminal in Manchester. The station was the first to incorporate a train shed . Crown Street station was demolished in 1836, as the Liverpool terminal station moved to Lime Street railway station . Crown Street station

14208-546: The year. All the old buildings and human remains have been removed from the site and the foundation stone was laid at the corner of Pitt-street and the New Belmore road on the 30th April. The information of New-Street, 2 chains in width, the extension of Castlereagh-street and the widening of Hay and Elizabeth Streets is well forward. The levelling of the whole site is practically finished, and great improvements have been made to Belmore and Prince Alfred Parks by filling in with

14336-591: Was The Mount in Swansea , Wales, on the Oystermouth (later the Swansea and Mumbles ) Railway. The world's oldest station for engined trains was at Heighington , on the Stockton and Darlington railway in north-east England built by George Stephenson in the early 19th century, operated by locomotive Locomotion No. 1 . The station opened in 1827 and was in use until the 1970s. The building, Grade II*-listed ,

14464-617: Was a member of the Hunter River floods commission 1869–70, the Sydney, City and Suburban Sewage and Health Board 1875–77, and the Board for Opening Tenders for Public Works 1875–87; he was a New South Wales commissioner for the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880. Granted a year's leave on 29 May 1889, Whitton retired on 31 May 1890 with a pension of £675 and visited England in 1892. He had supervised

14592-419: Was a more substantial brick station building, initially with two platforms. The second station building was constructed on the site of the first station, the main hall spanning the up and down mainlines. Separate platforms and facilities were provided for arriving and departing passengers. The new station building appears to have taken three years to complete: the drawings are dated 1871, while the official opening

14720-537: Was attempted, Selfe's proposal is recalled in the Elizabeth Street ramp which was built in 1925 to allow the extension of an electric connection to the city. The park, needless to say, was never raised to the height of the assembly platform. The Elizabeth Street façade of the Sydney Terminus has received less attention. Facing the working class terraces in Surry Hills , the eastern wing was finished in brick rather than stone when shortage of funds hurried completion of

14848-847: Was built on a site previously occupied by the Devonshire Street Cemetery , South Sydney Morgue, the Convent of the Good Samaritan, the Sydney Female Refuge, police barracks and superintendent's residence (on Pitt Street), Christ Church Parsonage, the Benevolent Asylum (fronting Railway Square), a steam train depot (at the corner of Pitt Street with Garden Road), as well as some residential properties on Railway Place. The convent, female refuge and police barracks were all original part of "Carters Barracks", built in 1819 to house convict gangs working as carters on

14976-526: Was called a "rail motor stopping place" (RMSP). Usually situated near a level crossing , it was often designated solely by a sign beside the railway. The passenger could hail the driver to stop, and could buy a ticket from the train guard or conductor. In South Australia, such facilities were called "provisional stopping places". They were often placed on routes on which "school trains" (services conveying children from rural localities to and from school) operated. In West Malaysia , halts are commonplace along

15104-538: Was called upon to furnish voluminous plans and estimates of the cost of the various proposals brought before the commission. After a most exhaustive investigation, the Royal Commission reported, almost unanimously, in favour of the extension of the railway into the city by the route and according to the plan as described as the St James Road Scheme". In 1897, Norman Selfe drew up a scheme for

15232-412: Was cheaper and less contentious than the acquisition of Hyde Park. It was the second scheme which was eventually adopted. The earlier schemes to extend the lines further into the city would have been prohibitively expensive and would have required large scale resumptions. The site of the Old Burial ground was, in comparison, relatively easily obtainable as no private land was involved. Due to the extent of

15360-627: Was converted to a goods station terminal. The first stations had little in the way of buildings or amenities. The first stations in the modern sense were on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway , opened in 1830. Manchester's Liverpool Road Station , the second oldest terminal station in the world, is preserved as part of the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester . It resembles a row of Georgian houses. Early stations were sometimes built with both passenger and freight facilities, though some railway lines were goods-only or passenger-only, and if

15488-403: Was created (in the former refreshment room, now the railway bar). Murals depicting railway scenes lined the walls and a terrazzo map of Australia was installed on the floor. In October 1980 a modernisation program at the Sydney Terminal commenced. The objective of the work was to improve the facilities for both passenger convenience and comfort. The start of this modernisation program coincided with

15616-511: Was currently under construction: In his lecture, he also discusses many of the technical aspects of the design including luggage handling, the lifts, the water towers, the train shed roof, which was subsequently deleted as a cost-cutting measure, the platforms and signalling. A novel method of luggage handling was designed for Central to "get rid of the objectionable luggage-trolley, which is always frightening nervous people". An overhead luggage carrying system had been developed in England, however, in

15744-449: Was given to Mr Saunders, at Pyrmont Quarry. On the 6th of August Inspector Murray went to Pyrmont Quarry to arrange for starting work dressing stone. On the 7th August eleven masons started work, and on the 18th the first dressed stone was landed on the works from Pyrmont Quarry and was set in place on No. 3 Pier, arrival bridge, on the 19th August; and since that date 127,000 cubic feet have been built into place. This stone has been used in

15872-421: Was in 1874. The second station, like the first, was constructed to allow for a future extension of the line into the city, the lines initially extending just far enough past the building to accommodate a steam locomotive. John Whitton, the engineer-in-chief, designed a neo-classical station building to be constructed of brick, with the decorative detail formed using polychromatic and relief work. Almost immediately

16000-519: Was in bad condition, but was restored in 1984 as an inn. The inn closed in 2017; in 2024 there were plans to renovate the derelict station in time for the 200th anniversary of the opening of the railway line. The two-storey Mount Clare station in Baltimore , Maryland , United States, which survives as a museum, first saw passenger service as the terminus of the horse-drawn Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on 22 May 1830. The oldest terminal station in

16128-412: Was officially opened on 4 August 1906 and opening for passengers on 5 August 1906. During Governor Macquarie 's term, the future site of the Sydney Terminal was beyond the limits of settlement, which were marked by the tollhouse located at the end of George Street and at the entrance to Railway Square . Central station was designed by the government architect, Walter Liberty Vernon . The new station

16256-466: Was shot dead and several were injured. The only remaining evidence of the gun battle is a small bullet-hole in the marble by the entrance to platform 1. This incident had a direct influence on the introduction of 6 o'clock closing of hotels in 1916, which lasted in New South Wales until 1955. The original proposal for electrification was for the North Shore line , from Hornsby to Milsons Point ,

16384-472: Was to be continuous. This truss and roof configuration was to be based on that of the Union Station, St Louis , visited by Deane in 1894. Such a roof would have rivalled those of the major metropolitan termini in Europe and America. The platform area was to be double that of the earlier station and correspondingly double the number of passengers could be accommodated. The maximum number of passengers that

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