Photographs: None
List: National
Heritage List
Class: Historic
Legal Status: Nominated place
Place ID: 105945
Place File No: 1/12/033/0016
Nominator’s Summary
Statement of Significance:
Of the many buildings on the greater Eveleigh Railway
Workshop site this is the only remaining purpose built shed still performing
its original use, demonstrating a high level of intactness. The significance of
the site is recognised at a local, state and national level as well as by
international heritage bodies for its building fabric and construction,
machinery, skills and it’s operations.
This place is the oldest and longest continuous operating
railway workshops in Australia.
The place is still functioning as workshops servicing steam railway
locomotives, rolling stock and diesels. It is part of the greater Eveleigh
Workshop site but unlike all the other buildings it still retains its rail
workshop context and skills. Eveleigh’s original design and placement near Sydney formed part of its
economic viability allowing easy access to the main rail hub (Sydney Station)
and to the rest of the state. This close access to Sydney is still vital today in the economic
viability of preserving and running of heritage trains. The impact of the work
carried out at the Large Erecting Shop is enjoyed locally, regionally and
nationally by the operation of the only steam locomotive to haul trains to
every mainland state in Australia.
The Eveleigh Railway Workshops are some of the finest
historic railway engineering workshops in the world and Eveleigh contains one
of the most complete late 19th century and early 20th century forge
installations, collection of cranes and power systems, in particular the
hydraulic system. The place is of international significance and is one of Australia’s
finest industrial heritage items. The value of the place is increased by the
fact that it is comprised of assemblages, collections and operational systems
rather than individual items still in use.
Conversely, the significance will be reduced by its closure
or adaptive reuse, relocation of rolling stock, machinery and its
disassociation from the operating rail network. Not only will the Large
Erecting Workshop cultural significance be reduced but the significance of the
greater Eveleigh Railway Workshops will be reduced.
The workshop is significant nationally for being:
In continuous operation as a rail servicing workshop 126
years still in its original format
Designed by Whitton (trained by John Fowler of the Forth
over the Firth Bridge
fame) and George Cowdery (trained by Isambard Kingdom Brunel) bringing cutting
edge industrial revolution technology to Australia
The building and others making up the Eveleigh group are
iconic in design and proportion.
The political birth place of 1 Governor General of Australia,
3 Prime Ministers and 25 parliamentarians and the inaugural Secretary of the
Nurses Association.
The home of steam locomotive operations in NSW including the
iconic 38 Class locomotives with carriages (presently includes 3801 and 3830)
Governor-General Lord Hopetoun’s carriage built and stored
on site
A centre of skills and expertise in maintenance/operation of
heritage trains directly passed on from retired employees.
One of group of large industrial buildings that form an
extended corridor on the main rail access into Sydney.
The place where the Great National Strike commenced in 1917.
A significant place Aboriginal people of Redfern as one of
the few place that offered employment, training and employment transfers from
regional NSW to the city.
Collection of original machinery including overhead cranes
and machinery from all phases of its history up until 2006.
Official Values: Not
Available
Description:
The Large Erecting Shop is the last of the big rail
workshops in Australia still
in use, presently housing 3801 Ltd the only steam locomotive that has travelled
to every mainland state in Australia.
The brick shed has 6 rail bays internally and one external to the south. With a
fan of access tracks to the south and direct access to a turntable.
The workshop is a large classic Victorian era industrial red
brick building with arched cast iron framed windows on the north and south
walls of the building and large arched timber framed doors for each rail access
bay. The roof is formed by two brick end gables with sandstone parapets with a
large iron truss system supported on cast iron columns down the centre of the
building. Four large overhead cranes run within the roof space The floor is
concrete with servicing pits between each track.
The turntable is 75 foot long and is connected to the
workshop
Collection: The building contains operating steam
Locomotives 3801.3830, Governor-Generals Carriage from 1901 as well as many
other carriages and pieces of rolling stock required to operate trains.
Machinery and tools (un-catalogued) to service the fleet held at the Large
Erecting Shop.
History:
While every state in Australia had large steam servicing
workshops these are possibly the most important and the last still functioning
from first construction in 1880’s. The chronology covers both the yards and the
workshop but concentrates on the Locomotive Workshop.
1871 Planning for a
large modem workshops complex at Redfern began.
1875 The site at
Eveleigh was selected.
1880 Settlement for
land was reached – 64.5 acres resumed from the estate of the late John Chisolm
for c: £100,000.
1882 Clearing of
land commenced. Because of the sandy nature of the soil, much work went into
the design and construction of the workshop foundations.
1884 The contract
for the construction of Bays 1-4 was let to George Fishburn for a cost of
£40,725 and work was commenced shortly after.
1885 Work underway
and purchase of machinery commenced.
The foundations for Bays 5-15 were completed, enabling the contract for
the construction of these bays to be let to John Ahern at a price of £80,837.
1886 Construction
of the workshops continued.
1887 Workshops 1-4
were officially opened. These contained the ‘dirty trades’ of foundry work,
boilermaking and blacksmithing. They were originally separated from Bays 5-15
by a space equivalent in width to one of the bays. Annexes were built on the
southern and western sides.
1887 (late)
Workshops 5-15 were completed and opened.
1892 Union
negotiations led to the workshops being closed on Saturdays.
1896 Lightening rods
fitted to 120 foot high chimney for Boiler House behind Bay 2/3. An extension
of 200 feet added to the western end of the Large Erecting Shed (west of the
Loco Shop) completed 1896.
1899 Large Erecting
Shop added to the site, to the west of the Loco Shop, enabling many of the
engine repair functions to be removed from the main building. Work commenced on
converting Bays 12 and 13 for an Interlocking Shop. This work began in November
with the removal of the brick wall between Bays 11 and 12 and the installation
of iron columns and crane girders. A compressed-air plant was installed in an
annexe to Bays 3 and 4. New foundry erected adjacent to large Erecting shop
allowing Boiler Shop to expand into Bay 4.
1900 Compressed air
plant installed in Boiler Shop (Bays 3-4) and air mains installed.
Condition and
Integrity:
The building is intact and fully operational including the
large overhead cranes used by staff, and 200 volunteers.
It does need some modifications to comply with current
OH&S codes, these changes will not lower its significance.
Location:
About 1ha, Locomotive Street, Eveleigh, being an area
bounded by a line commencing at the western most access point to the Large
Erecting Shop building, then directly to the north west corner of the Large Erecting
Shop building, then easterly via the northern wall and its alignment to its
intersection with a 2 metre set back from the rear wall in the east, then
southerly via the 2 metre set back to its intersection with the fence located
to the south of the building, then westerly via the fence line to the point of
commencement. Included are all access rail roads (1 to 7) to the west of the
building, contents, tracks, machinery and cranes. Also included are the
turntable with associated equipment and that part of the rail line extending
from the turn table to the western most access point to the Large Erecting Shop
building.
Bibliography:
A Heritage Study of the Eveleigh Railway Workshops Voll.
Godden, Mackay and Associates, 1986 Conservation
Policy Scwager
Brooks, 1994
Relics Policy Godden,1988
South Sydney Heritage Study Tropman & Tropman, 1995
Master Plan and Urban Development Plan Eveleigh Precinct
Planning Study A & A, 1994
Eveleigh Precinct Social Impact Study Lester Firth &
Ass., 1992
New Locomotive Workshop CMP Government Architects Office
1995
Eveleigh Carriage Workshops CMP Government Architects Office
1995
Railways Relics & Romance The Eveleigh Railway Workshops
– photographs by David Moore 1995
Colonial Engineer Building
of Australia’s
Railways – John Whitton 1819-1898 – Robert Lee
Primary sources
“History Of Eveleigh Workshops” Correspondence
From Works Managers Office, Eveleigh To Assistant Chief Mechanical Engineer,
Redfern, 4.04.55, Railway Archives.
“Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops” Undated, Unsigned
& Incomplete Report approx 1921, held by Railway Archives.
“Visit Of Inspection – Eveleigh Workshops, 11 October
1922” By Institution Of Engineers, Sydney
Division. Information Pamphlet, Railway Archives.
“The NSW Railway Workshops At Eveleigh – A State Enterprise” in the
Illustrated Sydney News, Pp 11-13, 18 July 1891.
“The Australian As Engineer – Splendid Work At Eveleigh
Workshops” Hyde, Hamilton
In Sea, Land And Air, Pp 176-179, 1 June 1922.
“The Locomotive Shops At Eveleigh” in the NSW
Railway Budget Vol 8, Pp 239-240, 21 July 1900.
“The Carriage And Wagon Shops At Eveleigh” in the
NSW Railway and Tramway Magazine, Pp 37 1917.
“Coal Goes From Eveleigh” in Eveleigh News,
Magazine Of The Eveleigh Workshops Central Shop Committee, No 377, 24 July
1968.
“Foundry Operations At Locomotive Workshops,
Eveleigh” Report to the State Rail Authority of NSW By D Lyons, A Fisher; August 1985.
“The Railway Stores Branch And Its Work” In The
NSW Railway Budget VoI 7, Pp 186-187, 18 May 1899.
Database Entry as at 17 October 2006.
Link to Database entry : The
Large Erecting Shop – Eveleigh