A new centre for heritage transport
at Chullora
NSW’s most significant heritage trains and
carriages will be better protected and preserved
under a new plan to move heritage assets
from across the State to a new undercover facility at Chullora
in Sydney’s west.
A lack of available space has meant heritage rolling
stock located at Eveleigh and Broadmeadow were being left out on open sidings exposed
to the weather making them harder to restore
and preserve.
The facility at Chullora will house
locomotives, carriages and rolling
stock as well
as other heritage items all
undercover.
The workshops
at Chullora will offer secure undercover storage for the heritage fleet,
heavy lifting cranes, turntable facilities and the space
needed to undertake restoration.
Chullora will offer a one stop shop for
maintenance and restoration, which is only partially
available at existing sites.
It also means
most of the collection is together, making
it easier to manage in
the centre
of Sydney, whilst enabling better access for
volunteers to work on the rolling stock.Moving to Chullora
will mean Transport Heritage NSW will
no longer have assets at Eveleigh including the Large Erecting
Shop or the Broadmeadow Roundhouse
precinct.
To ensure the Chullora
site is suitable
and ready, the NSW Government has committed an initial
$8 million to make this a world-class heritage maintenance and storage facility.
The new facilities will also offer temporary storage for operators
needing to stable
heritage trains close
to Central, making it easier for heritage
operators to offer the
increasingly popular experience of riding on a heritage train.
While the Eveleigh
and Broadmeadow sites’ link to the State’s rail history are well known, the site at Chullora also had
a strong
heritage having been an
important location for
railway maintenance for more than 70 years.
Although the moveable heritage
collection will no longer have
a presence at Eveleigh and Broadmeadow, the Government is committed to the preservation
of important
buildings including
the
Large Erecting Shop and Broadmeadow Roundhouse
which will be adapted for new uses.
It is important to note that this proposal
does not impact on the continuation
of the NSW Rail Museum at
Thirlmere, an important
part of NSW rail heritage.
Today’s announcement builds on the success of the NSW Government’s approach to heritage transport over the past
five years which has included
the establishment
of Transport Heritage NSW, a not for profit registered charity supported by volunteers and funded
by the NSW Government, dedicated
to preserving and
making more accessible our precious transport
heritage.
Since the formation of
Transport Heritage NSW in 2013, attendance at the NSW Rail
Museum and heritage railway
events right across NSW is up substantially.
Transport Heritage NSW‘s commitment to preserving heritage transport has
resulted in a notable increase
in locomotive restorations, with more heritage trains running on the
network.
That’s a testament to the hard work of dedicated
volunteers who
want
to preserve this important history and share
it with
others.
Today’s announcement will secure the future for
these volunteers and for our rail heritage.
More information on
the new Chullora
site and moveable
heritage can be found at
www.transportheritagensw.com.au/chullora
Transport for NSW Factsheet November, 2018
HERITAGE COLLECTION AND CHULLORA
FACTSHEET
QUICK FACTS
- Proximity of Chullora:
15km from CBD
and 77km from Thirlmere. - First moves to Chullora: 1913 when Minister for Works identified Chullora to alleviate pressure off Eveleigh.
- Size of State
heritage fleet: 220 items of rolling
stock. - Size of Chullora site: Approximately 3.5ha of undercover space with a total land area of nearly
9ha. - No. Locos in operation
(steam/diesel): 7 steam locomotives in our current fleet, including
those owned by the State and those
under loan/lease/operation agreements. - No. carriages needing
cover: 96 items of rolling
stock. - Total
lineal length of track required
to consolidate Broadmeadow Roundhouse, Large Erecting
Shed and Paint Shop: Over 2km of track. Around 2.5km of track will be required
to put everything undercover that currently doesn’t have permanent cover over it (this includes items at Thirlmere). - No. of small objects:
approx. 5,000
small objects in storage and on display
around NSW. - Oldest Precinct at Chullora: Boiler shop precinct with Building No 2 completed
1925 and Building
No 1 completed
1926. - Locomotive Workshop
Precinct Chullora: dates from 1927 (Building No 20). - Turntable: built 1928; 75 feet in
length and able to turn all engines/rolling stock.
FAQs
Why is the Chullora
Heritage Hub being created?
Currently heritage rolling stock is located
across several sites, with much of it out in the open and exposed to the weather. With many items well over a century
old, they are fragile.
Bringing the items together at Chullora
will mean all items can be stored undercover at a central
location where better management outcomes for the collection can be achieved. In addition,
it provides a more
efficient location
for staging main line
heritage train operations.
Who is Transport Heritage NSW?
Following a NSW Government review into the State’s heritage transport
sector in 2013, Transport Heritage NSW was established to
manage a portfolio of heritage assets,
operate two rail museums, deliver heritage experiences to the public and develop
the heritage transport
sector by providing
support services to community
groups. Transport
Heritage NSW is a not-for-profit member based company
and registered charity.
Will this mean other
operators will lose temporary
storage facilities?
No. There will be temporary
stabling facilities at Chullora
similar to what currently
exists at Eveleigh.
What will this
mean for Eveleigh and Broadmeadow?
When Chullora
comes online, these sites will no longer
be required for our heritage fleet. The NSW Government commits to the preservation of important buildings including the Large Erecting Shop
and
Broadmeadow Roundhouse which will be adapted
for new uses.
What does this mean for the NSW Rail Museum,
Thirlmere?
The NSW Rail
Museum will remain the premiere
museum site for rail
heritage in NSW. Some items currently
stored at Thirlmere
may be moved to
Chullora as part of moves to get heritage
items undercover. This will release much needed space for future museum projects.
What does it mean for volunteers?
Chullora presents a unique once in a generation opportunity to unify volunteers from across the heritage
transport sector
in one central
location, to preserve, share and develop
the rare skills and
knowledge required to maintain
our heritage assets.
What does it mean for preservation of our moveable heritage?
Bringing the collection together will make management and the identification of issues easier.
Putting items under one roof will lead to better preservation outcomes. Chullora also offers
lifting facilities, space and turntable
facilities not available
at other sites,
meaning that the tools needed for restorations are available within a single
precinct.
Will the public have access to the site?
Long term plans
will consider public access to the site. However, initially the precinct
will be for volunteers, storage and restoration projects.
What does this mean for heritage transport groups?
The NSW Government recently announced its Future Transport & Tourism
Strategy where it committed to
continued support
of heritage train operations as a way of
growing the visitor economy. With the support of Transport Heritage NSW, Chullora presents an
opportunity for heritage
train operators to stage main line
operations more efficiently. It also provides an opportunity for other reputable heritage transport (rail, bus and tram) groups with legitimate restoration projects and storage challenges, to have a presence at the new heritage transport hub.
When will the Chullora
Heritage Hub be operational?
The detailed
planning work for the
Chullora Heritage
Hub will commence in early 2019. Further information will be
made available once this detailed
planning is underway.