Yes a Railway
Museum easily accessible
to all Sydneysiders and visitors from interstate and overseas and almost 100%
under cover. What could be better?
The Friends of Eveleigh have been actively seeking to
preserve the last remaining intact operational section of the Eveleigh Railway
Workshop Heritage Precinct, the Large Erecting Shop;
which has now been accepted as a Nomination for National Heritage Listing (The
Large Erecting Shop Eveleigh, Locomotive Street,
Eveleigh, NSW. – Place ID 105945, Place File No. 1/12/003/0016). Having
achieved this target, we set about developing a concept plan for a workable
Heritage Workshop/Museum which would also see the continued regular running of
heritage trains from the heart of this great city.
In consultation with qualified people in the heritage field,
with historians and academics and with present and past railway workers, this
concept plan has now been completed and on early reports has been widely accepted.
A copy was presented to the NSW Tourism Forum being conducted for the State
Government by Mr John O’Neill AO.
Although RailCorp has received a copy, interestingly, no response has been
received.
The Large Erecting Shop
and Eveleigh Rail Yards are still under RailCorp’s control and have not as yet
been vested to the Redfern Waterloo Authority. Unlike other current projects
under the Redfern Waterloo Authority’s control, a Rail Museum
would be self funding and would bring people and money into this area.
It has always been FOE’s view that the Large Erecting Shop at Eveleigh should be used as a working museum and
a base for heritage restoration because of its equipment, its availability to
skilled restorers and its access to tourist and rail tour departure points.
Although the use of Eveleigh has not been considered by RailCorp or the Government
because of their perceived view of major structural faults with the building,
it is only their lack of maintenance of this heritage building that has allowed
this to happen. Surprisingly, after an independent Engineer’s Survey was
completed by an external party, the structural problems have now been
downgraded to minor. The plan now appears to remove all railway heritage out of
metropolitan Sydney
to where it is “out of sight and out of mind”.
The Vince O’Rourke Report, perceived to be the Government’s
final working plan for all rail heritage in this State says – “consideration
needs to be given to accessing layover facilities in the metropolitan mainline network”.
Eveleigh for over 120 years has been used for this purpose and is still the
most suitable place available, yet RailCorp and the Government will not accept
the umpire’s decision.
Instead RailCorp plan to turn the S170 Heritage Listed
Mortuary Station in Regent Street
into a steam locomotive overnight staging, coal loading and watering site. The
taxpayers of NSW as usual will pick up the cost of these arrangements including
extra security staff needed to protect these trains. Eveleigh, the better
option has its own permanent 24 hour security service. Will these costs also be
taken from the RailCorp’s Heritage’s Fund?
If this Eveleigh
facility is lost, there will only be a short term gain where its current use
allows the benefits to continue for generations to come.
From Friends of Eveleigh Media Release – All correspondence
to: The Secretary, FOE, PO Box
381, Belrose West NSW 2085.