| Historical notes: | The Main Northern line between Sydney and Newcastle was constructed in two distinct stages and in the earliest years, worked as two separate railway systems.
The line between Sydney (actually the junction at Strathfield) and the Hawkesbury River was opened on 5 April 1887, with the terminus being on the southern bank of the Hawkesbury River. The line between Newcastle and the northern bank of the Hawkesbury River (near present day Wondabyne) was opened in January 1888.
The line was completed through between Sydney and Newcastle with the opening of the massive bridge over the Hawkesbury River in 1889.
In 1857, a line was opened between Newcastle and East Maitland, linking the two towns, Newcastle and Maitland. The Great Northern Railway (as it was then known) was extended further up the Hunter Valley over the next 20 years.
In the 1870s, a locomotive depot was established at Honeysuckle Point (near present-day Civic Station), providing for the locomotive servicing and repair capabilities for the locomotives working in the northern region of the system. By the 1890s, the meagre facilities at Honeysuckle Point were proving to be inadequate and a new depot was established at Hamilton, within the triangular shaped section of land formed by the lines between Broadmeadow, Hamilton and Waratah.
On 15 January 1888, the 82km section (52 mile) between Woodville Junction and Gosford was opened for traffic, an essential link in the planned railway between Sydney and Newcastle. Woodville Junction is the rail junction between the line to Newcastle station and the Main Northern line to Maitland. The Woodville Junction-Gosford section was originally constructed as ‘single line’ but within two years, duplication had been completed as far south as Teralba.
During the early 1920s, with increased size of motive power and an increase in the number of locomotives, an even larger depot was required, with Hamilton depot proving to be too small. A new, much larger depot was planned for Broadmeadow, on the Down side of the main line, between Adamstown and Broadmeadow stations.
Broadmeadow locomotive depot was opened in 1924 and soon became the principal locomotive repair and servicing depot in the northern part of the state.
When opened in 1924 and within the next couple of years, Broadmeadow locomotive depot comprised one roundhouse (No.1), fitted with a 75-feet diameter turntable, a large elevated timber coal stage, large elevated water tanks, a crew barracks for locomotive crews, a barracks for Traffic Branch employees ( located on the eastern side of Broadmeadow marshalling yard) and a number of other depot structures. Being such a large and important locomotive centre, a large boiler washout plant, extensive repair workshops, a machine shop, sign-on rooms, meal rooms, wash rooms, and locker rooms were part of the arrangement.
The convention regarding train crew barracks that applied in the twentieth century was that Engine drivers and firemen, and the traffic officers (i.e. Guards) were accommodated in separate barracks. The Drivers and Firemen were accommodated in a concrete drop slab building that was constructed in 1924 . The traffic officers were housed in the Guards barracks (opposite side of tracks). It is possible that the brick building is not the same as built in 1924. However its style and detailing could be as early as the 1920s or as late as the 1940s. The exact date of construction has not been established (Ellsmore, 2000).
Steam locomotive servicing areas, commonly referred to as locomotive depots, date from the earliest days of the NSW railways (the 1855 period). During the 1940s and 1950s, it is estimated that in excess of 150 sites similar to, but generally smaller than Broadmeadow) were in existence in the state. These servicing sites included more than 145 locomotive sheds and roundhouses.
With the introduction of dieselisation in the 1960s the Broadmeadow Depot was downsized in accordance with reduced demand for its facilities and today it is little more than a remnant servicing depot for area.
In 2009 there are only seven roundhouses or part roundhouses remaining in the state. |