Trains 'n' Trains 'n' Trains.

Approaching Bungendore station from Queanbeyan

My recent trip to Sydney was by train - the first time since November 2004 that I had travelled by CountryLink and that trip back then was the first train-trip since 1984, when I used to commute by rail into Sydney from Springwood, in the Blue Mountains.
So I was interested to see what, if anything at all, may have changed in nine years.

Well, not much, in fact.
Not that I was disappointed, because being a "new" senior citizen I was able to take advantage of the concessional fare and travelled return first class for the princely sum of $24!
I can't fill my (small, frugal and most enjoyable) car up for less than $47, when petrol sits at $1.57 per litre for 91-octane.

The train was clean, departed Canberra on time, was comfortable and arrived 90 seconds early at Central.
The refreshments were fine - the old Railway Refreshment Rooms (RRR) that I was used to back in the 1960s have long faded but they did serve a bloody good pie, mashed potatoes, peas and gravy in their dining room at Central. The modern food is of the "fast" variety, heated in a microwave and served on plastic plates with plastic utensils. But it was hot and tasted good.

When in Sydney I had occasion to travel by suburban trains between Central and Chatswood and they were also a whole world beyond what I was used to back in the 60s and 70s, when the "Red Rattlers" ruled and were later being supplanted by the double-decker air-conditioned suburbans - many of which are still in operation today.


An original double-deck set at Campbelltown - still in use



Vestibule of the current Sydney suburban train.

These new trains (Tangara or Oscar) are bright, colourful, comfortable and a very pleasant mode of public transport.
In the photo below you can see one of these new items in the background, having pulled into one of the suburban platforms at Central.

Now, some photos of the CountryLink Xplorer and XPT trains, taken whilst they sat at platforms 3, 4 and 5 at Central ready to depart to their various destinations (mine was the Xplorer, bound for Canberra at 6:58 AM).

XPT bound for Dubbo, on the Central West line

Xplorer bound for Canberra, on the Southern/Canberra line

In background, XPT on Platform 3, bound for the North Coast line

Below is the front of my train, 2502, which consisted of just three cars.
The XPTs were made up of eight cars.

2502 ready to leave Central, departure being 6:58 AM

The return trip was just as enjoyable as the "up" journey three days previously.
I had a continental breakfast of hot buttered croissant with jam and a cup of coffee, but could well have chosen a breakfast of bacon & egg roll. The morning paper was also available.
All this is at additional cost to the fare, but that has always been the case.

Looking from Central station north to the clock tower and city buildings.
(Photo taken the previous day)

 

And so we departed on time, heading west then south, down the suburban corridor to Campbelltown, thence the Southern Highlands towns of Mittagong, Bowral, Bundanoon and Moss Vale.......

Near Bowral, in the Southern Highlands

 ......before arriving at Goulburn, then Tarago, Queanbeyan and finally Canberra.

Near Tarago, between Goulburn and Queanbeyan

The train pulled into Canberra station 2 minutes late, arriving at 11:25 AM rather than 11:23 AM.
But it wasn't the operator's fault - there was a slight delay at Bungendore whilst some work was being finished and a truck had to move away from the line.

A very pleasant journey and one which I will do again.

Railway Square & Broadway

 

NOTE! ALL PHOTOS ENLARGE IF CLICKED.



Between May 1964 and the end of 1966 I became very familiar with the area in Sydney from Railway Square, down Broadway to Abercrombie Street and also the top end of Harris Street.

This was where I attended what was then called Sydney Technical College ("STC" or more commonly "Sydney Tech") - now known as the University of Technology, Sydney, or "UTS".

My employer was located in O'Connor Street, Chippendale, just off Abercrombie Street, so it was an easy walk from Central station to the tech and/or down Broadway to O'Connor Street.

Later in my working life, between 1967 and 1975 (when the Chippendale factory closed down and most of us went out to Bankstown under the Otis Elevator umbrella) I was based in the engineering department of the company and, if not driving to work, would still do the walk from Central station (or Redfern station) so the area was still a very familiar one.

Until visiting Sydney this past weekend for my uncle's 100th. birthday celebrations I had not travelled on the suburban train network since approximately 1972, when my then fiancée and I used to commute between Toongabbie and Central/North Sydney, so I had not had an opportunity to stroll around this locality for several decades.

I stayed in the Adina Executive Apartments, right on Railway Square.
This building, back in my day, was the HQ of the Railways Post Office service, where mail would be pre-sorted before being loaded onto the mail trains that left Central for country destinations overnight.
The shell of the building has been retained (Heritage listed) and the interior has been turned into a very pleasant and comfortable hotel.

The photograph at the head of this article was taken from one of the three windows and presents Central Station and the road sweeping up to it from Railway Square/Lee Street.
Apart from some more modern architecture in the background, this view is very similar to what one would have seen from the same window some 40 years ago.

This next photo, taken from the corner window, looks across the conjunction of Railway Square, Lee Street, Pitt Street and George Street, the latter disappearing up into the canyon between the high-rise buildings as it makes its way to the other end of the city at Circular Quay and the harbour.
Once again, there is much that I still found familiar, with the two old office buildings, one on the left and the other on the right, acting as gate guardians to the start of George Street.

The last photo above, taken from the left-hand window, looks straight across Railway Square and shows the old Mark Foys department-store building that harks back to the 1930s.
This is now an annex of the UTS but when I was going to tech between 1965 and 1967 it was in limbo, the retailer having terminated business from this address.

Just to the left of the Mark Foys building, and in a basement location, was a pool-hall where my fellow class-mates and I would play snooker on a Friday afternoon after tech had finished.
We would have a few beers at the Agincourt Hotel on the corner and then spend a couple of hours or three before catching our respective trains home.

Agincourt Hotel on the left - corner of Harris St. & Broadway

The pool-hall is still there!

So imagine my delight when I saw that this old haunt was still in operation.
Certainly some of the businesses that are adjacent have changed but to learn that the Agincourt and the snooker establishment were still operating was a delight.

Armed with camera and on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon I ambled from Railway Square down Broadway to Abercrombie street.

Back in the 1950s and until his retirement my late father-in-law was employed at the Kent Brewery owned by Tooth & Co..
This brewery covered a vast area, from Kensington Street in the north to Abercrombie Street in the south, Broadway to the west and Wellington & O'Connor Streets to the east.
In its day it was one of the largest breweries in Australia.
The main entrance was a landmark due to its archway, shown in the next two photos.......

 

 

This is all that remains of what existed when I used to walk past on my way to work back in the 1960s, when the brewery was operational.
From all appearances, it has most likely been preserved under a Heritage classification, as the entire site is undergoing massive redevelopment as "CentralPark", a residential, retail and commercial enterprise.
On the left of the archway is the original Clare Hotel which I think must also be under a preservation order.

The following series of photos show what is there today - and bear in mind that this project is far from completion - there is still a lot of bare ground to be developed.

The first of the new buildings to be constructed on the old brewery site.

An amazing structure; cantilevered platforms and hanging gardens.
This is like something straight out of "Blade Runner"!



The CentralPark development from the north, taken from the train
as I was departing Central on Monday morning. 

In the last photo above that tall "glassy" building is the one with the cantilevered platforms. The main UTS building is the brown one behind it, on the opposite side of Broadway.

At the bottom end of the development sits Abercrombie Street, seen below.....

After wandering down Broadway from Central I would turn left here, walk up the street past St. Benedict's church and primary school on the right and then turn right into O'Connor Street and walk another 50 yards to the factory.

In the above photo, the Abercrombie (aka "Australian") Hotel has not changed and is still a licensed pub.
But the view behind it is somewhat different, because there was once a high wall of dark brick, the bottom boundary of the Kent Brewery. There also used to be a small fish 'n' chips shop located a bit further along, before O'Connor Street, I remember. It sold excellent school prawns and if we were working a Saturday's overtime we would invariably buy our lunch from that shop.

I'll complete this article with the above photo, showing a view from the corner of Abercrombie Street and Broadway, looking west towards City Road and Sydney University in the far distance.

Nothing much has changed in this view; that older office building was there (it housed a branch of the ANZ Bank) and the buildings along the right are the same, although the businesses may be different.

It was a very enjoyable walk and I was heartened by the fact that there was enough original architecture for it to still be very recognisable for me.

Celebrating a 100th. Birthday

Uncle Frank & my sister, Venette

On the 10th. August 1913 my mother's young brother, Frank, was born.
On the 10th. August 2013 he looked back on 100 years of life, an event celebrated by family members from here in Australia and from New Zealand, where he was born and lived until moving to Australia in the 1990s.

A birthday celebration was held in the Chatswood RSL Club and along with well-wishes from family and many friends, Uncle Frank also received congratulatory messages from the Queen, the Governor-General of Australia, the Governor of New South Wales, the Prime Minister, the Premier of New South Wales and other dignitaries.

 

On the Sunday, 11th. August 2013, a service was held in the Maori Anglican Fellowship Church of Te Wairua Tapu, in Elizabeth Street, Redfern.
This service marked the 75th. anniversary of the NZ WWII Veterans (RSL Sub-branch) in Australia and honoured not only my uncle but also Major Bob Wood (Ret), on the eve of his 99th. birthday, and also other NZ veterans who were present .
A delegation of dignitaries were in attendance, including Keith Payne, VC (forever now referred to as "Uncle Keith" - see below*) and the NZ High Commissioner to Australia, and the proceedings were recorded by NZ television, Channel 3 News.

This was a wonderful weekend and I was able to catch up with many relatives, some of whom I had only ever heard about from my mother or other immediate family members.

Certainly a reunion to remember and, as my cousin remarked, how precious it was to have everyone together for such a happy event when under previous circumstances we have only seen each other at funerals.

* My sister recognised the face but couldn't put a name to the gentleman.
She went up to Keith Payne, approaching him in a familiar manner, as if she and he were related and made some remark to that effect, then found out who he was!