The Eveleigh Railway Yards in the inner suburban Sydney suburb of Redfern 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 main purpose of the workshops was to provide the maintenance and repair of locomotives and railway stock and the manufacture of rolling stock such as wagons and passenger carriages. The site for the Eveleigh railway yards was chosen in 1875, resumed in 1878 and the compensation price settled in 1880. Approximately £100,000 was paid for 64.5 acres of land. Clearance began two years later. Construction took place between 1884 and 1917.
The workshops were conceived by Engineer-in-Charge John Whitton to build and maintain the infrastructure for the railway system, including the safe working systems and some of the perway systems. However, their main tasks were the maintenance and repair of locomotives and railway stock and the manufacture of rolling stock such as wagons and passenger carriages. At the time, there were no other facilities in NSW for the construction of locomotives and the workshops eventually became the largest railway workshops in the southern hemisphere and operated for over 100 years.
The workshops were set up on both the north and the south sides of the main western and southern railway lines, which led to a duplication of some workshop functions, but the really heavy work such as forging and casting of ferrous and non-ferrous metal, was to be carried out on the locomotive side. When the workshops were established most of the rolling stock had a wooden chassis, so the separation of services was not a major impediment to production.
Much work went into the design and construction of the buildings because of the sandy nature of the soil. The workshops were set up on both the north and the south sides of the main western and southern railway lines. The Engine Running Shed, now demolished, was the first building completed. The yards continued to grow and expand, and functions were continually changing. In later years workshops at Chullora in 1937 and later Clyde took over aspects of work formerly performed at Eveleigh and functions were rearranged accordingly. Re-organisation and attempts at modernisation in the 1970s came too late. Too much of the machinery was suited only to the steam locomotive era. Buildings containing old equipment, machinery which had become progressively inappropriate to a modern transport era saw the yards decline gradually until their closure in 1988.
In 1991 the NSW Government announced the creation of a technology park at Eveleigh in association with the University of NSW, the University of Sydney and the University of Technology. Decontamination works were carried out to cleared areas of the site progressively. In 1994 Paddy's Markets returned to Haymarket. City West Development Corporation took ownership of the Locomotive Workshops, bays 1-15, in addition to the New Locomotive Shed and the Manager's Office.
The Workshops were one of the largest employers in Sydney at the turn of the century, declining only in the latter half of the 20th century. It was and is an important source of pride and in demonstrating the capacity of Australian industry and workers and a high level of craft skills. Although no longer operating as a workshop, the place maintains symbolic value for the community as a former workplace and a place that provided economic input into the local area. It has strong symbolic ties with existing trade unions.
These are scattered along the existing rail corridor, generally located along embankments or cuttings. There are numerous collections of machinery within the buildings on the site, including equipment adjacent to the Locomotive Workshops, and machinery inside the buildings. In 1991 the NSW Government announced the creation of a technology park at Eveleigh in association with the University of NSW, the University of Sydney and the University of Technology. Decontamination works were carried out to cleared areas of the site progressively. In 1994 Paddy s Markets returned to Haymarket. City West Development Corporation took ownership of the Locomotive Workshops, bays 1-15, in addition to the New Locomotive Shed and the Manager s Office.
The external walls are of sandstock brickwork laid in English bond with arched window and door openings picked out in white bricks. The pediments have circular vents filled with louvres. The brickwork is modulated into bays forming piers which strengthen the walls. Externally, brick walls feature sandstone cornices, parapets, sills and base courses. The stone generally extends the full depth of the wall. Along the south side of the building are a series of annexes of varying dates of construction. Along the south of the building are two sets of tracks and several associated turntables. To the east in the space between the Loco Shop and the new Loco Shed a track lays parallel to the building, sections of which are now exposed. The locomotive workshop was closed in 1988, at which time the main rail workshops were moved to Enfield.
Built between 1884-1887 were originally designed for maintenance and repair of wagons and carriages. Later new carriages were designed and manufactured. Bays in the Carriage Workshops were numbered 16-25 over 17,500 square metres (188,000 sq ft). The construction of these workshops are essentially the same as the Locomotive Workshops
A large single storey building containing 8 roads in the brick section and 5 roads in the adjacent metal clad section. Each road is separated by a single row of cast iron columns which support the saw tooth south light roof.
This is located west of the Large Erecting Shop. A section of the old workshops, which faces onto Wilson Street, has recently been converted into a large theatre space. Numerous advertisements and television programs including MasterChef Australia, So You Think You Can Dance and the auditions of Australian Idol, have been filmed there.
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