Ian & Stuart's Australian Mac: Not for Sale/Another.not.for.sale (Australia).iso/Dr. Doyle/Sydney Underground

Text File | 1994-09-04 | 24KB | 407 lines

 THE ST JAMES RAILWAY TUNNELS
 ----------------------------
 Some historical notes

 During the 1890's there was much discussion about a possible extension of the
 railway from the then Sydney Terminal Station at Devonshire Street into the
 city proper.  This would enable city workers to travel direct to the city by
 train and avoid the necessity of changing to a stream tram to complete their
 journeys.  A number of enquiries were held and various schemes were proposed
 for a city railway, inlcluding plans for an above ground steam railway to
 Circular Quay, and another for a huge rail terminal in Hyde Park.

 The plan ultimately adopted was concoted by Dr J.J.C.Bradfield who designed an
 elaborate electric railway system to serve the city and suburbs.  As with all
 schemes adopted by governments, there have been many changes to the original
 concept, and much of the proposal has never been completed.  Some of the
 Bradfield ideas which have seen fruition are the building of the present
 underground railway system (which, with the exception of the present Eastern
 Suburbs Railway, constituted only a part of Bradfields' city proposals), the
 building of lines to Cronulla and East Hills, the completion of the Bankstown
 - Regents Park - Cabramatta - Lidcombe network, the construction of the
 metropolitan goods lines system, and, of course, the construction of the
 Sydney Harbour Bridge, although not to the plans originally submitted.  Ideas
 which await completion or which have been discarded include railways from
 North Sydney to the Northern beaches, St Leonards to Epping, Central to
 Matraville / Sydenham and Town Hall to Gladesville.

 Construction of the present City Railway was part of the master plan, and as
 each stage was brought into use, sufficient construction work was completed
 to enable extensions of the system to be made at a later date without
 interference to the service already provided.  Thus, at North Sydney, there
 are tunnels leading perhaps half a kilometre towards Mosman for the Peninsula
 Railway.  At Town Hall, additional platforms were provided at the Low Level
 for the line to Gladesville.  (These are now used by the Eastern Suburbs
 Railway.)  Even in the 1970's with the construction of the Eastern Suburbs
 Railway (to a route quite different from Bradfield's proposals), two
 additional platforms and short sections of associated tunnels were
 constructed at Central for the Southern Suburbs Railway to Mascot, just in
 case it was ever decided to build it.  These platforms are above the ESR
 platforms, and their presence explains the surprisingly long escalator trip
 down to platforms 24 and 25.

 The original city railway proposals saw St James as a busy junction and
 changeover point. In addition to the City Circle lines now in use, an
 additional double track railway was to be built from Gladesville via the City
 to Watson's Bay and the South Eastern suburbs.  This line was to enter the
 city from the west over Darling Harbour (somewhere near the present
 Distributor bridge), run underground and curve around from Town Hall, under
 O'Connell Street, to St James, where it would utilise the two spare centre
 platforms.  There were to be two sations run under Hyde Park and Oxford
 Street to Taylor Square, where there was to be a junction.  One pair of
 lines was to go to Watson's Bay, and the other through Paddington and
 Randwick towards Botany.  At St James, there were to be crossover junctions
 to enable exchange of trains between the Gladesville / Eastern lines and the
 City Circle.

 The first section of the city railway was opened in 1926, from Cleveland
 Street to Central Electric station.  The section on to St James was opened a
 few months later.  It was, from the start, available for electric trains only,
 and the first service ran between Central and Oatley.  This was extended to
 St James when that section of the line was opened for traffic.  During the
 next couple of years, the electrification expanded rapidly, reaching
 Sutherland, Liverpool, Parramatta, Bankstown and Hornsby by 1929.  Progress
 then slowed until outer suburban development required extension of the
 electrified system to Penrith in 1955, Lithgow in 1957, Cowan in 1959, Gosford
 1960, Campbelltow in 1968, Waterfall 1980, Wyong 1982, Newcastle 1984 and
 Wollongong in 1985.  Branch lines have been electrified as the traffic
 warrants.  Not all the electrification works were for commuter trains -- the
 Western Line in particular was electrified to handle heavy coal traffic
 expected from collieries at Wallerawang.  This traffic did not eventuate and
 the electrification was halted at Bowenfels, just west of Lithgow.

 The new Central station stood on part of the 1906 Sydney Terminal, some
 platforms and a goods yard having been abolished to make way for it.  The
 four lines to Wynyard were opened in 1932, and the lines across the Bridge to
 the new Milsons Point and Waverton opened shortly after.  Four lines were
 provided between Wynyard and North Sydney, although two of these were used by
 trains until the closure of the North Shore train network in 1958.  The bridge
 tramway space is now used by the Cahill Expressway.

 From 1932 until 1956, many trains terminated in the City; only those to North
 Sydney ran through.  Wynyard Low Level and St James were busy terminals until
 1956 when these two stations were connected by the line through Circular Quay,
 allowing trains to run into the City and back out again without having to
 stop and reverse direction.

 As mentioned earlier, St James was intended to be one of the focal points of
 the City operations, and, incidentally, of this paper.  St James was built,
 as was much of the City Railway, by the cut and cover method.  In this way,
 a large hole was dug in the ground, walls were built, a roof provided and the
 rest of the hole filled in.  The outer two platforms were for the trains
 travelling to and from Circular Quay and this is their current use.  The
 inner two platforms were for trains travelling to and from the Watsons Bay /
 Randwick area (then referred to as the Eastern Suburbs Railway).  These have
 never been used for trains, although the tunnels existed from St James for
 some distance in either direction.  The tunnels were built around to Circular
 Quay, although it was to be another thirty years before they were used for
 passenger trains.

 As St James was to be the terminal point, for the time being at least, of all
 trains on that section of the line, facilities were provided for the rapid
 handling of traffic.  Two dead end sidings were provided at the Circular Quay
 end, between the two tunnels which run through to Circular Quay.

 A train would arrive at St James, passengers would detrain, and the train
 would proceed into one of the sidings.  There the driver would change ends
 while the next train was unloading at the platform.  The first train would
 then run back to St James, this time via the departure platform, and load.
 In this way, four trains could be handled simultaneously -- one unloading,
 one loading and one in each siding.  In busy times, the outgoing driver
 actually boarded the back of the train when it arrived at St James in
 readiness to drive the train  out of the terminal siding.  This saved the delay
 incurred whilst one driver walked from one end of the train to the other.  A
 signal box was provided to control this working, although when times were
 quiet, points and signals could operate automatically.

 In 1936, the track ultimately to carry trains from Circular Quay to St James
 (known as the City Outer) was built from St James as far back as the tunnel
 portal at Circular Quay.  This line was used for the storage of trains
 between the peak hours.  During the Second World War, the unused St James to
 Circular Quay tunnel and those intended for the Eastern Suburbs Railway at
 the Museum end, were converted to bomb shelters in case Sydney sufferered an
 air raid.  The bomb shelters were removed from the Circular Quay tunnel for
 the building of the line in 1956, but remain at the Museum end.

 The extension of services to Circular Quay meant that trains were no longer
 required to terminate at St James as a matter of course, although the two
 sidings and the signal box were retained for use in emergencies.  One or two
 trains normally terminate each week day at St James, partly to keep the staff
 conversant with the operating procedures and partly to keep the sidings rails
 polished.  The latter is necessary as good electrical contact is required
 between the rails and the wheels of the train to maintain `track locking' --
 a system which detects the presence of a train and prevents points being
 moved under it.  Recent emergencies which have entailed heavy train
 termination at St James have included a bomb scare at Wynyard and flooding of
 other sections of the City Railway.

 The signal box and sidings were out of use for about a year in 1985-6 due to
 the working of the asbestos train.  This work train occupied one or other of
 the city lines in the evenings, when the St James terminators ran.  It was
 not possible therefore to use the sidings on a regular basis, and the rails
 became rusty.  It was not considered safe therefore to leave the facility
 available for use when the operating conditions were ideal for derailments,
 and the main line points were clipped out of use.  When the asbestos working
 ceased, the St James signal box was once again brought into use.

 The terminal sidings occupy a double line tunnel located, as mentioned
 before, between the two single line tunnels in use by circle trains.  This
 tunnel curves to the right and drops quite sharply along its 250 metre length.
 At its end, it is very much lower than the City Inner railway line to its
 left, and the original purpose of the exercise was that the double line
 tunnel, to lead eventually to Town Hall and the Western Suburbs, would pass
 under the City Inner Line.  At the sidings, directly under the Mitchell
 Library, there is a rock face and a small pilot tunnel at roof level.  It is
 felt that this rock face, about 25m across, coincides with Shakespeare Place,
 and that, when the tunnels were being dug, the Shakespeare Place excavation
 was for some reason left until later.  Through the pilot shaft blows, on
 occasion, a tremendous gale generated by trains passing through adjacent
 tunnels, and coping with this blast of air standing at the top of a ladder or
 bent double in the pilot shaft can be an interesting exercise.  At the Quay
 end of the pilot tunnel is another double line tunnel, with a concrete arched
 roof, but sandstone walls.  This tunnel stretches away in a left hand curve
 towards Bridge Street.  It passes under the City Inner Line and starts a
 tight arc which would ultimately have led to Town Hall, but avoiding Wynyard.
 Construction ceased after suficient tunnel had been built to clear the City
 Inner Line, the end being probably about where it would go under Macquarie
 Street.  It is possible to enter this tunnel, but flooding prevents much
 progress.  Because the tunnel falls away, the water is about 5 - 6 metres
 deep at the Circular Quay end, becoming shallower the closer you are to St
 James.  At this end, a drain leads the water into the existing underground
 drainage system, so the water level will not increase further.

 At the entrance to this flooded tunnel, at the end of the pilot tunnel, is a
 vertical shaft leading upwards.  In the days of bomb shelters at this end, a
 dizzy zig zag stair case used to lead up this shaft to a pill box in
 Shakespeare Place.  The staircase and pill box have long since been removed.
 There are signs of other tunnels leading off this shaft, and it is not known
 where these lead to.  There are persistent rumours that General Macarthur had
 his wartime headquaters somewhere in this area, but there are now no signs of
 this activity.  Indeed there are so many theories on places where MacArthur
 had his base that the man could not have possibly used them all.  Of interest,
 however, is the fact that in the late 1960's, there was a large fire in
 disused railway tunnels at St James.  So large was the fire that smoke closed
 the railway for some hours.  Yet in the tunnels accessible these days, there
 is little sign of any fire damage **.  MacArthur may well have operated out
 of St James form a section now boarded off, or from the City Inner tunnel
 which was not then in use for trains.

 Complicating the story of this section was the building of the Cahill
 Expressway in the early 1960's, and this may have obliterated some traces of
 earlier workings.

 The Eastern Suburbs railway tunnels at the Museum end of St James station are
 not so complicated in their history.  Not one has ever seen a train, and it
 is most unlikely that they ever will, as the ESR has been built to quite a
 different plan.  It actually crosses underneath St James at right angles just
 north of the platform.
 A blast curtained opening leads into a double track tunnel almost immediately
 on the Museum side of the station.  Like the spare tunnels at the Circular
 Quay end, this tunnel is located between the two currently in use for rail
 traffic.  They are also on a fairly stiff gradient, this time upwards. After
 a short distance, the double line tunnel becomes two parallel single line
 tunnels, still rising sharply.  In this way, they rise up over the top of the
 City Outer tunnel, in the direction of Taylor Square.  Again, just enough
 tunnel was built to ensure that rail traffic would not be disrupted when
 construction resumed.  The tunnels end in a barricade under Hyde Park, about
 level with, but well to the East of, Museum Station.  Behind the barricades
 can be seen rocks piled up where the hole in the ground construction ended.
 The existence of this tunnel system can easily be noted by watching trains
 arrive at and leave Museum at the St James end.  The reverse curvature of the
 tunnels in use now to get around the tunnel between them is obvious.

 The double line tunnel is divided into a number of bomb shelters, each
 divided by a solid transverse wall from floor to ceiling.  Access between the
 shelters is via a concrete blast curtain, with a similar curtain higher up
 for ventilation.  Each shelter would be about 30m long.  The single line
 tunnels have for a short distance also been divided into bomb shelters, again
 with transverse concrete dividers, and there is blast curtained cross access
 between the tunnels.  Further along the tunnels, the blast curtains have been
 removed for some reason, and the remains of mass concrete and reinforcing
 rods make walking difficult.  In some of the tunnel, tree roots from Hyde
 park above have pierced their way through drainage holes and run down the
 walls and across the floor.  In one tunnel, they hang from the roof and are
 festooned by cobwebs; by torchlight, the effect can be splendidly eerie,
 especially if you walk into one without seeing it.  As there have been a
 number of inspections recently, the number of cobwebs has diminished somewhat.

 At the Museum end of these tunnels, a great deal of graffiti has been scrawled
 on the walls, much of it recent.  However, careful searching can find the
 pencilled names and serial numbers of soldiers, who, it is assumed, were
 involved in 1942 with the construction of the bomb shelters.

 The Eastern Suburbs Railway as envisaged by Bradfield will now never be
 built, and these tunnels are unlikely ever to see a train.  Likewise, it
 seems most unlikely that the Western Suburbs railway will ever be built.
 Much of the tunnel constructed for it is flooded, its platforms at Town Hall
 have been utilised for the present Eastern Suburbs Railway, and all it has
 ever seen is the slow moving of shunting terminating electric trains.

 St James itself has seen a decline.  Its lines are more in keeping with
 another age.  The busy days of terminating trains and the shouts of `all
 change' have gone.  And the 1979 opening of the Eastern Suburbs Railway was
 ultimately to rob St James of much of its through traffic, as all main line
 Illawarra services - the Mortdale, Cronulla, and Waterfall services now run
 to Bondi Junction.  Outside of peak hours, St James has become almost a
 backwater of the busy rail system.

 For those interested, group tours of St James, lasting about an hour and a
 half can be arranged through the Australian Railway Historical Society,
 telephone [phone].


 **  Ed. example of fire damage found on wooden poles, top of narrow passage
 between the shunting yards and the underground lake near Shakespeares Place.
 These pylons appear to reinforce the concrete roof of the shunting yards.


                -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 AUSTRALIAN RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
 ST JAMES INSPECTIONS
 Preliminary Notes for Inspection Groups

 IMPORTANT NOTE

 As trains now operate into the terminal sidings around the times of the
 inspections, the Society and State Rail Authority cannot guarantee that the
 inspections will proceed.  Late or out of course running of these trains
 could cause last minute disruption to or canncellation of the inspections,
 and your group may arrive at St James to find that due to these circumstances,
 the inspection is unable to proceed.  We sound this warning, but you should
 note that to date, all Society inspections at St James have run without
 problems.


 MEETING POINT

 The group will meet at the Station Master's office at the appointed time.
 The Station Master's office is located on the station concourse at the Museum
 or southern end, opposite the refreshment kiosk.  Any parcels or coats may be
 left in this office.


 CLOTHING

 Please wear old clothes and sound footwear.  Some of the walking is a little
 rough underfoot, and can be muddy in places.  The pilot tunnel at the
 Circular Quay end is filthy, and people tend to get dirty at this point of
 the inspection. As drainage problems occur, please come prepared to get wet
 to your ankles if the bomb shelters are flooded.


 LADDERS

 You may be aware that part of this inspection involved climbing ladders in
 semi-darkness.  Please do not let this put you off coming.  The group returns
 the same way it enters the tunnels, and anybody who does not wish to climb
 the ladders, or who feels claustrophobic, may wait for the group to return.


 PHOTOGRAPHY

 You are welcome to take photographs; a flash will be necessary.  Apart from
 the usual courtesies to the other members of your group, you are, however,
 asked not to take photographs of trains, as the unexpected flash can startle
 the train drivers who are normally not advised of the inspections.
 ***

 RUNNING LINES

 It is a condition of the inspection that members of parties obey all
 directions of the guide, and in particular that nobody crosses or stands on
 the main running lines.  We have never had an accident at St James, and would
 hate anyone to come in contact with a moving train.  At one or two points in
 the inspection we are quite close to the main lines, so care is essential.

 INDEMNITY FORMS

 The State Rail Authority requires all persons participating in inspections
 of railway premises to sign a form indemnifying the SRA against any claims
 for any accident or injury.   The Society also requires such indemnity.
 Prior to commencement of the inspection, each member of the party will be
 asked to sign a form.


 SIZE OF GROUPS

 Because of the limitations of the ladders, and the time taken by groups to
 traverse the pilot tunnel, we prefer groups not to exceed around 15 people.
 If you have more than 15 people wishing to inspect St James, we can arrange
 for the group to be divided and to use a second guide.


 TORCHES

 We prefer each member of inspection parties to bring and carry a torch.


 CONTACT

 The contact officer for St James tours is Graham Harper, telephone [phone]
 or 212 1201.  Should you encounter any late changes or difficulties, please
 ring Graham on these numbers.

 We hope you will enjoy your inpection.

 GH10/87


 *** Ed. a rail historical society tour was once reported inspecting the
 tunnels -- a train driver not knowing their purpose reported this on radio,
 and State Rail police soon decended upon them; it is a good idea to carefully
 keep out of sight of passing trains when inspecting the tunnels

                -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 LEGALESE:  (Read This)

 Indemnity Form
 Copies Available from State Rail, St James Stn Masters Office


 INDEMNITY FORM

 I, _____full name___________ of ____full address incl_______ postcode______
 in the State of New South Wales HEREBY REQUEST the State Rail Authority of
 New South Wales (hereinafter called the Authority) to permit me on ____
 date______________ to enter premises for _______________________________________


 AND in consideration of being granted such permission I AGREE that in entering
 being upon or leaving such premises I do so entirely at my own risk and that
 neither the Authority nor any of its employees shall be responsible for any
 injury or loss howsoever caused that I may sustain whilst entering being
 upon or leaving such premises AND for the consideration aforesaid I FURTHER
 AGREE that should I sustain injury howsoever caused whilst so entering being
 upon or leavin such premises in pursuance of such permission as aforesaid
 and such injury results in or contributes to my death no compensation shall
 be recoverable from the Authority or any of its employees by my executors
 adminstrators dependants or relations or any other person claiming through or
 under me AND for the consideration aforesaid I FURTHER AGREE that should the
 death of any person ensue or any damage injury or loss be occasioned to any
 person or thing or any property of the Authority or its employees by reason
 of anything suffered or done or omitted to be suffered as done by me whlst
 entering upon or leaving such premises in pursuance of such permission as
 aforesaid whether such death damage injury or loss be occasioned either
 directly or indirecty or with or without any default or negligence on my part
 I WILL INDEMNIFY the Authority or any of its employees from and against any
 claim that may be made against it or them or any damage or loss incurred or
 suffered by it or them as theresult of such death damage injury or loss and
 any costs or expensers incidental thereto and will accept as final an
 assessment by the Authority or by any person duly authorised by it in that
 behalf of the said damage or loss AND I ALSO AGREE AND UNDERTAKE to comply
 with every direction given to me whilst entering being upon or leaving such
 premises in pursuance of such permission as aforesaid by any person on behalf
 of the Authority AND I ADMIT the right of the Authority to withdraw this
 permission at any time without notice.

 DATE this _______________________ day of _____________ 19____

 SIGNED in my presence by the said ___________________________

                        Witness ______________________________