NRS-15909 | Correspondence Concerning the Construction of Circular Quay Railway Station

Full description

This series consists of correspondence between the Chief Engineer of Metropolitan Railway Construction and various persons concerning the construction of the Circular Quay Railway Station. Letters and reports are typescript copies, articles and letters are in chronological date order. These loose pages are kept in manila folders.

There are four proposals mentioned in the series: 1) Railway viaduct over ferries. 2) Railway and roadway viaduct over ferries. 3) Railway viaduct over quay. 4) Railway and roadway viaduct over quay. The two main proposals are: 1) Dr Bradfield’s proposal to construct a roadway superimposed that would carry traffic from the bridge to Macquarie Street and the construction of a railway in the centre of the quay adjacent to the ferries. This proposal also involved the demolition of the Fire Station and Harbour Trust office block. 2) The Railway Commissioner’s proposal to construct an overhead station located between the Western building line of Pitt St and the Eastern building line of Harrington St.

Included in the series are copies of letters and reports sent to the Director of Public Works detailing the four proposed schemes for the construction of the station. The reports address construction specifications such as retaining walls, supporting piers, working stresses and impact allowances, the design of the bridge and material used in construction. Other construction details include: painting metalwork, cutting edges and waterproofing. Quay station details include: roof, walls, floors, columns, windows, collapsible gates and escalators.

The series also contain reports which estimate the cost of each scheme. These reports include: estimates of reconstruction of the wharves, estimates of cost for a steel viaduct from Macquarie St Western boundary of Pitt St. on route over roadway of Circular Quay. Tramway estimates submitted by the Engineer For Tramways which includes: trackwork, relocating offices, overhead wiring, removing cable manhole and alterations to interlocking. Also included are estimations of market value of properties in George and Pitt Streets as well as rent analysis estimations by Raine and Horne Real Estate Agents of shops on the ground floor facing Circular Quay and shopfronts in George and Pitt Streets which will be effected by either scheme. There is also a report submitted by the Railway Estate Agent regarding the resumption and valuation of land where the proposed office building and station was to be built.

The series also contains newspaper articles dating from February to April 1929 concerning the proposed sites for the Station as well as newspaper articles regarding the design of the Harbour Bridge and whether Dr. Bradfield or Mr Ralph Freeman was responsible for the design. There is also a copy Architecture Magazine (1 July 1929) produced by the NSW Board of Architects which has an article written by Lecturer G.J Hill regarding the proposed station.

Custody History
From 1955 until 2000 the State Rail Authority of New South Wales maintained an 'in house archives' consisting of the archival records of Authority, its predecessor agencies and the private railway companies taken over by the government. The date ranges of the records were from 1849 until 2000. When the decision was made to close the 'State Rail Archives' the parts of the collection that were required as State Archives were transferred to the State Records Authority of NSW. Those record series were incorporated into the State Records series system of archives control and were re-numbered.

This series was formerly part of the State Rail Archives collection where it was identified as series R251. It may have been reviewed in the State Rail Archives as series R251 and could have been previously cited as such in notes by researchers at State Rail Archives or in publications or unpublished works.