Broken Hill railway station

Broken Hill railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Broken Hill line in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.[1]

Broken Hill
LocationSilver City Highway, Broken Hill
Coordinates31°57′37″S 141°28′00″E
Owned byTransport Asset Holding Entity
Operated byNSW TrainLink
Line(s)Broken Hill
Crystal Brook-Broken Hill
Distance1124.80 kilometres from Central
Platforms1
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeGround
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Station codeBHQ
History
Opened15 July 1919
Rebuilt4 June 1957
Services
Preceding station NSW TrainLink Following station
Terminus NSW TrainLink Western Line
Broken Hill Outback Xplorer
 Menindee
toward Sydney
Preceding station Journey Beyond Following station
Adelaide
towards East Perth
 Indian Pacific
Towards Sydney
 Mount Victoria
towards Sydney
Indian Pacific
Towards Adelaide
 Sydney
Terminus

History

Broken Hill station opened on 15 July 1919 when the line opened to Menindee. Until extended further east in 1927, the section was not connected to the rest of the New South Wales Government Railways network.[2][3]

Broken Hill had a railway until 1888, with the Silverton Tramway connecting the city to Cockburn and Adelaide via Sulphide Street station. Broken Hill developed into an important location with the mines having provided a regular source of traffic.

Broken Hill was the border station between New South Wales and South Australia, with interstate trains changing locomotives up until the 1990s in the era of state owned railway networks.[4]

Services

Until its cessation in November 1989, Broken Hill was the terminus for the Silver City Comet from Orange.[5] It was also the terminus for Australian National's Silver City Limited from Adelaide from December 1986 until 1990.[6]

Today, Broken Hill is served by NSW TrainLink's weekly Outback Xplorer to and from Sydney. NSW TrainLink also operate a daily road coach service to Dubbo.[7]

Journey Beyond Rail Expeditions' weekly Indian Pacific also calls at Broken Hill.[8]

Platform Line Stopping pattern Notes
1 services to Sydney Central
Journey Beyond Indian Pacific to Sydney Central & Perth

Description

The heritage-listed main station building is a type 18 design, constructed of brick, steel and glass with a clock tower in 1957.[1]

The original 1919 station survives a short distance away, disused and derelict. The former stationmaster's residence at 265 Wills St has been privately owned since 1997. Neither building forms part of the modern station's heritage listing.[1]

Heritage listing

The new Broken Hill station is an excellent example of the application of the "modern style" to railway architecture. Very few sites of this scale were constructed at this time so this is a rare example. It was also one of the most expensive station buildings constructed reflecting political needs of the time.[1]

The juxtaposition of the now derelict first station building opposite, in pre cast concrete construction which was a standard country station building highlights the contrast between the new and the old buildings. The scale of the newer building belies the potential needs of the station and it is closely aligned to the major Victorian station buildings in design intent (but not in style or construction).[1]

Broken Hill railway station was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.[1]

The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

This item is assessed as historically rare. This item is assessed as scientifically rare. This item is assessed as arch. rare. This item is assessed as socially rare.[1]

References
  1. "Broken Hill Railway Station and yard group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H01101. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  2. Broken Hill Station NSWrail.net
  3. Broken Hill Railway Precinct NSW Environment & Heritage
  4. "Broken Hill Today" Railway Digest July 1985 pages 190-191
  5. "The Official Last Comet" Railway Digest February 1990 page 55
  6. "Western Report" Railway Digest February 1987 page 52
  7. "Western timetable". NSW Trainlink. 7 September 2019.
  8. "Indian Pacific timetable". Journey Beyond Rail Expeditions. 1 April 2019.

Bibliography

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on Broken Hill Railway Station and yard group, entry number 01101 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 2 June 2018.

Further reading
  • McNicol, Steve; Woodland, Tony (2014). Rails Around Broken Hill. Elizabeth, SA: Railmac Publications. ISBN 9781864770732.CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
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