Skip to main content

Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
Subjects
Economy
Secondary industry
Transport
Transport systems
Networks
Railway lines

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Railway lines

Subject

City Underground

Sydney's Metropolitan Goods Lines

The North Shore Line

Botany Goods Line

Darling Harbour - Sydney Yards Goods Line

Eastern Suburbs railway line

Illawarra railway line

Main Western Line

North Shore railway line

Royal National Park railway line

Southern Sydney Freight Line

Sydney Metro Northwest

Zig Zag Railway

Bird's eye view of Sydney showing the proposed city and suburban electric railways 1915

Construction of the railway at Circular Quay March 1948

Existing and projected Sydney railways 1926

Interior of St James' Underground Railway Station, Sydney 1926

Map of Suburban Rail Lines c1932

Marrickville Railway Station, near tram terminus [Subdivision near Sydenham railway station] c1881

North Shore railway terminus (St Leonards) c1890s

Paying Passengers on the Electric Service 1 March 1926

Railway map Sydney Suburban Railway 1939

Sydney and Suburbs postcard c1914

Sydney's existing railways (shown black) and the future railways (shown white) September 1926

Town Hall Station - low level tracks 19 May 1930

Unused tunnel at St James Railway Station 16 January 2016

West Botany, Illawarra Railway route: large blocks of land for sale in the estate of the late John Archibald Cunningham 1881

Search

Browse

Browse
- Artefacts
- Buildings
- Events
- Natural Features
- Organisations
- People
- Places
- Structures
- Entries
- Multimedia
- Subjects
- Roles
- Contributors

Connections

Broader Subjects

Networks

Footer

Home
About
Copyright
Blog
Facebook
Twitter

Railway lines

City Underground

The creation of a city railway was a central concern for town planners in Sydney from almost the moment that the first railway was opened in 1855. Initially the main terminus was in Cleveland Paddocks on the outskirts of the city, meaning commuters coming into town were required to alight from the train and transfer to trams, hansom cabs or omnibuses to continue into the city. The underground City Circle, and the city as we know it, took one hundred years to be completed.

Sydney's Metropolitan Goods Lines

The Metropolitan Goods Lines, which spread throughout the Sydney suburbs from 1916 onwards, have played a key role in the industrialization of the city and the development of many suburbs. While some of these lines have become disused, others have been repurposed as light rail for the contemporary city.

The North Shore Line

The North Shore Line, which runs from Hornsby to St Leonards, opened on 1 January 1890. It was Sydney’s first purely suburban railway.

Botany Goods Line

Freight line that runs from Marrickville to Port Botany. After the proposal for the line being approved by the New South Wales Parliament in 1913, work commenced on the line in 1915 then ceased in 1917 before beginning again in 1921. The line opened in October 1925 and was extended in 1929 to provide access to the Bunnerong Power Stations.

full record »

Darling Harbour - Sydney Yards Goods Line

Railway line specifically for freight built in 1855 between the Sydney yards, near today's Central Station, and Darling Harbour. Extensions to the line followed in the early 20th century. Part of the line was converted into an elevated urban pedestrian walkway and park, called The Goods Line, in 2012.

full record »

Eastern Suburbs railway line

Railway line that runs between Redfern and Bondi Junction, usually as an extension of the Illawarra line. Proposed as part of Bradfield's design for the city rail network in 1926, it wasn't opened until 1979.

full record »

Illawarra railway line

Suburban railway line constructed in the 1880s that runs from the city to Sydney's southern suburbs and then on to Wollongong and Kiama. The Cronulla branch line from Sutherland was opened in 1939.

full record »

Main Western Line

Extension of the suburban western line from Sydney to western New South Wales, with the line running to Bourke in the far west via the Blue Mountains and Bathurst. Also known as the Great Western Railway, the first extension of the line from Parramatta to Blacktown was completed in 1860, and then from Blacktown to Penrith in 1863. The extension beyond Penrith began in 1867 and was completed at Bourke in 1885.

full record »

North Shore railway line

Sydney's first purely suburban railway line that runs from the city to Hornsby in Sydney's north.

full record »

Royal National Park railway line

Short 1.9km branch line between Loftus railway station and the Royal National Park railway station that opened in 1886 to provide access to a military training camp in the park at Audley. The line closed in 1991 but was reopened in 1992 as part of the Sydney Tramway Museum's facilities.

full record »

Southern Sydney Freight Line

Dedicated 36-kilometre single track line that runs from south of Macarthur to Enfield West which was built by the Australian Rail Track Corporation for freight trains.

full record »

Sydney Metro Northwest

Fully automated metro railway line between Epping and Rouse Hill Station. The project was initially known as the North West Rail Link.

full record »

Zig Zag Railway

Railway which required four large cuttings and three stone viaducts to overcome an otherwise insurmountable climb up the eastern side of the Blue Mountains. Closed as a commercial line in 1910 it re-opened as a tourist railway in 1975.

full record »

Bird's eye view of Sydney showing the proposed city and suburban electric railways 1915

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[MB4 811.17gme/1915/1]

(Mitchell Map Collection)

Construction of the railway at Circular Quay March 1948

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

Existing and projected Sydney railways 1926

full record »

Contributed By

State Archives & Records New South Wales

[12685_a007_a00704_8735000169r]

Interior of St James' Underground Railway Station, Sydney 1926

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Building : the magazine for the architect, builder, property owner and merchant, 11 September 1926 Supplement via Trove]

Map of Suburban Rail Lines c1932

full record »

Contributed By

State Archives & Records New South Wales

[12685_a007_a00704_8735000175r]

Marrickville Railway Station, near tram terminus [Subdivision near Sydenham railway station] c1881

full record »

By

Hardie & Gorman Pty Ltd

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[MAP Folder 99, LFSP 1454]

(Marrickville Railway Station, near tram terminus : choice level building & business fronting good, main macadamised thoroughfares in the centre of population : for auction sale on the ground, Saturday Jany. 31st at 3 p.m. / Hardie & Gorman, Auctioneers, John Sands Litho)

North Shore railway terminus (St Leonards) c1890s

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.obj-142827586]

Paying Passengers on the Electric Service 1 March 1926

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The Sun, 1 March 1926 (Final Extra), p14 via Trove]

Railway map Sydney Suburban Railway 1939

full record »

By

New South Wales. Office of the Commissioner for Railways

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[c030540002 / M1 811.12/1939/1]

(Published and presented with the Compliments of the Commissioner for Railways) Reverse of map of Sydney City Underground Railways. (Mitchell Library)

Sydney and Suburbs postcard c1914

full record »

By

HEC Robinson Pty Ltd

Image courtesy of the

State Library of Victoria

(EE Wagstaff Collection)

Sydney's existing railways (shown black) and the future railways (shown white) September 1926

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Supplement to Building: the magazine for the architect, builder, property owner and merchant , Vol. 40 No. 229, (11 September, 1926) via Trove]

Town Hall Station - low level tracks 19 May 1930

full record »

Contributed By

State Archives & Records New South Wales

[12685_a007_a00704_8735000040r]

Unused tunnel at St James Railway Station 16 January 2016

full record »

By

Contributed By

[https://www.flickr.com/photos/beaugiles/26954512902/]

((CC BY 2.0))

West Botany, Illawarra Railway route: large blocks of land for sale in the estate of the late John Archibald Cunningham 1881

full record »

By

Hardie & Gorman Pty Ltd

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.map-lfsp340-s1]

Networks