HistorY
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ISSUE 18 | January 2022
William Webster
THE IRON ROAD TO PARRAMATTA
Bushranger worry on first railway DALLAS SHERRINGHAM t is amazing today to think that the engineers and firemen on the early rail service between Parramatta and Sydney were worried about bushrangers attacking the train. After the train crew left Ashfield, they were confronted with thick bush which was ideal for the local Ned Kelly’s to hide in wait for an ambush. Luckily, there were no reports of holdups in those pioneering railway days and the rail service became the Colonial Government’s conduit to opening up the farmlands around Parramatta Eventually the railway would reach Blacktown and Penrith, followed by the massive job of finding a route over the Blue Mountains. The Sydney Railway Company, a private company established to serve the interests of the port of Sydney, announced proposals to build a railway line to Bathurst in 1848. The company was taken over by the NSW Government in 1854, and in 1855 the first railway in the state was opened between Sydney and the present-day Granville. This railway was extended from Granville to the current Parramatta station and Blacktown in 1860 and Penrith in 1863. Electrification of the railway reached Parramatta in 1928 and Penrith in 1955. The Main Suburban line between Redfern and Granville was the first railway line to be constructed in the state. The Sydney Railway Company was incorporated in 1849 with the aim of building a railway from Sydney to Parramatta. Capital was raised, shares were sold, and a route was surveyed. The first sod was turned by on May 20, 1850. That’s when the infamous rail gauge problems began because the original Irish project engineer specified 5 feet 3 inches or 1600 mm but this was repealed when a Scot took over and demanded it be 4 feet 8.5 inches or 1435mm. The Company encountered many troubles: engineers came and went, the real estate required became expensive and difficult to acquire and money, supplies and manpower ran short because many staff took off to the goldfields. The government eventually took over. The line eventually opened to Parramatta Junction near Granville Station, with stations at Newtown, Ashfield, Burwood and Homebush. One of the original engineers William Webster was a natural storyteller from England which was a far cry from the wilds of Western Sydney: “There were not more than half a dozen carriages. The Third-Class carriage had a roof but they were entirely opened at the sides and the seats hadn't any backs. The Second Class were the ordinary closed carriages of the day. They had no cushions or
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I
At Petersham there wasn't a house – excepting three small cottages on the Parramatta Rd. The train did the journey to Parramatta in 40 minutes.” – William Webster.
Statue of bushranger, Ned Kelly.
padded backs or anything of that kind–Just bare boards. But the First-Class carriages were well upholstered. I saw some of those on the Great Northern Line in England,” said William. “In those days we did not run right into Parramatta town. The first Parramatta station was a little way beyond Granville at Dog Trap Creek.
Father of enginemen in NSW “I hadn't any experience when I took the job. My experience was entirely local. I am a native of Kent, England, and came out to Victoria in 1852, where I spent two years on the diggings at Bendigo. I didn't make my fortune there, however. “When I came to Sydney, I had onepound weight of gold, the result of two years' work.
“I was the first colonially-trained driver but Sixsmith may be considered the father of enginemen in NSW. He and Twiss had previous railway experience in England. “The first Redfern Station was only a temporary building with a single line in it. I don't think you would have seen more than five or six silk hats on it in those days. “The line to Parramatta was through the bush. There wasn't much settlement. When you came through the Eveleigh Tunnel you found scrub on the left-hand side. “‘At Petersham there wasn't a house – excepting three small cottages on the Parramatta Rd. The train did the journey to Parramatta in 40 minutes. “Only a single line to Parramatta had been completed when the railway was opened; the second line was laid afterwards.
“Down the Lane Cove Creek there were a few houses. But after you left Ashfield there was nothing but bush until you reached the Horse and Jockey Hotel at Homebush. Beyond that again it was only bush until you reached Granville. “They had a land sale at Granville and tried to persuade people to build a town and move from Parramatta, but they would not come. Buses used to take the passengers from the station into Parramatta. “In the bush ranging days, drivers often contemplated the possibility of their trains being stuck up or wrecked. We used to frequently carry the railway takings and gold escort.” William Sixsmith drove the first train to Parramatta and in 1905 he recalled the event: “I took the first train out of Redfern, Governor Denison was on board, and we drove to Parramatta and back. We started the train in the morning. It was a holiday for the rest of the people,” he said. “I suppose nearly all the people of NSW were there, but it wasn't very much of a holiday for me. I had been working pretty well all day and night for a week previously to get the ballasting finished. “We had four engines at first. The first engine, known as Number One. “At that time the country between here and Parramatta was nearly all bush. There was a stray public house here and there on the roadside. Parramatta was a nice little town at that time.” Mr Sixsmith recalled that the reaction of many of the locals to a steam engine roaring to life was highly amusing and he reckoned some were ‘still running for days afterward’. Sources: ‘The Iron Road: Australian Railway Folklore & Song’, Warren Fahey. Wikipedia. NSW Railways
