๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ง ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ง๐จ๐จ๐ง, ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ, ๐๐๐, ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐
Mount Victoria Railway Station on a misty December weekday afternoon during holiday season, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia. Trains come and go from Central station in Sydney, and some trains sporadically go as far as Bathurst to the west, however most end in Lithgow. The station opened on 1 May 1868, and is heritage listed. It is the starting point for many Blue Mountains intercity trains into Sydney's Central Station.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_V...
Mount Victoria has always been an important railway centre since its opening in 1868. It was the first platform structure made of material other than timber built after Penrith station. The original station building still remains and was to a design consistent with the time of John Whitton, Engineer-in-Chief of the NSW Railways. Further additions were carried out in 1899 to the ladies' toilet and other areas. The parcels office was added in 1911 to the Sydney end of the building.
In 1884, the two level stone addition containing the Railway Refreshment Room was built under the supervision of George Cowdery, Engineer-in-Chief for Existing Lines and was built by George Dengate. The Refreshment Room contained on the upper level eight bedrooms for travellers and quarters for the Manager and family, again typical of NSW practice. Alterations to the Refreshment Room occurred in 1919 and additional bedrooms were built at the rear in 1943. The Refreshment Room closed in 1957.
A locomotive depot existed at Mount Victoria in 1897 and was greatly expanded in 1911-13 when duplication of the line through Mount Victoria was completed. The depot was home to the locomotives and crews who worked the famous "The Fish" commuter train to Sydney. Mount Victoria also was the destination of the Caves Express from Sydney, which conveyed holidaymakers to the Blue Mountains.
The construction of accommodation for enginemen, train guards and other on-board staff has been provided by the NSW Government Railways from the 1880s. In the late 1890s, a standard design of barracks was approved. Those at Mount Victoria reflected a standard arrangement with rows of four bedrooms on each side of the building. There was also a central kitchen and meal room, reflected in the roofscape by a large transverse gable. A toilet and Attendant's Room completed the plan. It continues also to be used for non-overnight purposes, for meals and locker accommodation.
Also on the Lithgow-bound platform is an elevated signal box. It was constructed in 1911 and continues in service (2009). It is built to the typical elevated signal box design dominant between 1910 and 1920.
A free-standing male toilet was built towards the western end of the Lithgow-bound platform in 1900. The verandah posts which supported the original platform awnings on the Lithgow-bound platform were removed in 1927. This was part of a programme to modernise the appearance of platform buildings by the use of large brackets which had begun in the 1890s under Chief Commissioner, E.M.G. Eddy.
The present Sydney-bound platform was built to serve the duplication west to Hartley in 1911, and the present buildings provided. It featured a second Railway Refreshment Room with the traditional lantern roof, which closed in 1957. The 1911 Up platform building is roofed with slates. This is possibly the last station to utilise slates as a roofing material.
The station's history is closely linked to Jenolan Caves. The station was the destination for the famous "Caves Express" which operated between the 1920s and 1942 conveying holidaymakers to the Blue Mountains. It was also the nightly destination of the famous "The Fish" train from Sydney. It was the only destination on the NSW railway system to have two named trains terminate one for commuters and the other for tourists.
The pedestrian footbridge linking both platforms was of truss form and built in 1911, replacing an earlier c.1896 bridge. It is largely in original condition and is typical of the design used throughout the NSW railway system.
A Station Master's Cottage was also constructed in 1868 and was similar to another 11 residences on the Blue Mountains built in stone. The structure was demolished over 30 years ago but the keystone showing the date of construction is still extant. It is now located in the Baden Powell Park, Mount Victoria. The history of the cottage is important as it illustrates that residences not always reflected the status of the occupant. In this case, the Station Master received the same type and size structure as did Gatekeepers on the line.
The train involved in the 1977 Granville Rail Disaster, consisting of eight passenger carriages hauled by 46 class electric locomotive 4620, commenced its journey towards Sydney's Central Railway Station at 6:09 am, Australia's worst Railway disaster.