Central Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Ngaambul: No response from the owner within the last 28 Days and as per my original note this cache has been archived. If you wish to replace it please submit a new cache via this link.

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Hidden : 8/3/2006
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


Welcome to Central Station’s 100th birthday celebration.
On Friday 4 August 2006, Central Station celebrates 100 years of service to the people of NSW.



Since its opening in 1906, Central has grown to be the largest station in NSW and is a major transport hub for commuters, used by approximately 145,000 passengers each day, who travel to and from it.
In addition to trains it is an interchange for people using the bus, coach and tram networks. Intercity passenger services to all mainland state capital cities depart from Central Station.
As well, many heritage train services depart from this station.

History: There have been three stations on the current site. The original Sydney Station was opened on 26 September 1855 in an area known as "Cleveland Fields." This station (one wooden platform in a corrugated iron shed), which was known at the time as Redfern, had Devonshire Street as its northern boundary.
When this station became inadequate for the traffic it carried, a new station was built in 1874 on the same site and also was known as Redfern. This was a brick building with two platforms. It grew to 14 platforms before it was replaced by the present-day station to the north of Devonshire Street.
The new station was built on a site previously occupied by a cemetery, a convent, a female refuge, a police barracks, a parsonage, a Benevolent Society and a morgue. This new 15-platform station was opened on 4 August 1906 and is still in use.
The Western Mail train that arrived in Sydney at 5:50am on 5 August 1906 went straight into the new station. Devonshire Street, which separated the two stations, became a pedestrian underpass to allow people to cross the railway line and is now known by many as the Devonshire St Tunnel.




Sydney station has expanded since 1906 in an easterly direction. A 75-metre Gothic revival clock tower was added at the north-western corner of the station on 3 March 1921.

Station Configuration: In attempting to describe Sydney's Central Station as it stands currently, it is probably better to think of the station as two separate, but adjacent, railway stations.
In the days of steam, the station was regarded as being divided into "steam" and "electric" parts.
The western ("steam") half of Central Station, which was formerly known as 'Sydney Terminal' and is often referred to as such by Sydneysiders (although it is no longer the official name), comprises 15 terminal platforms and was opened in 1906. This section is dominated by a large vaulted roof over the concourse and elaborate masonry composed primarily of sandstone, the most common rock in the Sydney region.
This western section is popularly known as the country platforms, even though only four platforms are commonly used for long-distance trains.
Most of the 15 platforms are used for CityRail's intercity services that terminate at Central, also known as Sydney Terminal. To the west of Platform 1, there was previously a siding leading to two dock platforms for use of mail trains. This siding has been cut back to serve a car loading ramp for the Indian Pacific.
The space where the mail sidings were is now a Youth Hostel. The hostel rooms are modelled on old train carriages.

The eastern ("suburban" or "electric") part of Central Station, formerly known as 'Central Electric', consists of 12 through platforms, four of which are underground. These platforms are used by suburban CityRail services, and by a limited number of through intercity services during peak hours.
The eight above-ground platforms were opened in 1926 as part of a large electrification and modernisation program aimed at improving Sydney's suburban railway services. The four underground platforms were built as part of the Eastern Suburbs Railway. Construction commenced in 1948 but the underground railway line was not finished until 1979. While the plans called for four platforms, two were found to be not needed and are currently used as archival storage by the New South Wales Railways.

I have placed a cache to celebrate 100 years of Central Station.
Join the celebrations and claim a cache at the same time.

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