Regent Street railway station

Regent Street
Southbound view in July 2006
Location Regent Street, Chippendale (Map )
Coordinates 33°53′12″S 151°12′09″E / 33.8868°S 151.2024°E / -33.8868; 151.2024Coordinates: 33°53′12″S 151°12′09″E / 33.8868°S 151.2024°E / -33.8868; 151.2024
Owned by RailCorp
Line(s) Rookwood
Platforms 1
Tracks 1
Other information
Status Reused
History
Opened 29 June 1869
Rebuilt 21 April 1985
Electrified Yes
Previous names Mortuary
Regent Street railway station
Mortuary station in 1872
Location in Greater Metropolitan Sydney
General information
Status Complete
Type Former railway station
Architectural style Victorian Free Gothic
Coordinates 33°53′12″S 151°12′08″E / 33.8865464307°S 151.2023515980°E / -33.8865464307; 151.2023515980
Construction started 1868
Completed 22 March 1869 (1869-03-22)
Opened June 1869 (1869-06)
Client New South Wales Government Railways
Owner Government of New South Wales
Technical details
Material
Design and construction
Architect James Barnet (1868-9)
Architecture firm Colonial Architect of New South Wales
Developer Government of New South Wales
Main contractor Stoddart & Medways
Designations
References
[1]

Regent Street railway station, formerly known as Mortuary railway station, was a railway station on Sydney's Rookwood Cemetery railway line. Funeral trains departed from the station, bound for Rookwood Cemetery. The station found later use as a part of Sydney Yard. The ornate Gothic building is still standing on the western side of Sydney Yard at Chippendale, close to Central railway station and Railway Square.

History

The station opened as Mortuary on 29 June 1869. At some point, its name was changed to Regent Street, after the street on which it is located.[2] It has also been referred to by different names, including the Necropolis Receiving Station and the Mortuary Station.[3] The station was built as part of the larger Rookwood Cemetery line. It was completed on 22 March 1869 but had been used since 1 January 1869.[4] It was also one end of the service that ran to the Woronora General Cemetery in Sutherland, located south of Sydney, and for trains heading to Sandgate Cemetery in Newcastle.[5]

This and the Receiving House station at Rookwood Cemetery were designed by colonial architect James Barnet in the Victorian Free Gothic style, using elements from the Venetian 13th century Gothic style. Principal sculptors Thomas Ducket and Henry Apperly worked on the elaborate carvings that were a feature of the stations, including angels, cherubs, and gargoyles.[4] Although both buildings were designed to look like churches, both in structure and in the symbolic elements that adorned them, they were never used as places of worship.[6]

From 14 March 1938, the station found a new use as a platform for horses and dogs. From February 1950 it was used as a platform for parcels.[2] It was restored by the State Rail Authority in 1985. By this time it had also been classified by the National Trust of Australia and the Australian Heritage Commission and made part of Permanent Conservation by the Heritage Council of New South Wales. The cost of restoring the site was approximately A$600,000. It was reopened on 21 April 1985 by Premier Neville Wran.[3][7]

From 1986 to 1989, a pancake restaurant, the Magic Mortuary was operated using railway carriages to house the diners.[3] Subsequently the station has occasionally been used as a venue to launch special train services and informative displays,[3] and as a hired function centre. In the early 2000s the platform was shortened at the northern end to make way for a bus terminus.

As part of the construction of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest, a bridge was built across the southern end of the platform in 2018.[8][9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Mortuary Railway Station and site". NSW State Heritage Register. Office of Environment & Heritage, Government of New South Wales. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 How & Why of Station Names: meanings and origins... State Rail Authority of New South Wales Archives Section (2nd ed.). State Rail Authority of New South Wales. 1982.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Oakes, J. (2002). From Central Sydney. Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 58–77.
  4. 1 2 Singleton, C. C. (1989). The Rookwood Cemetery Line. The Sleeping City: The Story of Rookwood. Society of Australian Genealogists, NSW.
  5. ↑ Mortuary Railway Station & Gardens Office of Environment & Heritage
  6. ↑ Buckle, E. G. (1987). A station of the cross. The Church. Ainslie, Canberra: All Saints Anglican Church.
  7. ↑ "Mortuary Station Reopens" Railway Digest June 1985 page 165
  8. ↑ Sydney Yard Access Bridge Laing O'Rourke 23 January 2017
  9. ↑ Major new walkway for Central Station to link metro and suburban train lines Sydney Morning Herald 22 March 2017

Media related to Regent Street railway station at Wikimedia Commons

Neighbouring stations

Preceding station   Closed Lines   Following station
Rookwood Cemetery LineTerminus
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