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Eastern Suburbs RailwayPrint Page Print this page

Plaque 2 : 07-March-2015
Plaque 2 : 07-March-2015

Photographs supplied by Peter F Williams

The plaque commemorates the achievement of the professional engineers and allied trades in designing and constructing the Eastern Suburbs Railway project. The plaque was unveiled in 1994, the 75th anniversary of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. 

An Eastern Suburbs Railway was one of those originally proposed by John Bradfield that was cut short by the Great Depression and World War 2. An initial alignment had been set in 1926, which saw the line go North from underneath Railway Square next to Central Station up to Town Hall, before heading Northeast towards stations at Pitt Street and O’Connell Street, then going South to St James Station until it would head East roughly along Oxford Street towards Bondi Junction.

Plans to build the line surfaced again after World War 2 in 1947, this time on the Kings Cross alignment that it would eventually follow. Future plans for an extension to North Bondi and Rose Bay were also on the table this time. After another brief period of construction, the project was abandoned again in 1952.

A third attempt to build the Eastern Suburbs Line commenced in 1967 and the line was finally opened on 23 June 1979 by then New South Wales premier Neville Wran around 50 years after it was first planned and 31 years after construction began - construction had taken place at a rate of approximately 250 metres per year on average. 

Location

Address:Martin Place , Ticket barriers, Martin Place Station, Sydney, 2000
State:NSW
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -33.867832
Long: 151.211525
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Plaque
Monument Theme:Technology
Sub-Theme:Industry

Dedication

Approx. Monument Dedication Date:1994
Front Inscription

The Institution                       CityRail
of Engineers, Australia    

              EASTERN
             SUBURBS
              RAILWAY

From Erskenville To Bondi Junction This Double Track Electric
Railway Is 10.5 km Long And Was Completed In 1979. The Engineering
Work Includes 1.5 km Of Box Tunnels Built By Cut And Cover Method. 
7.0 km Of Tunnels Bored Through Rock, Two Prestressed Concrete
Viaducts And Six Station Buildings. High Frequency Track Circuits
Were Used For Signalling Control And A Modern System Of Double
Contact Wires Was Used For Current Collection.  This Plaque
Commemorates The Achievement Of Professional Engineers And
Allied Trades In Designing And Constructing One Of The Largest
And Most Complex Engineering Projects In New South Wales.

Unveiled By The Honourable Bruce Baird, MP, Minister For Transport,
On The Occasion Of The 75th Anniversary Of The Institution Of
Engineers, Australia.
             1994
 

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au