POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Notes

From the earliest days of settlement in New South Wales the transportation of goods posed many problems. This situation worsened when explorers Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson crossed the Blue Mountains in 1813, opening the way into the interior. As settlement spread quickly the crudely made roads increased the time and expense of transporting goods. At about the same time in England and America railways were being hailed as a fast, efficient and relatively inexpensive transportation systems and in the 1830s suggestions were offered that New South Wales should also have a railway. No.1 Locomotive was one of four locomotives which arrived in Sydney on the "John Fielding" (or "Fielden") and landed at Campbell's Wharf, Circular Quay on 13 January 1855. The locomotives were hauled by a team of twenty horses to Slade's dairy paddock, near the site of the old railway stores building at Eveleigh, then placed on tracks and drawn into a temporary shed not far from the present Redfern Railway Station. William Scott, locomotive engineer with Robert Stephenson, who brought the locomotives out, then prepared them for service. On 29 March 1855 No.1 undertook a trial run as far as Newtown and was subsequently employed as the ballast train from 26 April. It hauled the first passenger train, a special service, from Sydney Station to Long Cove viaduct (near the present site of Lewisham) on 28 May 1855. The high cost of constructing the railway presented the directors of the Sydney Railway Company with innumerable problems and in September 1855 the New South Wales Government assumed responsibility for its operation. The line was officially opened on 26 September 1855 with No.3 hauling the first passenger train leaving at 9 am, followed by No. 2 Locomotive hauling the official train at 11 am. The engine driver for the official service was William Sixsmith while the fireman was William Webster. Locomotive No. 4 left at noon while No. 1 was out of service that day and did not run. The line was 14 miles in length and had five stations: Newtown, Ashfield, Burwood, Homebush and Parramatta. On the first day a total of 3,554 passengers were carried and the fares to Parramatta were 4 shillings, 3 shillings and 2 shillings respectively for 1st, 2nd and 3rd class. The event attracted crowds of people dressed in their finery eager to be the first passengers. The service proved a great success but the locomotives were too heavy for the Barlow rails then in use. As lighter locomotives became available in Sydney the original four locomotives were confined to goods train working and shunting duties. After 1857 No. 1 Locomotive was used mainly for hauling goods and passengers between Sydney, Campbelltown, Richmond and Penrith. By October 1859 there were six trains per weekday to Paramatta and four of these continued to and from Campbelltown. The trip to Parramatta took 50 minutes. After 22 years, No. 1 was withdrawn from service on 15 March 1877, having travelled 155 667 miles (250 468 km). During that time it had been involved in two accidents, both of which involved loss of life. On 10 July 1858 two people were killed and a number were injured when some of the carriages hauled by No. 1 left the rails. A few years later, on 6 January 1868, a man was killed when No. 1 collided with a passenger train at Newtown station. The engine was extensively damaged and required major repairs. After retirement No. 1 languished in "Rotten Row", an area at the Railway Workshops at Eveleigh where old engines were put pending reconstruction or final condemnation. No.1 Locomotive was owned and operated by the New South Wales Government Railways from 1855 until withdrawn from service in 1877. It was later refitted with parts of other engines of its class by the Railways and presented to the Museum on 8 May 1884. The locomotive was initially displayed in the Museum's original building, an Agricultural Hall in the Domain behind Sydney Hospital. Later, in 1893, the engine was housed in a small building behind the Museum's second home in Harris Street, Ultimo. During the late 1970s No.1 underwent an extensive restoration and conservation programme. Each part was stripped down, cleaned and polished to reveal the individually stamped numbers. This process found conclusively that the locomotive comprised predominantly of No. 1 Locomotive parts as well as parts of locomotive Nos. 2, 3 and 4. The six-wheel tender of No.1 Locomotive was still in service in 1878 although it appears to have been withdrawn soon after. It was restored in 1955 for the New South Wales Railways' Centenary celebrations and later presented to the Museum for display with No.1 Locomotive. Since 1988 No.1 Locomotive and tender have been displayed with 1st, 2nd and 3rd class carriages of the day in a permanent exhibition at the Museum.