The Eastern Suburbs Railway...A reality 1979 Sydney Trains

The Eastern Suburbs Railway or ESR cost 168 million dollars and ushered in a new era of public transport for the people of the eastern suburbs of Sydney. The underground railway starts at Redfern and goes through Central, Town Hall, Martin Place, Kings Cross, Edgecliff and Bondi Junction Station and is now operated by Sydney Trains.
The new state of the art system uses "space age" signaling and workshops and deployed the first automated ticketing system in Australia.

[@SydneyHistory]

I really like the music and narration of the time. Especially the trumpet intro like royalty was about to enter the room.

[@scoobsm6994]

Modern stations with bright spacious surroundings @2:05 - looks like a cheap 1960'5 sci fi movie set

[@SydneyHistory]

I see your point, but I like it. It was the style of the day much the like bridge of Enterprise.

[@metricstormtrooper]

That's great to see, I built every one of those indicator boards and direction boards, the company was a tiny one in a terrace house factory at 121 Harris street Pyrmont called Architectural Graphics, at that time we did just about all the new railways indicators and signs. it's nice to see them again, ever station on those indicator boards had a separate 15 watt incandescent fridge globe and by the time they were double sided there were 100s of globes. On the Bondi junction bus interchange the bus indicators were mounted too close to the roadway and busses pulling into the stop could hit them and a few were written off. Thanks for posting this.

[@SydneyHistory]

Wow thanks for sharing your personal experience and this amazing behind the scenes nugget of information. I remember those indicator boards as a kid. What was the mean time between failure of so many globe's at the railway stations. There must of been a dedicated service team going around changing burnt out globes. We're they replaced at night?

[@ac-syd]

Lovely to hear from someone also fromat AG! I did notice some of the old CityRail 7-segment clocks hanging around (I believe one still runs at Lidcombe station). It's sized down to a much more boutique place now, specialising in fabricating public art.

[@ternilapilli]

I loved those "modern" indicator boards, even if the ones on the Up line were just ridiculous with all the weird and wonderful destinations besides the Illawarra line where a train might potentially travel to and yet literally never did. I remember Rosehill Racecourse being on there.

[@markleon411]

I loved this nostalgia. I worked at Kings Cross Station when during the opening. I also worked at Martin Place and Town Hall at various times.

[@SydneyHistory]

Wow I'msure you have some good memoriesand amazingstoriesto tell about each, Mark. All are unique in there own ways.

[@stephenslideways9690]

My best mates dad worked in the Cross one around 06/ 08

[@aquamonkee]

Current trips: Bondi / Central - 14 minutes (3 minute increase) Edgecliff / Central - 11 minutes (3 minute increase) Bondi / Martin Place 8 minutes (1 minute increase) WELL DONE PUBLIC SERVICE WELL DONE!

[@SydneyHistory]

Yeah that's a bit of a joke. Why did this happen.

[@dat581]

I can't hear someone say Martin Place without hearing Kings Cross, Edgecliff and Bondi Junction in my head,

[@craiga7907]

OMG...this is hilarious! This would have been a very impressive presentation in its day, but now it looks like a student’s bad power point project. I love it! So much nostalgia.

[@SydneyHistory]

Modern CGI and video editing software would certainly create a finer production. But this is great that we have it. I'm sure people of the future will look at our productions and think similar.

[@aquamonkee]

Sydney Trains could probably also be described as a bad student project most days!

[@musicalaviator]

@@SydneyHistory The Synth rock version of "Copyright dodging Star Wars" is also fun.

[@SydneyHistory]

🤣👍

[@kenjohnson5626]

Why no exit at the Southern end platforms 11&12 at Redfern? These platforms are a virtual fire trap. If fire breaks out on the escalators, the stairs to the northern concourse will be blocked with smoke and flames!!!!!

[@douglachman7330]

Brings back memories when i was on the rail staff helping train and educate at the front end. New ticketing process thank goodness. I think the naration voice was similar on various projects or promotions of the time.

[@succulentmeal3777]

Shame that they haven’t done any significant upgrades to the line since it opened…it can’t even take the Waratah trains because the transformers aren’t rated for it!!

[@SydneyHistory]

Agree, they should have extended it to the beach in the year 2000 plan or further on to Coggee.

[@H.R.B.]

Sadly the construction of the Edgecliff viaduct saw the demolition of Sydney Stadium. This piece of history was where Johnny O'Keefe made his name and The Beatles performed during their Sydney shows.

[@SydneyHistory]

Yeah good point. Might be worth making an episode about the Sydney stadium one day. Capacity of 15,000 it was no small stadium.

[@H.R.B.]

@@SydneyHistory I would love to see that. It was a great stadium and performance venue. Unfortunately, the technology required by bands and musicians in the 1970's rendered the stadium obsolete.

[@CockatooTransit]

My great grand uncle (I think) owned Sydney stadium for a period of time and had a poster at st James or museum with him doing commentary somewhere before they switched the posters

[@jonimiller1954]

@@CockatooTransit Yep, My Dad was the Manager, Henry "Harry" Miller

[@theblindfoldep]

Interesting that they conveniently don't mention that the station at Woollahra didn't eventuate because the locals didn't want it, instead referring to it as a Government review.

[@SydneyHistory]

Yeah I guess it was still to soon when the doco was made and the government didn't want to seem like it failed.

[@Snaerffer]

I travelled on the opening day. Got the special ticket and then promptly lost it. It really was something special to take that trip.

[@SydneyHistory]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm sure it must of been a memorable experience seeing all the station in brand new bright colours. Too bad about the special ticket it would have made a cool collectors item.

[@JBSbass]

built in a time when gov were more than an out source'r of everything. Really enjoy looking at how my home city came to look the way it does.

[@dieseldavetrains8988]

Good value that video, learnt some from it too. Eastern suburbs people got short changed with that, it should have went on to Bondi. 7342 is actually diesel hydraulic and doesn't have a fume emission "scrubber" like some of the 48 class. Cheerful music and great narration.

[@SydneyHistory]

Yeah, they don't make docos like that anymore. Agree that Eastern suburbs people got short changed. The line should have kept going on to Coogee and Maroubra and hooked back around into Central like Bradfield's original Eastern suburbs loop.

[@Thebibs]

I think we really need to bring back shorts with long socks

[@SydneyHistory]

Yeah, they were all the rage back then. Maybe one day they'll make a come back. How times have changed.

[@aquamonkee]

I never knew shorts & a short sleeve shirt with a tie was an actual thing!

[@erose1710]

Back then not all office buildings were air conditioned so in Summer they would have been a necessity. I remember as a kid seeing this all the time in the 70s and 80s it was just normal.

[@carisi2k11]

Those colour schemes are so 1970's.

[@SydneyHistory]

They sure are, Craig Simpson. Martin Place is my fav, deep red.

[@anthonywalsh2164]

I remember riding the train with my family on the opening day - exciting times.

[@SydneyHistory]

Exciting times indeed, Anthony Walsh. I still think it's a cool line. I personally like the via duct from the domain into Kings Cross. It still looks futuristic in my opinion.

[@Lepusrabbit]

Myself and friend ridden on opening day, Such an exciting time , Curious what colour the abandoned Woollahra station would’ve been ?

[@SydneyHistory]

That must of been an amazing experience. So much to see and the ticket machines in use for the first time. Woollahra station colour is a good question and I don't know. Maybe one of the other viewers know.

[@Jeansieguy]

I went on it the first day it was open to the public

[@SydneyHistory]

You should go on the new metro on Sunday the 4th August too.

[@Seanpaulnz01]

Do you know why the eastern suburbs loop was never completed? Was it money, locals who didn't want a noisy train line, or oil lobbyists who wanted buses to rule the area?

[@SydneyHistory]

That's a good question. I would say all of the about. But also when the plan was first conceived in the 1910s there was no car in existence pretty much. However by the time Town hall, Wynyard and the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932 the uptake of the car was huge. Planners of the time thought there was not much demand to finish the plan of the eastern suburbs and then there was world war II which also delayed the completion of the circular quay link also.

[@megsstorystore8210]

Is it possible if you could do a video on the purple trains? There’s these really old vintage trains sometimes I go on towards parramatta/Blacktown and they’re the ones with purple interiors and sliding doors you have to manually slide yourselves

[@SydneyHistory]

Sure, you mean the ones with the purple seats. I call them mountians trains because they go into the Blue Mountains, but I know they also go to Newcastle and Wollongong. They used to have green swats years ago and even had ash trays for smoking back in the day.

[@trinity1181]

love the free car park for commuters lol

[@SydneyTrainsV28]

LOL

[@jimpikoulis6726]

Finish the line!!!!!!

[@SydneyHistory]

Yeah, I'm with ya, Jim Pikoulis. I'm disappointed that Bradfield's 1925 Eastern Suburbs loop was never built. It made some much sense, even today as it looped around the beaches and back into Central.

[@mikethomas4842]

Shame they didnt keep going. Bondi Beach, Coogee, Maroubra . As the buses to these areas are being cut , some other option is needed. Not sure the lightfail will be extended. It solves no public transport issues. If it terminated at La Perouse and East Gardens then yes. Hopefully Metro is an option..

[@SydneyHistory]

Maybe Hunter Street terminal station will be extended in the 2023s as a solution.

[@trinity1181]

Those magnetic tickets were not introduced for the rest of the line for ages after

[@SydneyHistory]

True, maybe 20 years later.

[@dulcinealee3933]

I remember commuting between Central and Bondi Junction as a kid before this line opened by bus. The old Bondi Junction bus interchange above was disgusting before a major refurbishment. Yep bus rail rail rail rail bus tickets - allowed for transfers between the 2 modes of public transport. Instead of tapping it was dipping of tickets ( hoping they would not get swallowed up in the machines!) . Best link was connecting South to East

[@SydneyHistory]

It was a pity they didn't built the entire eastern suburbs line the way Bradfield envisaged it.

[@dulcinealee3933]

@@SydneyHistory I always thought and still do think that there is something very isolating about the Bondi to Central part of the Eastern suburbs line even when it connected and continues onto the Illawarra line, it doesn't feel like it does - it's like it's a line on it's own. It feels like it starts at Central and just terminates at Bondi Junction a few stops later when it should be going further to other destinations. It is like a ghostline with platforms missing like Wynyard. Bondi Junction could have been the rail hub of the Eastern suburbs like Chatswood interchange but instead it still only has 2 platforms and heaps of buses from it's rather congested bus interchange above it! Don't people like trains in the Eastern suburbs. Needs a Metro from Bondi Junction or light rail to Bondi Beach and beyond to Watson's Bay?

[@johncavar2914]

🎉😂sounds daggy cool 😎 but I love it❤

[@barrybristow4646]

Nice railway history.

[@stephenleyden9559]

Stayed at Bondi junction in 1980 and travelled to the city on the newly opened line. I didn't realise that it continued to central station.

[@SydneyHistory]

Yeah it also goes to Redfern and ends up in Cronulla.

[@randomfset]

Awesome video!

[@SydneyHistory]

Thanks, it is a masterpiece of it's time. Thanks for watching.

[@mehmeh5471]

New trains, new buses and new ferries to flood in your replacements NSW.

[@SydneyHistory]

Yeah the New Inner City Fleet look great when they can get going.

[@khylerin70]

Love your channel already 👍

[@SydneyHistory]

Thanks CA. Next episode on John Bradfield should be out later tonight or tomorrow at the latest. Just filming the intro now.

[@stephenleyden9559]

Why didn't they build it to Bondi? No brainer.

[@SydneyHistory]

Yeah there was a plan in the late 90s for it. But locals were opposed to it so the Bondi Beach station was cancelled.

[@Aaron-uf3sl]

Massive pushback from locals of Bondi that didn’t want “filth” from the west to descend in droves on Bondi.

[@ternilapilli]

The local opposition to it was insane. So short-sighted... it's just plagued the area with insane traffic especially during the summer and key events. They thought preventing the railway would prevent the people... they were wrong.

[@MrToryhere]

The fact is that there is a large drop from Bondi Junction to Bondi. There would thus be some really difficult engineering challenges In extending the line that way. That is why it was never intended to go to Bondi Beach but to turn south and rung through Charing Cross and beyond

[@Woodland26]

Could anyone remember before ESR, how did the Cronulla line run through the City Circle? I guess it would enter through Museum, and loops to the inner west line?

[@SydneyHistory]

That's a tough one, Woodland26. I think you are probably right, it would come in through museum and loop around to the inner west. When Museum station opened in 1926 the first train that left that day went to Mordale Station which is on the Illawarra line. May be someone else can confirm.

[@jodij2366]

According to this 1968 Timetable (undertheclocksblog.files.wordpress.com/2022/03/helensburgh68.pdf), it looks like Illawarra services ran clockwise. This seems to be backed up by this 1976 Working Timetable (undertheclocksblog.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/1976wtt.pdf), although at 300 pages, I haven't fully navigated it and cannot 100% confirm. The Under The Clocks blog has a collection of old railway timetables from throughout Australia, especially Victoria and New South Wales.

[@pwhnckexstflajizdryvombqug9042]

South of central at the flying junctions they used to connect platform 23 and 21 (or 20 I can't remember) to a set of tracks that are still there that run through the seldom used platforms at Redfern, 9 and 10. The connection was taken over by the airport line in 2000 and these days the lines to and from Redfern platform 9 and 10 combine with the adjacent tracks just before central. Trains would have gone around the inner circle line via museum before heading around to Strathfield on the local tracks, trains traveling down to iIllawarra would have gone the other way around the city circle then headed off from platform 23.

[@Woodland26]

@@pwhnckexstflajizdryvombqug9042 yes I can see that Redfern 9&10 are now for terminating service from Central. Some got turn around (Central - Redfern 10 - then back to Central). I discovered AnyTrip who provide extensive information on the movement of a train - where they are from and going to and back etc. eg train can start from Leppington, go to city circle via Town Hall, then go down T8 and finish in Macarthur. About 3 hours trip there.

[@barockychocky]

The handmade graphics! Such a wonderful time capsule. I did some graphics for the 40th birthday. The station identity was very thoughtful. Are you an insider? Is this footage from a public archive?

[@SydneyHistory]

Yes they are amazing aren't they. The whole doco is a time Capsule and an enjoyable watch 40 years later. I'm not sure where it originated.

[@realjohnboxall]

@@SydneyHistory It was created by the NSW Public Transport Commission (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Transport_Commission)

[@trainrover]

huh? so the only cityesqueness there was downtown...?

[@SydneyHistory]

I don't know what this means?

[@trainrover]

how could suburbs be adjacent to downtown, i.e., where had the city been?

[@Eschewered]

@@trainrover "Suburb" has a different meaning outside America, usually it just means a primarily residential area outside of the downtown area, but even that could differs from country to country.

[@trainrover]

@@Eschewered nah, e.g., Quebec's & GB's defintion has always happened to match...mind how corporateers re-engineer shtuff ;)

[@drb120176]

Is the narrator Leonard Teale?

[@SydneyHistory]

I don't know.

[@jonimiller1954]

May be Andrew Harwood

[@metricstormtrooper]

No, not deep enough a voice, doesn't quite sound like Andrew Harwood either.

[@HOOFuL]

It sounds like it could have been Peter Gwynne, who also did the narration for the Track Record: The Story of Australia’s Railways mini series.

[@drb120176]

@@HOOFuL spot on. Just did a search for his name and it’s an exact match

[@allaboutloveatyutoob2507]

So Jol Sol