Hello Tony, Mal and others,
I attach a picture I took on 24 February, 1957 showing the Sydney Harbour
Bridge (80 years old yesterday) from the northern side near Milsons Point
ststion.
This picture was taken from the roof of "Greenway Flats" an early
residential apartment block in Milsons Point. In those days, access to the
roof only required entry through the front door, travel by elevator to the
top floor and up a flight of stairs to the open flat roof. Once on the
roof, panoramic views were to be seen in all directions.
My picture shows (from left to right) Milsons Point tram station, the then
six lane roadway (known as the Bradfield Highway after JJC Bradfield, the
bridge designer) and at the right, the Milsons Point railway station. To the
right of the railway station is Alfred Street along which the tramway
operated to the north shore ferry terminal before the bridge was built.
Space beneath the approaches was used for street level shops and also office
space above.
The tram station had "temporary" timber ramps at each end to take the trams
up to platform level. The tram route over the bridge was intended for an
additional two rail lines for (never built) rail extensions to the north
east. The "temporary" tram ramps down which an 'R' class tram can be seen
were "temporary' from the bridge opening in 1932 until the tram routes north
of the harbour were abandoned in 1858.
To the left of the bridge can be seen the eastern Sydney skyline which is
now dominated by many high rise buildings. To the left of the NW pylon can
be seen one of the maintenance cranes which travel on tracks over the top
chord of the bridge. These were much smaller than the large "creeper cranes"
used during the bridge construction when the two parts of the arch were
under construction. Before the arch was complete, the two sections were kept
in place by many steel cables which were anchored by passing through 'U'
shaped tunnels behind where the pylons are now located.
On the south side of the harbour Circular Quay ferry terminal and the
elevated rail and roadway can be seen beneath the bridge deck. Immediately
to the right of the SW pylon can be seen the green coloured NSW Railways HQ
building where I worked from 1948 to 1989 and a bit after. A little to the
right can be seen white smoke from the stacks of Ultimo tramway power house
The cement built Argyle Traction Substation can be seen further to the
right near the end of the southern approach.
Other items to the right are the shipping wharves at Walsh Bay, many of
which still remain. Further to the right are the three stacks of the former
Pyrmont power station. This power station was demolished and passing near
its former site is the Sydney Light Rail route which operates on private
right of way formerly used for a goods (freight) railway.
Regards,
Noel Reed.
_____
From:TramsDownUnder@... [mailto:TramsDownUnder@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of Tony Tieuli
Sent: Tuesday, 20 March 2012 8:39 AM
To:TramsDownUnder@...
Subject: Re: [TramsDownUnder] Sydney Harbour Bridge is Eighty Years Old
Today
Thanks, Mal.
I learn something new every day. It is a spectacular bridge by any measure.
Tony
On Mar 19, 2012, at 5:25 PM, Mal Rowe wrote:
>> Tony Tieuli typefive@... mailto:typefive%40earthlink.net >
wrote:
>>
>> Reminds me of the "Hell Gate" bridge in New York City.
>
> Hi Tony,
>
> That's no coincidence. Bradfield's design was based on the Hell Gate
bridge.
>
> However the Sydney Harbour Bridge is much larger - not only in length
(spanning 500m against Hell Gate at 300m) but especially in width. The
Harour Bridge originally had 6 lanes of roadway plus 4 railway tracks - with
two of the railway tracks used for the tramway. It was certainly 'overkill'
at the time, but was clearly far-sighted.
>
> Mal Rowe - from the city that made the rivets for the Sydney Harbour
Bridge
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
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