The published concept for the light rail
route from the CBD to Randwick
via George Street
assumes that it would operate independently from the Railway Colonnade to
Lilyfield and Dulwich Hill route. This being the case, the CBD route via George
Street would need stabling and maintenance facilities, possibly in the Randwick
area, from where daily services would commence and finish.. If the
only stabling facility is to be near Lilyfield, it would require
considerable empty operation of trams to reach the CBD - Randwick route at the commencement and finish
of services.
Following my proposal for a grand union
junction at George and Hay Streets, Sydney It was suggested that the
curves from George Street
(both north and south) into Hay
Street (west), towards Lilyfield and Dulwich Hill
would be of value, as they would be extensively used for depot movements.
The curves from George Street towards Hay Street (east) and the Railway
Colonnade terminus may not be of such value, by themselves, but looking to the
future, they could form a return balloon loop via Hay and Elizabeth Street to Eddy Avenue, where they would join the Randwick route. Such a
return loop could serve a dual purpose as a return balloon loop for trams from
Circular Quay to Sydney Station if every tram from Circular Quay does not
require to proceed through to Randwick.
This return loop via Elizabeth
Street would leave the existing inward Lilyfield
route at Hay and Castlereagh
Street (See the above attachment). Overhead
wires would not be required in Elizabeth
Street towards Eddy Avenue as the trams operating on the
George Street
route could travel this short distance in capacitor mode.
Most daily tram movements at George and
Hay Streets would simply be via the square crossing in the middle of the
intersection. The standard coordinated road traffic signals would
satisfactorily control these movements as long as appropriate priority was
given to trams. It would be appropriate however for depot working or loop
movements on each route to have a person on site to initiate signalled turning
movements between George and Hay Streets. The re-installation of a replica of
the 1937 Hay Street
signal box would be a suitable location as the adjacent junctions would be in
clear view. It could remotely operate the points at Castlereagh Street, Eddy Avenue and Rawson place assisted by
the use of CCTV . It could also have remote surveillance of the track circuited
line to Lilyfield and Dulwich Hill as well as the outer part of the Randwick line. ( The 1937 track arrangement at Hay
and George Streets junction is as shown the above attachment. ) The
return loop from Hay Street
to George Street
via Parker and Barlow Streets could form part of an emergency terminus if the George Street
tramway is to be extended via Broadway towards Annandale
and Newtown.
If a grand union junction is chosen for
George and Hay Streets, it could be designed and constructed by Australian or
overseas tramway track manufacturers and assembled on site over several weekend
road possessions.
Many years ago, there was an article
published about the 'relief lines' of the Sydney Tramway System. These relief
lines which generally provided connection between adjacent tram routes. were
considered as forward thinking to allow trams to operate via alternate routes
if their normal route was obstructed by a derailment, motor accident or an important
parade as in George Street
on Anzac Day. I believe that it would be wise to take unforeseen
possibilities into consideration as emergency shunting at an intermediate
crossover would be time consuming.
My suggestion for an extension from
Lilyfield to White Bay cruise ship terminal and another possible
extension at Circular Quay west to the Sydney Cove cruise ship terminal, could
provide convenient transport for passengers and luggage to and from cruise
ships which arrive and depart Sydney
Harbour almost every
day. Tram connections to and from both cruise ship terminals could
operate to or from the Railway Colonnade as limited stop "boat trams"
which would give greater convenience for cruise passengers from country or
interstate destinations. There is no public transport to the existing cruise
ship terminals so the majority of present day passengers must use taxis which
in future will need to take routes through the city other than directly via
George Street.
Noel
Reed.
Further to the discussions about Overhead Wires in George Street, I
was looking at a Google Maps picture of the intersection of George Street and Hay Street, Sydney.
The current Sydney CBD Light Rail scheme proposes a
crossing at George and Hay Streets between the existing Railway Colonnade to
Lilyfield (and Dulwich Hill) light rail route and the planned Circular Quay to Randwick light rail route.
A suggestion for maximum flexibility of the light
rail network could be a "grand union" junction between these two
intersecting routes at George and Hay Streets.
Such a four way junction would allow both passenger
and depot working between the two routes.
Possibilities could be --
1. Randwick
to Dulwich Hill, Circular Quay or Colonnade.
2. Colonnade to Randwick,
Dulwich Hill or Circular Quay.
3. Circular Quay to Colonnade, Randwick or Dulwich Hill.
4. Dulwich Hill to Circular Quay, Colonnade or Randwick.
A reconstructed George and Hay Street signal box would be in the
perfect location to control trams and ensure that the maximum flexibility was
achieved. A tourist possibility might be a Sydney Colonial Restaurant Tram
which could use this grand union to provide a variety of scenic routes for
diners both day and night.
One of my recent suggestions was for a rail service
to the recently opened cruise ship terminal at White Bay
near the former railway power station. Rail tracks have existed between the
Lilyfield tram terminus and White
Bay ever since the
Dulwich Hill - Rozelle railway was closed. The provision of even a single track
between Lilyfield and White
Bay could allow tram
transport to and from cruise ships during their times in port. It would also
allow an evening restaurant tram to deliver cruise passengers back to the ship
before sailing.
The tramway signal box at George & Hay Streets
was the last elevated tramway signal box built in Sydney
(1937) to divert city bound trams to a loop via Hay, Parker and Barlow Streets
when George Street
was unavailable due to major outdoor functions between Martin Place and Sydney Town Hall.
(See attachment) It also allowed trams from George Street to proceed to Circular Quay
via Hay and Castlereagh Streets.
This signal box was of modern (perhaps Art Deco)
design and was identical to the railway signal box at Civic Station near Newcastle. (See
attachment). The Civic signal box replaced a very old signal box with mechanical
interlocking at the Merewether
Street level crossing. At the same time,
interlocked swing gates were replaced by electro-pneumatic boom gates which
produced a very satisfying sound of compressed air when they operated.
Noel Reed.
Asking could Sydney have Australia's third "Grand
Onion".
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