Mt Victoria

Many years ago in the gracious age of steam, the sleepy little township of Mt Victoria was "where it used to happen". Opened in 1869, It was (and still is) the grandest railway station in the Blue Mountains. It was the point at which travellers, making their way to or from the far reaches of New South Wales, used to pause while their locomotives were exchanged or watered & fuelled. There were massive dining rooms, bars and special comforts for first class passengers. Dozens of people were employed in full time jobs and the whole place was (and is) a triumph of  Victoriana.

These days the buildings stand much as they did 100 or more years ago although most of the old passenger facilities are decommissioned and/or locked up while the staff consists of a single station master (during daylight hours). Much of it has been converted to a museum and (as far as the ever present dictates of H&S and system efficiency will allow) the working and technical aspects of the station have deliberately been left in a pre-war state. A fascinating place for NSW train buffs to visit and I understand that tours are occasionally available for the old signal boxes etc etc.

These days Mt Victoria is the place where much of the Blue Mountains line interurban fleet resides overnight. The image shows the distant sidings where floodlights and barbed wire fences attempt to protect the trains from vandalism. I especially love the complex electrical wiring. My brother, who was once the chief electrical engineer for NSW Rail tells me that the original Blue Mountains overhead wiring style is unique to the system in that it was designed and installed, all those years ago, by a British contractor who followed UK practice.

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