Valley Heights railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Western line in Valley Heights, in the City of Blue Mountains local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed and built by NSW Government Railways. It is also known as Valley Heights Railway Station and Locomotive Depot and The Valley. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
History The Great Western Railway went through Valley Heights in 1867. The platform opened in 1875 to service the private residence, The Valley Inn, of the Colonial Treasurer, the Hon. Geoffrey Eager M.L.A. / M.L.C. The station opened in May 1875 as Eagers Platform. Public facilities and a waiting shed were erected in 1877 and the name was changed from Eagers Platform to The Valley in 1877; and again to Valley Heights on 19 August 1880.Valley Heights Station NSWrail.net
The line was duplicated in 1902, when the present brick platform building opened. Virtually every station between Emu Plains and Lithgow received the same style of Federation structure when the Western line was duplicated between 1898 and 1912.
Valley Heights formerly had a yard and locomotive servicing facilities. Until January 1989 it provided locomotives to assist trains up the heavily graded section of the line to Katoomba. The western line was electrified to Valley Heights on 23 October 1956. From 2 February 1957 steam operations from Valley Heights were replaced by the 46 class electric locomotives which assisted trains from Valley Heights to Katoomba. From that train all steam hauled trains, both freight and passenger were electrically assisted to Katoomba, until complete electrification saw steam removed from the scene. The former depot still exists and is now maintained as the Valley Heights Locomotive Depot Heritage Museum.
The pedestrian bridge dates from 1901. The deck is supported by steel beams but the stringers are supported by a truss. The bridge underwent upgrading work in 1992 with a concrete deck and stairs. The station originally had a gatekeeper's cottage which was demolished after 1902.
The brick and timber signal box was opened in 1913 but badly destroyed by bush fire in 1951. The interlocking frame was moved to a lower level and the box continued operating until 1995. The signal box has continued to be occupied by a branch of the NSW Rail Transport Museum.
Valley Heights Locomotive Depot (VHLD) was also completed in 1913, and officially opened on 31 January 1914. The establishment of a new locomotive depot allowed for assistant engines to be attached there (instead of Penrith) for the climb to Katoomba. The engines at Valley Heights not only piloted over the longest distance in NSW, but also had the distinction of having to operate over the longest continual and most steeply graded mainline in Australia. During the peak of the steam era an average of 30 trains during any 24 hour period required a pilot engine from the depot.
From 1913, Valley Heights became an important railway centre and most of the buildings that exist in the depot date from the opening and early period; the ten stall sector roundhouse, a 60' turntable and new offices and sidings were built in 1913, followed by a Station Master's residence and a night-officer's house in 1914. The depot also includes a water tank and archaeological remains of various structures.
The depot continued in operation as a steam locomotive depot until February 1957 when electric locomotive running commenced. The change to electric traction (46 class locomotives) was associated with the electrification of the Main Western line to Lithgow which was completed in late 1957. While the role of the depot in providing pilot engines remained unchanged, the now redundant steam servicing facilities were removed. The pilot engine role of the depot continued into the early 1980s until the placing in service of more powerful electric locomotives (the 85 and 86 classes). Over the intervening years the role of the depot had expanded to include servicing, repair and overhaul of electric locomotives and also goods wagons. In 1989 the depot was closed and was used to store and service track maintenance material until 1993 when the State Rail Authority (SRA) vacated the site.
In 1994, the Blue Mountains Division of the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum established the Valley Heights Locomotive Depot Heritage Museum with the aim of preserving the depot to provide historical, educational and recreational facilities and opportunities for the benefit of the Blue Mountains community and visitor to the region. The Valley Heights Steam Tramway was established in 1997 by the Stream Tram and Railway Preservation (Co-Op) Society Limited.
The locomotive depot continues to be owned by the Transport Asset Manager and is occupied by Transport Heritage NSW doing business as the Valley Heights Locomotive Depot Heritage Museum. The location is known as the Valley Heights Rail Museum.
Platforms and services Valley Heights has one island platform with two sides. It is serviced by Sydney Trains Blue Mountains Line services travelling from Sydney Central to Lithgow.
Description The station precinct comprises a type 11, initial island/side platform brick station building, erected in 1902; a brick lamp room/store, erected in 1902; a signal box, erected in 1910. Other station precinct structures include a concrete over brick face platform, erected in 1902; and a standard steel beam on trestles footbridge, over the main up line track and platform, erected in 1901 and modified in 1992.
The locomotive depot precinct comprises a 10 road roundhouse, erected in 1913 and extended 1973; a machine workshop; a members' room/meal room; a members' locker room/toilet; a passageway; a former chargeman's office/district locomotive engineer's (DLE) office, erected in 1913; a former amenities building, erected in 1930; a toilet block, erected in 1965; an air compressor shed; a red brick fuel store, erected in 1970; and a shed, erected in 2008. Other locomotive depot structures include a steel turntable, erected in 1914 and modified in 1967; an ash disposal tunnel and pits, erected in 1913; locomotive watering facilities, erected in 1924; trackwork, completed in 1914; trestling foundations, erected in ; and overhead catenary masts, erected in 1957.
Station precinct Station building (1902) External: Constructed of face brick with corrugated metal gabled roof extending as an awning in the form of broken back to both platforms, the Valley Heights station building is an early phase type 11 initial island/side platform building in standard Federation free classical style design. It has a 6 bay linear arrangement along the platform with tuckpointed brickwork and engaged piers between the bays. Distinctive features are red face brickwork with rendered and moulded two rows of string courses to both rail elevations, timber framed windows and doors with contrasting decorative rendered trims and sills, standard iron brackets over decorative corbels supporting ample platform awnings, fretted timber work to both ends of awnings and gable ends, two tall corbelled chimneys one of which with terracotta pots, timber framed double-hung windows with multi-paned and coloured upper sashes and toughened glass bottom sashes, and timber door openings with multi-paned fanlights with coloured glazing. A face brick privacy wall screens the Men's toilet entry at the eastern end of the building. Two roof vents also exist above the toilet bays. All windows and doors are secured by metal gates and grills. An air-conditioning unit has been installed on the fanlight of the Station Master's office door.
Internal: The station building appears to have maintained most of its original detailing and finishes despite the changes over the time. The original floor layout remains including parcels office and Station Master's office with ticket window looking over the general waiting room, and toilets including an accessible toilet at eastern end. The interiors generally feature custom orb ceilings with ceiling roses, enclosed or adapted fireplaces, moulded picture rails and cornices to the general waiting room, decorative cast iron wall vents, later floor tiling or carpet finish, and timber bead style moulded cornices. All toilet and light fittings are relatively new. The Platform 1 door of the general waiting room and the ladies toilet door have also been fitted with a solid panel at the back.
Lamp room / store (1902) External: A small square shaped brick shed featuring moulded and rendered string course detailing similar to the main station building. It is located on the west side of the station building towards the end of the platform and is separated visually from the main station building by the stairs leading to the footbridge. The shed features a gabled corrugated metal roof with timber bargeboard and narrow eaves with exposed rafters, contrasting rendered moulded trim above two single doors on east and west side elevations and a band of string course throughout all elevations. There are no other openings on the building and the existing doors have been secured by metal gates.
Internal: The former lamp room is currently used as a storage area and features face brick walls with exposed roof truss structure within the corrugated metal roof. The timber boarded door is in the form of a sliding loading door with a fanlight above.
Signal box (1910) The signal box was originally built in 1910, constructed with three storeys, two in brick with the upper level constructed in timber cladding. The building was accessed via an external timber stair, on the western side of the building. It was severely damaged by fire in 1951 and the top floor collapsed. A roof was placed on top of the remaining brickwork and a new frame was placed into service on the ground floor.
The first floor level of brickwork was removed in 1987 and steel / urethane sandwich addition was added at the same time for staff amenities. Use of the signal box was discontinued in 1994 and given to the museum. Corrugated metal roofing fabric is relatively new. The signal equipment including CTC panel and 37 lever interlocking frame inside are extant.
The building currently presents a single-storey box with shallow hipped roof. The face brickwork with engaged piers has been painted over in places and the three arched windows along the railway side are intact, although the panes have been painted over and many are broken. The 1987 steel / urethane sandwich extension addition is extensively damaged by white ants.
Platform (1902) Valley Heights station has an island platform in elliptical curved form, which is wide at the centre and narrow at both ends of the platform. This form is typical of Blue Mountains stations dictated by the topography and the deviation of the railway line. The platform is concrete faced (possible rendered over brick retaining wall) with concrete projecting edge at the top and asphalt finish to the deck. Modern platform furniture including light fittings, signage, timber bench seating and aluminium palisade fencing at both ends of the platform are other features along the platform.
Footbridge (1901, 1992) Valley Heights Station footbridge is a modified standard steel beam bridge supported on steel trestles extending from the street ramp over the highway and over the Up main tracks with stairs to the island platform between the main station building and the lamp room. The sections beyond the Up main tracks over the highway are a later addition constructed in c.1992 of concrete beam with concrete columns. With the exception of original steel structure and trussed stair stringers (balustrade), it appears that all components of the bridge have been replaced during the 1992 upgrading works.
Locomotive depot
Roundhouse (1913, extended 1973)