Sydney's Abandoned Underground Tram Station
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- The story of an underground railway station that ended up being a tram station that closed in 1958 to reopen as a car park in 1964 only to close itself in 2018 and then briefly re open to the public a light installation as part of the VIVID Festival in 2023.
Videos on this channel are not meant to be 100% accurate historical records. Having said this, we try to ensure they are factually correct by using multiple sources from what we think are credible books, websites, blogs and articles. But we do make mistakes....
Of note: Sydney's original tramlines didn't use colours (or even route numbers) to denote lines - instead they used the 'termini' of each line as their names. In the route animations we have arbitrarily selected colours to differentiate the lines visually on the maps.
#darkspectrum #vividsydney #sonymusic
The section you couldn't get access to is used for weapons training. It's convenient because it's soundproof, in the city and secure. Maybe the other really interesting station with as many secrets is North Sydney and if you have a really keen eye Waverton. Lots of stuff hidden in plain sight
The escape route of the elites
was going to say the same. I have actually been through there once and was amazed of the use,
I grew up in Waverton as a kid, back in the early 70s and again in the middle 80s, I seen so many amazing things in the tunnels between Waverton and Nth Syd stations, I miss the old "red rattlers" riding on those was like nothing else.
@@LogicalAspect1 The Red Rattlers had so much charm & character. Look at these Metro Trains we have now, so boring, sterile and lame. Nothing can compare to the sounds and smells of a Red Rattler going through the tunnels. You could smell the Ozone from the motors and barely talk over the noise. Magical.
@@leokimvideo nailed it in one. 👍
Thank for another excellent video. Bradfield was the Nikola Tesla of town planning. He foresaw Sydney as it is today and wanted the government to set aside corridors for rail radiating out from the CBD like the spokes of a half wheel. Imagine the public money saved if we had followed his vision?
Great analysis. If only WWI and then the Depression hadn't delayed the plans as the bulk of his vision may been delivered by the time 'the car' was seen as solution and his plans went out of favour.
He also formulated a plan to divert water from the great dividing range inland rather than the coast to facilitate farming. That would have been a game-changer for our country.
@@steved3702 Unfortunately our overlords lack any vision.
We need more like him
I used to park my car on the Wynyard tram lines I did know about the tram lines but I bet most people who parked there did not. It's a real shame Sydney got rid of its tram network you just need to look at Melbourne as an example
I remember going via tram in the late 1950's and until this day, I do not understand the logic of why they destroyed one of the best systems in the world.
The old trams should never have been disposed of. Now our idiotic governments understand that trams are actually a good idea and are resurrecting them in Sydney, Newcastle, and the Gold Coast.
They should've also followed Bradfield's plans and built the tramline to the northern beaches. Instead all we got were tolled freeways and tunnels everywhere...
That's what oil company lobbying can do
I wish they kept the monorails and actually expanded the locations it visited
My dad was around when trams were in Sydney in the 50’s and they were a pain in the arse, more trouble than they were worth and now they are bringing back the stupidity In Sydney (with a perfectly good train system that already does a CBD loop) and trying to ban cars, the streets aren’t even wide like Melbourne, so it’s no cars in many streets at all now. Buses are more versatile for short distances and just have trains for longer trips.
Thought the exact same thing. Wasting all that money ripping it up just to put it all back. They only think they've done is call it light rail so it's all new and interesting.
I am old enough to remember seeing the trams departing for routes over the Harbour Bridge. It would have to be over 60 years ago. I can still remember those departure bells being activated by the conductors.
How stupid we were to get rid of them
@@Leanflare Dunno about the "we"....the mere plebs didn't get much say, unfortunately.
Truly the biggest injustice discontinuing the original tram system
Same in South Australia!
Bradfield was such a visionary. His work really makes you wish that our current governments, all over Australia, had just as much foresight and confidence in what we can achieve as a country.
Governments should hang their heads in shame for not implementing all of these rail lines! Great history presentation!
As much as I love and enjoy modern technology I still miss the old Sydney, I rarely visit modern Sydney as it doesn't grab me, and thank you for this nice video...I am very sorry if my comment offends anyone. From an old man.
Don't apologise Allan!
Love the history. bazz
From another old man .. I totally agree with you.
Fun fact: at the end of #1 Up stub tunnel @8:38 you can see a large white plate against the rock, and again close-up @9:00. This is the hidden staircase which lead from the basement of the former State Lottery Office (York & Barrack St), the entrance when the tunnel was an air raid shelter. City of Sydney archives online has a building surveyor’s report for 8-12 York & 8 Barrack St which confirms this. Above ground corner Wynyard St & York La is an under-developed lot (convenience store with carpark area) - the staircase runs underneath preventing development.
As a Sydneysider, I have an interest in the history of Sydney, particularly with the old tram system (I was not yet born when they took them out). I've always wanted to go inside the Wynyard tram tunnels. I finally got this opportunity with Dark Spectrum, part of Vivid, and took photos and videos. Thank you much so much for this comprehensive video and comparing to what was there before and now.
I lived in North Sydney as a child and made many trips across the Harbour Bridge by tram, by train, and even on foot.
This video brought back many happy memories. Thank you.
Travelled by tram during the 50's from Naremburn to Wynyard to go to school.
I remember those days. Progress has its benefits, but what a tourist attraction it would have made today. Sad to see history lost.
Every single tramline of the North Sydney Network is now a bus, and Wynyard Park is a noisy, crowded, stinky terminus for all the buses. L
Taking the trams out wasn't progress. It was public vandalism.
My Year 12 Formal was in The Menzies hotel. I drove in and parked in that carpark and never knew for years later it was where Wynyard's tram platforms were! It was valet parking for a long time too, for increased capacity as it wasn't a big carpark.
I’ve watched a few videos on the Wynyard trams. This is easily the most comprehensive. Well done.
Glad you enjoyed it!
If you stand on the Central end of platform 3 at Wynyard you can see that the tunnel wall has been infilled with newer brick rather than the smoother concrete of the regular tunnel walls. That's because that part of the wall was never there and it was possible to look into the old tram platforms. When that work was done I'm not sure but it was long before my memories.
Washington DC has one of these as well. An underground streetcar (tram) station at Dupont Circle, pre-dating the Metro system by decades. It's occasionally been opened as a nightclub or art space over the years. It'd be great if we got our trams back and it was re-opened to its original purpose, but that will probably never happen.
The man from Foggy Bottom ?
What a fascinating description. Your voice is very natural and makes for an interesting listen. Well done. As a voice over artist myself I always try to have a more natural tone that you are already achieving. Good on you.
Wynyard was used as an air raid shelter the night the Japanese subs came into the harbour. My mother and I were staying at the Metropole hotel (I was 5) and I remember being wrapped in a blanket and being carried by my Mother to the station. I slept most of the time but I do remember us being directed by a msn in a black uniform and a tin hat.
Platforms one and two would make very good platforms for a North Shore metro line (with a possible extension to La Perouse and onwards to Cronulla).
There is a North Shore metro line in development, so that area seems to be covered.
Thanks for this vid, I have always been curious about where platforms 1 and 2 were. That doorway you showed at the end is actually an entrance to a shooting range hidden under the road
Another brilliant video! I grew up in Sydney, but never explored or appreciated the tramway history in the Sydney CBD.
On a recent holiday to Sydney, we stayed at Taronga Zoo, and spent sometime just exploring the North Shore suburbs. It’s amazing to see that tramlines were the predecessors to the bus routes we used to get around!
Keep the videos going….. next suggestion for something really oddball…. Broken Hill’s former tramway 😜
Thank you for taking the time and effort to produce this video. I love Sydney's tram history, even the new one.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.
Hi Marty, thanks for another excellent video. The north Shore trams were always a favourite line for me, especially across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and through to Wynyard. The whole lot sadly closed in 1958 and not known to many, the absence of track to that side of the bridge has actually set the bridge off a few degrees. The bridge was actually designed and specially balanced with rail lines on each side and road in the centre. Maybe one day, they may re-use the eastern side for light rail trams. We can always hope. I remember the stairs going up to Platforms 1 and 2. I actually went up them once in the hope of seeing the former tram station. I was approached by the car park attendant upon entering at the top and asked what was I doing there. I then said innocently "Aren't these the train platforms??" I actually knew they weren't, but I didn't want to get into trouble. The attendant said for me to quickly leave, which I did without argument. I later found out that many other tram enthusiasts had attempted the same thing. Any wonder they later bricked up the stairs!!! Amazingly enough, the car park had a city entrance/exit for cars. I often wonder why they didn't do something like that for the Wynyard trams?? Anyway, take care and all the very best. Rob in Melbourne Australia.
Thanks Rob for the memory. Love the fun fact that the bridge tilted a tad. Cheers m
Well that fills in a few gaps for me. I parked there about 5 years ago and thought it was really cool.
I wonder if they would turn it into a big urban bicycle parking cavern for the city or something modern like that.
When I was young up to around 17 years old (I am 81 now) & came to Sydney to the city often & I only travelled on the Trams but when we got to Milsons Point from North Sydney, my Cousin a local made me get off the Tram & WALK across the Harbour Bridge because it was an extra Six Pence Toll! (5 cents - Called Zack) That meant walking back across the bridge on the way home. (My Cousin ended up as an Economics Teacher)
The underground tram Stations were just a part of same system so you could look strait across to the trains.
There were two types of Trams, those with an Isle & "Toast Rack" with none - Conductors & Pax used to ride on the side steps.
Awesome video with great information, I always like to discover the things they left behind in the name of "progress" As a kid I remember riding my bike around Parramatta in the 80's with friends and discovering tram tracks in the ground of one of the open carparks, long gone now. There was also the steam trains in Parramatta Park, also gone due to stupid vandals setting fire to the storage sheds. The abandoned looking train line right behind Luna Park always fascinated me too. I have a black and white photo of Baulkham Hills train station, why they ever ripped up the line from Parramatta to Castle Hill is a mystery, and just a few information plaques at prominent parts of it's route still exist. Cheers!
The line to Castle Hill started out as a steam tram line from Parramatta ,then converted to a railway line from Westmead to Castle Hill . The route included Windsor Road as there was never an exclusive rail corridor , so imagine suburban trains using this route today! One surviving relic of this line is a pilon from the bridge over Toongabbie Creek at Northmead. Another abandoned line is the link from St Mary's to what is now Ropes Crossing , with remnants of the station extant. Postscript : I have often looked at some of the old houses along the Windsor Road section of the former Castle Hill line and thought of the fact that they would have been silent witnesses to the railway, when in operation with trains passing their frontages !
Very informative. Now I understand why one day, when I caught a train from the Central coast, it stopped at Wynyard. Usually they went through Strathfield and then to Central Station.
I remember sitting in traffic in the late 90"s at the top of Livingstone Rd and Stanmore Rd/New canterbury Rd, and watching them pull the old tram tracks out from under the tar side of the road with the centre two lanes being concrete... Still some cobblestone left around Marrickville in a few small lanes near Denby street in Meeks Lane off Jabez St old Sydney. and soo many returned service men being processed through the old Marrickville Barricks on Addison Rd just near Illawarra Rd
Once I had the opportunity of walking through the carpark & the remaining tunnels all the way to the barred gate at the end of the portal as shown in your video at 11:30. Didn't have a photo or video camera at the time, would've made for some interesting footage. There was still ballast & rail in place. And a lot of rubbish from the 1950 - 60's including a lot of Scotts Metho bottles.....
One of the Argyle Tunnels now housed the Port of Sydney Pistol Club. I worked in Customs back in the day and many of my colleagues were members. I was given my first introduction to Pistol Shooting in the tunnel. I believe it was also used for Police Weapons training from time to time. I walked up the stairs and past it prior to the Covid lock downs and there was still a sign on the door for the Pistol Club, so I guess it's still a range.
Mate I shot there as well back in the very early nineties ! I was working for Mulvihill Security Group.
Great vid. Great research. Top notch and thank you !
Glad you enjoyed it! yes did a bit of research because I have travelled through this station for decades and didn't really know much of the story myself.
Standing on the North Shore platforms at Wynyard looking at the wall displaying billboards are ventilation grilles . When I ventured into this abandoned tram station , when used as a carpark, it was possible to look through these grilles from the carpark side and see passengers waiting on the current platforms for their trains. So just remember, you never know who is watching !
On a recent visit to this area to see Dark Spectrum , I noticed that these openings appear to have been covered up by fan blower units , so no body can see into the " live " platforms anymore .🤭
I get off at Wynyard every Monday for work and always wondered about tracks 1 and 2. Now I know. Thanks so much.
Turn it into a nightclub, like vivid, but an actual nightclub would be sick. The stub tunnels could even be like the kitchen area, the upper level a bar and the lower level moshpit and the DJ could be up there as well
Cool idea
Didn’t the famous Jamison street night club utilise part of this underground network or was just adjacent to it?
It was under the site of the Amora Hotel i think?
Your videos are excellent Marty 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
That is what they have done with part of the Holborn tram subway in London
Wicked idea
nightclubs are degenerate
I used to work on Margaret street and our parking was in those tunnels. I used to sometimes stay at the Menzies when we worked late and only found out a couple of years ago that it had closed and been demolished!
Excellent video. Full of nostalgia and it makes me feel a bit sad. I always loved the glazed tiles with different colours used in each of the city circle stations. I think Wynyard was blue, shame it still isn't. 😊
Thank you for another awesome video Marty. I really appreciate your passion for the old Sydney tram network. Are you considering making a video on NSW’s second largest tram network Newcastle in the future?
Possibly. As I look for photos for the videos a lot of images from Newcastle do appear and I have been noting them. I like to personally film the current locations of the former lines.. so will need me to make a trip up the M1 and spend a weekend. Not a bad way to spend a weekend. And can visit Foghorn Brewery again.
There used to be a shooting club with a range in the old Tram tunnels under the bridge, which you would access from Cumberland Street in Circular Quay
Thank you so much for sharing all of this information, especially the photos. I've long wanted to know more about Sydney's original tram network, and the Wynard Platforms in particular.
I watched this prior to seeing Dark Spectrum in 2023. What I loved about this video is not only you explaining the difference between tunnels and the rationale for their usage but also how now we can still see and enjoy them in a contemporary way.
Thanks! I actually learnt a lot myself just researching the video. Glad you enjoyed it.
Great video thank you .So much history in Sydney.
Found this the day after I went to Dark Spectrum. Thanks for explaining how it all fit together down there.
What a awesome story on those tunnels .Will defently travel down for the vivid festival if they ever incorporate the tunnels again .
Great video, last time i was working in Sydney i stayed near there and every time i went through the train station i was like 'where is platform 1 & 2?'.
There was an abandoned tram and bus warehouse in the middle of the bush at Loftus, south of Sydney not far from the Tram museum. Very old and very cool trams in there dating back to the 1890's. It was surrounded by dense bush tucked away off the Princes Highway. It was destroyed by fire a few years ago and they were all destroyed unfortunately. Was a cool place.
That warehouse in the bush was where the tram museum used to be before it moved across the Princes Highway to where it is now. I remember visiting it once when I was a kid.
@Wade Bowmer oh cool, I didn't know that. I thought it was just an old forgotten storage shed. It's a shame the trams were destroyed although they were in terrible condition before the fire.
Thanks for explaining the Wynyard tunnels. It made my visit to Dark Spectrum a little clearer but also very confusing at the same time!
That was a really informative and awesome video. Thanks for making this!
Glad you enjoyed it!
New Subscribers and we hit the bell 🔔 awesome episode, I used to travel by train in the early 80s, and changed at Wynyard to go to milsons Point, I have always wonder why no number 1&2 now I do and thanks for the history lesson Appreciated
Cheers 🍻🍻KC Cradle Mountain 🏔Tasmania Australia 🇦🇺🤝🇦🇺😎😊👍
Thank you for this insightful & fabulous historical video! 🙏🏻 I had completely forgotten the carpark mentioned. As a boy of 10 I now remember my father using this carpark daily. Thank you for this forgotten and precious family memory!!
The Siege of Pinchgut (released in the US as Four Desperate Men)(1959) features footage of the Sydney Harbour Bridge BEFORE the tram tracks were removed. At the start of the film we see the northern approach to the bridge, with the tram bridge crossing over the main road way. This was removed. The runup to it still exists; and is used for parking 65 years later. In the film a motor cycle police officer rides past it before turning around. Why is it still there? The section under it contains retail shops and offices. On the bridge itself there is a scene of a tv broadcast being made from next to the tram tracks. The tram lane on the bridge was converted to vehicle traffic. In 1966-68 while living in Sydney my family went out to Pinchgut for a tour of the island. The "metal door" used in the film was on display, and made from egg cartons.
Thanks for the share. Will see if I can find that film. Thanks!
@@backtracks.channel - Arr Jim Lad. You might have to get out the skull and cross bones to find it.
Great video, combining history with a contemporary lens through Vivid…
Oh and I love videos with tunnels
I used that car park once for some reason. Such an awkward and claustrophobic place to drive around.
You need to do the tunnels from the city to Centennial Park. When I was first homeless, back in the 80's, we used to sleep in the old tunnels at St James stn. Lots of different people have lived there over the years, until it was blocked off.
Thanks for the share. Yes I believe these were for the never build Eastern Suburbs lines of the Bradfield System. As you say I don't think the public can get in there any more. Would be great to see them though.
This was brilliantly edited, researched and narrated. Thank you :) 😃😍😃
JJ Bradfield was a visionary.
I remember it, I can remember I went with my family to the Zoo. Also recall walking through it when it was carpark to go to The Menzies Hotel basement entrance.
I was a Station Assistant at Milson's point Railway Station in 1965. Beautiful views from there. Now and then I had to walk down along the bridge railway tracks to put out fires with a bucket of water. Oil from the trains on the wooden sleepers would catch fire. Once in 1965 a young fellow fell of the train and hit himself on a bridge stanchion. I had to run down and stop trains coming from Wynyard toward him. That was on the front page of the Herald at the time.
Thanks for sharing the memories. Appreciate it.
Ive been told that the commission that recommended getting rid of the trams had two members from British Leyland. They sold a lot of buses an probably gave a lot of bribes.
Amazing video. Thank you. I feel that urban sprawl and cars ruined Sydney and Australia. They should've kept things how they were pre-1960s. It's better for society and community to use public transport rather than driving everywhere and clogging up the roads, having the need to build more and more bigger carparks, polluting the air and becoming lazy and obese.. .which is what has happened.
Incredible quality content thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
Just discovered your channel. Nice work keep them coming
Welcome aboard!
It is a real shame they cannot make better use of these tunnels either for connecting pedestrian walk ways or public transport.
Fabulous! Thanks.
Good history, thanks mate!
Love the content! Would you perhaps be able to use a pop filter or windsock in future vids? I'm probably more sensitive than most to such things, but I found the constant popping quite distracting
Extremely interesting. Thank you.
You gotta do the history of the trams in Adelaide that went from the city to Glenelg. As a child, every time we were in Adelaide we’d ride the old trams just for fun
Yes Adelaide is city that more than most is quite suited to trams with it's flat, wide and pretty straight roads. I just need to get over there to do the filming. Would be good I agree.
Great video and well presented.
That was super interesting and a GREAT video. Have you got any on the roads that run under the city? My next door neighbour drove trucks and was doing a delivery and was told to go down into a car park from George St (near Dymocks) where there was a roller door that an employee turned a key, and when door came up my neighbour drove down onto a properly paved road that came out near the old courts. Would LOVE to see a video on this.... cheers mate.
They should have kept at least a section of the old tram depot with a couple of trams - railway museums arent everyone's cup of tea, but bulldozing everything to make way for a frigging carpark is lunacy. I recall walking through the Menzies lobby as a schoolkid in the seventies - if THOSE walls could talk, neither of the major parties would be happy ;)
had no interest in trams whatsoever before this video but i watched this the whole way through. brilliant and well-researched video mate, can't believe you have only 2.6k subs. you just earned yourself another one.
hey thanks. appreciate the support... I had 900 before this video.. :) so 2.6k is massive for me... I actually just enjoy making the videos - primarily as it gets me out to see and record video of places in Sydney I have not been to for years as had no reason to until now. Great that others are enjoying them.
The transition away from Trams in Sydney has to be one of the worst decisions by a state government in the last century.
Echt gut gemacht, gefällt mir sehr !
Schätze es wirklich. Danke fürs zuschauen.
I've never actually noticed that at Wynyard tbh
I walked in some of them as a teenager. Parked cars in Wynyard for my job interview with a parking company. Thanks.
I specifically went to this Vivid event just to see the inside of the Wynyard Station again since the Carpark closed. Was always my favourite Carpark in the city. But where is the portals under the Cahill Expressway? I would love to go see them and take photos. I love old Sydney historical areas.
The footpath over the bridge comes to some stairs that go down below the bridge and they're right next to that. If I remember correctly.... It's been 15 years or so since I last was there.
Good stuff bro, you should make a video on the mortlake and cabarita tram-lines which have now been replaced by the 464 and 466 buses!
Thanks for the idea!
It was such a big network, even though i wasnt even born then, i think it would’ve been great and cool. Now the government are starting to build trams in parramatta.
Great little doco!!
Thanks. Appreciate it.. I was as surprised as many about this piece of Sydney History as as many others I worked about 500m of this abandoned station for nearly 10 years and didn't know it existed... was a few more years before I made video on it..
Thanks for the interesting video!
Born and raised in Sydney - very interesting!
I live in Glebe. You can still see the tram lines on Glebe point road
Thanks. Yes not many places you can see tram lines still in the street anymore. Glad they kept a bit in Glebe point.
It was a mistake to remove trams from Sydney. Every time I visit Melbourne the trams make it so quick and easy to move around the city. Even better when it's free within the CBD.
...Except if you have mobility issues and/or are disabled. Most of Melbourne's trams are not equipped with flat floors. Their tram maps are a joke too. They're missing half the stops. Give me Sydney's trams any day.
@@chamellephoto Hahahaha. Melbourne's tram network shits on Sydney's tiny little light rail system. Not even a quarter of the size. Probably why you sound so salty.
Hi Marty, just thought I would share a few suggestions on possible future Back Tracks videos. Here are some Sydney tram lines that could be covered: La Perouse, Maroubra, Bondi, Bronte, Coogee, Clovelly, Marrickville, Earlwood, Dulwich Hill (original), Petersham, King Street (Vaucluse, Lighthouse), Summer Hill, Concord-Cabarita and Pyrmont. Anyway, I hope all this helps. Take care. rob in Melbourne Australia.
Thanks Rob, great suggestion. Definitely sounds like enough to make a few more videos.
At its peak (around 1935 or so) the Sydney tramway system was the largest in the world - outdoing Melbourne, which is Today the largest in the world. The Cahill Expressway could not be completed until that areswipe Premier J. J. Cahill had the trams removed from the Harbour Bridge. There was so much corruption going on at the time that was somehow covered up, yet 80-100 years on, some of us know the truths!
Yes J. J. Cahill is our equivalent of sorts to what Beeching was to UK Railways. I guess at least Sydney tram depots didn't 'burn down' like they did in Brisbane....
@@backtracks.channel I never thought of Cahill being our equivalent of Beeching... As for Brisbane tram depot fires, IIRC that was in 1965, and it was Paddington depot that was burnt. A number of FM cars were destroyed, but a handful were salvaged and rebuilt as "Phoenix Cars." There are at least two in preservation - one at Loftus, and the last one built/rebuilt, at Ferny Grove. The funny thing is, is that a number of Sydney buses were sent up to replace trams after the Paddington depot fire, which must have been a very slow and painful journey north!
Oh didn't know that about the buses. Agree a very long trip - especially if they had to stop a every stop along way for passengers :)
thank you this was great so interesting
We've so farked public transport in this country to suit private sector profit motives.
"Selfish, ignorant citizens elect selfish, ignorant leaders. It's that simple." ~George Carlin
The Auld Men decided; now it's wind farms, our coal goes overseas & their friends combust the benefit. Industry in Asia, (people like us but different) .
That car park is familiar. I must have been down there at some point but for what reason I can’t recall.
Back in 1985 I traveled by car through the tunnel under the harbour we went in near North Sydney Station and came out in the menzies carpark.
Was that publicly accessed then?...I used to park down in the big tunnel at Wynyard in 1989...I don't think one could drive further North in '89...It would have been unreal to drive under the harbour BEFORE the car tunnel was made!!!
@@Warpedsmac I remember there was some security check at north sydney so no. It was spooky from memory it was not very wide!
@@rods6405 That would be one car ride I would give anything to make now ....I bet it's spookier now! I used to drive the tunnels at at Wynyard when it was a carpark...Cheers from Hunter Valley ex Epping Sydney
That was fascinating, thank you for showing some of Sydney's transport past. Shame it doesn't still exist, maybe it could again.
6:25 The city circle line from Wynyard to St James via Circular Quay didn’t open until the 1956.
Well done, thank you!
There is a shooting range in one of the old tram tunnels.
Fantastic. Thanks for this.
Really intereseting to open with the clue, Why no 1 and 2 at Wynyard. The though process - {" there's an unused tram/train tunnel , I know a carpark"} nothing else ?? a Bicycle park a walkway to The Brige, temporary houseing.
Its ironic how public transport was given the boot to make way for private cars, now we are moving away from private cars and rebuilding public transport.
From memory the portals and door shown at 11:07 was an entry to a pistol range operated by the Transit Police at the time. I remember shooting there on invitation from a friend in the late 1970s.
Thanks. Yes there have been a few mentions of it in the comments and a tiny bit on the internet while researching this video. But I didn't include it as i couldn't 100% be sure there was a shooting range there. (am sure the Police didn't want to overly publicise this at the time). Thanks for confirming it. Hopefully it was a straight bit of tunnel as to shoot around a bend would need a lot of training :)
@@backtracks.channel
The range was a small 25m five lane range. There was a reception/briefing area just inside the green door, a loading area further in and then the range (straight). They restricted the power of the load in the bullets to about half what was normal for safety and noise. It was very hard to find if you were not familiar with the are as you accessed from the stairs off Cumberland St.
The Railways had their own armed Police at that stage which later morphed into the Transport Command of the NSW Police.
I think it was the left side "down" portal that we used to use as a pistol range when there were still Security Services/Transit Police employed by the NSWGR/SRA/NSW Police Service. On second thoughts it may have been the up.... I am getting old.
By the early 1970's it was just the Prisons pistol range, the Police had 2 ranges in the old CIB in Campbell Street.
Wish the tram network still existed