Thirlmere Trains

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Thirlmere is a small semi-rural town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Wollondilly Shire. Popularly known for its railway origins, the town is located 89 km south west of Sydney. At the 2011 census, Thirlmere had a population of 3,530 people. Thirlmere was previously known as Village of Thirlmere and was originally named after Lake Thirlmere in England. FROM: Wikipedia IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth DATE TAKEN: June 2006

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Thirlmere boomed with the creation of the Great Southern Railway in 1863 to 1867, when the area was blanketed in tents to house the many railway workers that came to the area to work. Thirlmere was valued mostly for the proximity of the Thirlmere Lakes (then called Picton Lakes) which were used to provide water for the steam trains. During this period Thirlmere was also the home for a number of timber mills, whose main product was the milling of sleepers for the railway line. FROM: Wikipedia IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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The Thirlmere section of the Main Southern Railway was deviated in 1919 to a less steep alignment with easier grades, and the original line became the Picton Loop Line. This transformed the village from a hive of steam train activity to a quiet farming region, mainly supplying the surrounding villages with foods and goods. FROM: Wikipedia IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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The New South Wales Rail Transport Museum is Australia's largest and oldest railway museum with over 125 railway exhibits. It is the home to many steam and diesel locomotives, the most popular of which is the famous 3801. Steam train rides are available on Sundays during the winter months, to avoid the risk of bush-fire in this rural area. FROM: Wikipedia IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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Each year on the first Sunday in March, the town's population grows to over 15,000 as tourists flock to the "Thirlmere Festival of Steam" - NSW's premier annual steam event featuring the state's biggest gathering of main-line steam locos and all the fun of the fair and markets. FROM: Wikipedia IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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Thirlmere is a rather nondescript town which grew up as a direct result of the construction of the Great Southern Railway which moved slowly through the Southern Highlands in the 1860s. FROM: Aussie Towns IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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The main railway camp was at Thirlmere between 1863-1867. It moved on to Mittagong and Bowral in 1867 and to Goulburn from 1869-1875. Thirlmere may have had a future but the construction of the Hume Motorway ensured that it was bypassed and thus became a sleepy backwater beyond the suburban sprawl which now stretches beyond Camden and Campbelltown. FROM: Aussie Towns IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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Today Thirlmere has a remarkable railway museum - Trainworks - and the Thirlmere Lakes National Park is a quiet bush retreat just beyond Greater Sydney. FROM: Aussie Towns IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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The main attraction in Thirlmere is Trainworks at 10 Barbour Road. It claims to be the oldest and largest railway museum in the country. Decades ago the New South Wales Railways, wanting to get their historic trains and rolling stock out of Sydney, joined with the volunteer-based Railway Heritage Museum and established a museum at Thirlmere. FROM: Aussie Towns IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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In the early years it was one of those places beloved by railway enthusiasts where men (very few women), drawn to the old rolling stock, covered in grease and with spanners in their back pockets wandered around in blue overalls tinkering with ageing steam trains while visitors mooched through hectares of old trains. It included 60 locomotives (steam, diesel and electric) and 100 carriages, including a No 18 engine built in 1864 and a huge 260-tonne Garratt No 6040 built in 1956. FROM: Aussie Towns IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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The first European to explore the area was John Wilson, an ex-convict, who led a party through the area in 1798. Their mission was to find out about the area so they could report to Governor Hunter who wanted to convince deluded Irish convicts that there was not a "New World" of white people living 200 miles south-west of Sydney. During the expedition Wilson shot a lyrebird and the group saw a "cullawine" (koala). FROM: Aussie Towns IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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The railway arrived in 1863 and a settlement developed around the station. Trainworks was opened by the New South Wales Governor, Marie Bashir, on 4 April, 2010. FROM: Aussie Towns IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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The design concepts for the Station Master's Cottage were imported from the United States and the house, constructed in 1891, was the first brick building in town. It served as home to Thirlmere's stationmasters and their families for decades. The house was planned and built during the lead up to the depression of 1892 and bucked the public spending trends of that time by adhering to a brick rather than a timber design. The house is a fine example of suburban architecture of the time. FROM: Trainworks IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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Due to the easy access to working steam trains, Thirlmere has been the backdrop for a number of television commercials and shows. Perhaps the best known television series filmed at Thirlmere was the Channel Seven series Always Greener, from 2001 to 2003. FROM: Trainworks IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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The Great Train Hall houses the biggest collection of rolling stock in Australia. A significant portion of the collection has been steadily refurbished and restored over the years by the NSWRTM volunteers, while others patiently await the time, money and labour required to be returned to their former glory. FROM: Trainworks IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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6040 Garratt - the heaviest and most powerful steam locomotive to ever turn a wheel in Australia. It's massive, powerful - a sight to behold. 1905 Steam Engine - the first locomotive to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge - a Beyer, Peacock of Manchester England construction. Trainworks hosts one of the finest and most diverse collections of this maker's locomotives in the world. RS1962 Dining Car - the envy of the world for luxury and speed in the years following the end of World War II. This is one of the all time great sights and experiences of Australian railway. 1709 - one of the most profound expressions of 19th Century travel in the collection. It is a true treasure. The Rail Pay Bus - one of the oddest little items in the collection. It was used for transporting employees wages all over the state rail system. FROM: Trainworks IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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The new roundhouse is a blend of traditional roundhouse style and modern workshop concepts. In the roundhouse staff and volunteers work on a variety of locomotives and carriages and carry out heavy overhauls and restorations as well as the more traditional 'running' maintenance that roundhouses were originally designed for. FROM: Trainworks IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006

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The roundhouse is serviced by a 105-foot turntable from the old Enfield steam depot. It is one of only three in NSW of that impressive size, constructed to turn the enormous 33.5-metre-long, 265-tonne Beyer Peacock Garratt locomotives - such as the mammoth 6040. FROM: Trainworks IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: June 2006