There are a number of quintessential activities to do in Newcastle – walk Nobby’s breakwall, swim in the Bogey Hole, picnic at Blackbutt Reserve. But one of the most enduring of Novocastrian pastimes has to be complaining about the Adamstown rail crossing. “The delay to the traffic on the Adamstown and New Lambton road is most annoying.” This quote from the Newcastle Herald, is not from the recent past, but from August 1898!

The Newcastle to Gosford rail line opened in 1887, with passengers bound for Sydney needing to travel 14 miles on a steamer from Gosford to the south bank of the Hawkesbury River to continue their rail journey. Initially Adamstown had only a platform and a paltry office described as “large enough only for a dog kennel”. After vigorous campaigning by Adamstown residents, new station buildings were erected in 1891 including ladies and gentlemen’s waiting rooms, and a ticket and parcels office.

By 1891 the rail line at Adamstown had become exceedingly busy. The tracks had been duplicated from Hamilton to Teralba, and just south of the station was the junction of two private branch lines, to the New Lambton C Pit and Redhead Colliery. A number of near accidents at the level crossing north of the station led to the introduction in 1892 of a signal interlocking system, which ensured that trains could not pass until the gates were closed.

The gates and signals were manually operated, and while improving safety, they did not ease traffic congestion. In 1939 the manually operated swing gates were replaced with power operated boom gates, but complaints about traffic delays were ever recurring, as were suggested solutions. A reporter for the Newcastle Herald stated: “Probably, the day is not far distant when an overhead bridge will have to be erected.” Sadly, this nugget of wishful thinking was written 112 years ago in 1910. It seems the chances of this idea being realised now, are as forlorn as back then.

The article above was first published in the April 2022 edition of The Local.

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Additional Information

A useful reference source when preparing this article was “Adamstown Station. Something of a Chronology” by Ed Tonks, and available on the Australian Railway History Society of NSW website.

Adamstown stationmaster’s house

One little sidetrack in researching this article was finding the location of the Adamstown stationmaster’s house. In January 1901 the newspaper reported …

During the past eleven and a half years Mr. W. Hall has been the officer in charge of the Adamstown railway station. Mr. Hall recently made application for a change, and his request has been acceded to. In about a week’s time he will take his departure from Adamstown and take charge of Guildford station, on the Southern line.

Newcastle Morning Herald and miners Advocate, 2 January 1901.

This would imply that W Hall had been appointed stationmaster around July 1888. Given that this is only a year after the rail line opened, and that Adamstown station began as only a platform beside the tracks, it is probable that W Hall was the first stationmaster appointed at Adamstown.

A newspaper article from 1898, reporting on a dispute as to whether the stationmaster’s house was liable for council rates, noted that …

The building is situated in Victoria-street on the Waratah Company’s subdivision, and is about 100 yards from the railway.

Newcastle Morning Herald and miners Advocate, 28 AUgust 1898.

Records from Historical Land Records Viewer, show in Vol-Fol 1066-135 that the Railway Commissioners of NSW purchased lots 1 and 2 of Sec H of DP2347 in August 1893.

Note that the map showing the location of the lots, only has streets labelled with numbers as per the in the DP2347 subdivision map. 2nd Street on this map was an extension of Victoria St and became known by that name, but 6th St persists to this day. A 1944 aerial photograph shows that the stationmaster’s house was situated at 151 Victoria St. The Railway Commissioners sold the house and property into private hands in May 1956.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
10 Jul 1886 9 Jul 1886	"A meeting of the inhabitants of Adamstown was held last evening for the purpose of petitioning Government for a railway station at Adamstown."
8 Apr 1887 7 Apr 1887	Opening of the Hornsby to Hawkesbury River (Brooklyn) rail line.
13 Aug 1887	Detailed description of the Hawkesury River to Newcastle rail line, to be opened soon. "Adamstown station is reached at 97 miles 75chains, where there is only a platform 264ft x 15." Interestingly, it appears that Broadmeadow station was originally called Lambton station.
16 Aug 1887 15 Aug 1887	Official opening of the Newcastle to Gosford railway.
18 Nov 1887	"The Government road from Union-street to the railway platform is drawing towards completion …a siding is necessary at the platform, so that trucks containing goods for Adamstown can be shunted where carts can be taken conveniently to receive the goods."
16 Mar 1888 15 Mar 1888	At Adamstown Council meeting, a motion is passed regarding "the great need of a station at Adamstown platform on the Homebush and Waratah Railway" and "to ask for a funeral train."
13 Apr 1888 12 Apr 1888	Council's request for a funeral train for Adamstown has been refused. A petition to be raised.
2 Jul 1888	"The traffic manager this morning granted the request made to him to run a funeral train from Adamstown on Sundays whenever required."
24 Apr 1889	"The Railway Commissioners have prepared a new time-table for the Northern line, which will come into operation next month, when the Hawkbesbury bridge is open for passenger traffic. The journey to and from Sydney will be very much shortened ... doing the whole journey in 3 hours 20 minutes, saving no less than 2 hours 22 minutes."
2 May 1889 1 May 1889	Opening of Hawkesbury River rail bridge.
25 Jun 1889	"About two hundred men from the unemployed in Sydney arrived yesterday to commence the earthworks required for the duplication of the railway line between Adamstown and Teralba."
3 Sep 1889	"The Redhead Company are now constructing a branch railway line from Adamstown to their Burwood Extended mine."
8 Nov 1889	"The firm [New Lambton Coal Company] have a branch line, one mile in length, connecting the colliery [C Pit] with the Sydney-Newcastle railway at Adamstown."
30 Jun 1890	"The stationmaster's office is a place large enough only for a pigeon ducket or a dog kennel, and in such a place the whole of the work of the station has to be performed."
3 Jan 1891	Tender accepted from J R Rodgers for erection of station buildings at Adamstown
12 Jan 1891 10 Jan 1891	There is a suggestion that Adamstown station is to be moved from its present location to closer to Broadmeadow. A public meeting is held to discuss the issue, with opinions sharply divided.
20 Jan 1891	"It will be a consolation to those who are opposed to the removal of the railway station, to know that such is not to be carried into effect; and the station buildings are to be erected forthwith on the present site. The contractor is prepared to proceed with the work immediately, so the people can rest content that they will before long have the accommodation they have so long agitated for."
22 Apr 1891	"Adamstown. The erection of the station buildings are progressing slowly. With the exception of the goods-shed, they are all that is required for the present. The goods-shed is very small, and not nearly so large as was promised."
19 Oct 1892	"After a deal of writing on behalf of the council the railway authorities have commenced the work of interlocking the points and gates at the railway station: By the installation of the interlocking system the safety of the traffic will be improved considerably. Indeed, the system in vogue is dangerous in the extreme and daily accidents of a serious character have been narrowly averted."
19 Nov 1892 18 Nov 1892	"A new interlocking apparatus was opened at the Adamstown railway station yesterday. Since the opening of the double track to Teralba, the department have gradually introduced the interlocking system at the various stations. Adamstown is now an important junction, as the Redhead and New Lambton lines branch off the Government railways near the station. The new apparatus consists of a bunch of 29 levers, which work the various semaphores, the points, and the gates which guard the different crossings."
27 Jul 1897	"With respect to vehicular traffic, on the Adamstown-New Lambton road there is a grievance, and one that is not likely to be remedied till a man is placed at that important junction to attend to the signals and crossing-gates, which work is ample for one person. The delay to the traffic on the Adamstown New Lambton road is frequently most annoying, and the testimonials the station officials are daily made the recipients of are anything but gratifying."
28 Aug 1897	"At the railway station the gates are kept closed as much as possible to prevent any of the unlimited stray horses getting on the railway."
6 Aug 1898	"There are great complaints at times of the great delay caused to traffic at the Adamstown railway crossing. The delay to the traffic on the Adamstown and New Lambton road is most annoying, and the verbal testimonials presented to the railway officials are anything but complimentary."
2 Jan 1901	"During the past eleven and a half years Mr. W. Hall has been the officer in charge of the Adamstown railway station. In about a week's time he will take his departure from Adamstown and take charge of Guildford station, on the Southern line. He leaves Adamstown with the good wishes of all."
4 Oct 1910	"A lot of shunting is done at the station, and trouble is caused by the delay to road traffic through this cause. Probably, the day is not far distant when an overhead bridge will have to be erected."
5 Jun 1929	"When the Railway Commissioners visit Newcastle on June 23, strong argument will be put forward for the electrification of the railway from Sydney to Newcastle. It is stated by those urging the installation of the new system that the cost would not be very great."
3 Sep 1937	"Extensive alterations are contemplated at Adamstown railway station. The improvements will include enlarged platforms, boom gates to replace the existing swing ones, a new signal box and an overhead bridge to connect the two platforms." "Ald. Williams said that an overhead bridge should be constructed for pedestrians and vehicular traffic. With an overhead bridge for vehicular traffic delays at the gates would be obviated."
1 Mar 1938	"I would desire to direct attention to the delay and inconvenience caused at the Adamstown gates. As one who would very much like to see an overhead bridge at this intersection, not only for business traffic but the public traffic also. There have been times when I have waited with traffic streamed along behind me for close on 20 minutes."
8 May 1939 7 May 1939	"A new railway signal box and power operated boom gates were opened yesterday at St. James-road, Adamstown, by the Railway Department. The old hand operated gates have been replaced by an electrically operated device."