Find of the Month December 2020

December 2020

Towing the Line

The Canberra Rail Link & Locomotive 1210

One of the first objects to be listed on the Australian Capital Territory’s Heritage Register was a locomotive. In April 1995 the Canberra Times[i] reported that Locomotive No. 1210, along with other objects such as the field books used by surveyors to plot the ACT border and the maps that were drawn from the data from the field books, were objects that represented great historical importance to Canberra and its people. The locomotive was one of the first objects entered in the register. The Minister for the Arts and Heritage, Gary Humphries stated legislation had now allowed him to list items to enable the ‘the protection of Canberra’s heritage’. This month’s Find of the Month draws from records that tell the story of the significance of the 1210 Locomotive.

ACT Government Brochureii

Locomotive 1210 hauled the first train to Canberra in 1914, the beginning of a network of temporary rail lines essential to construction works in the new city, a key moment in the building of Canberra. On 12 March of the previous year a crowd gathered on Kurrajong Hill to witness Lady Denman officially name the Federal Capital city “Canberra”. Many of those making up the crowd had travelled from Sydney and Melbourne by rail but had to then alight from their carriages at either Queanbeyan or Yass and travel the remainder by car or horse drawn vehicles, as the line from Queanbeyan to the Federal Capital was still under construction. Provision had been made in the Federal Capital design for a railway station in a central position. The construction of a line from Queanbeyan to the Canberra station commenced in February 1913[i].

Before the construction of the Canberra's line could begin, a route needed to be surveyed. This work began as early as June 1910 when surveyor George Marshall picked up two field books from the Federal Capital survey camp and set about recording a 'rough traverse' for the Queanbeyan to Canberra railway. He then followed up his preliminary work in 1911 with more detailed worked on what was described as the 'temporary railway from Queanbeyan to the Federal Cityiv. Notes in the later field book suggest that he had finished the survey work by September 1911 when he returned the last field book to the survey camp.

Pages from the 'rough traverse' field book v

Pages from the details survey field book vi

Visitors to the Canberra naming ceremony may well have seen some of the rail link construction work as they travelled from Queanbeyan. The existing road ran alongside the route surveyed by George Marshall for part of the way. The planning to link Queanbeyan and Canberra eventually became a reality when, on 24 May 1914, the first train designed to work on the construction of the government administrative buildings and the Provisional Parliament House was delivered to the Power House siding in Canberra. The train was hauled by a C-class locomotive engine, No. 120, stationed at Goulburn, that usually hauled trains to Queanbeyan. It was later re-classified in 1924 and given the new number ‘1210’ [i].

Detail of map 'Canberra City Railway' showing Power House Rail Head viii

Locomotive 1210 was built in 1878 in England worked in various parts of New South Wales before and after its historic expedition to Canberra. It went on to work in districts including Parkes, Mudgee and Moree before it was retired from service in 1962. The National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) was quick to make arrangements with New South Wales railways to secure the locomotive for permanent display in Canberra. It was noted that the engine;

has been in use in New South Wales since 1879. It made the first steam run into Canberra in 1914. It is noted that the train does preserve a link with early history and will provide a tourist and civic attraction in a much improved railway station setting.

A display plinth was built near the Canberra railway station to receive the locomotive and its tender in preparation for its second trip to Canberra. The reception ceremony was no small affair. On 27 January 1962, Locomotive 1210 arrived back in Canberra hauling with it ‘sleeping cars and other carriages accommodating about 100 members of the Steam Train & Railways Preservation Society’. In what was considered a ‘simple ceremony’ the members of the society, the driver of the train and other passengers were greeted by representatives from the NCDC, the Canberra Historical Society, the Department of the Interior, the ACT Advisory Council and the local station master. After officials from each organisation entertained the audience with a speech, the official party were guided through an inspection of the train. Locomotive 1210 was moved during the following week onto a plinth at the Canberra Railway Station [i]. It is now stored and displayed at the nearby Canberra Railway Museum.

ACT Government Brochure x

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File References

  • ArchivesACT: 91/04857, ACT Heritage Unit - Canberra Railways
  • ArchivesACT: 101, Office of the Surveyor General - Field Books
  • ArchivesACT: 102, Office of the Surveyor General - Field Books
  • ArchivesACT: A211, Office of the Surveyor General - Field Books
  • ArchivesACT: 1962/42, Locomotive 1210

References

i Historic items named for heritage register (1995, April 19). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 5. Retrieved November 23, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130544565

ii ArchivesACT: Box 40, ACT Government Brochures.

iii ArchivesACT: 91/04857, ACT Heritage Unit – Canberra Railways.

iv ArchivesACT: Office of the Surveyor General - Field Books 101, 102 and A211. All digitised field books can be viewed online here.

v ArchivesACT: Office of the Surveyor General - Field Book 101.

viArchivesACT: Office of the Surveyor General - Field Book A211.

vii ArchivesACT: 91/04857, ACT Heritage Unit – Canberra Railways.

viii ArchivesACT: C5507109271, Report together with minutes of evidence and a diagram relating to the proposed city railway at Canberra. The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, 1916.

ix ArchivesACT: 1962/42, Locomotive 1210

x ArchivesACT: Box 40, ACT Government Brochures.

Links to Newspaper articles

Historic items named for heritage register (1995, April 19). The Canberra Times (ACT: 1926 - 1995), p. 5. Retrieved November 23, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130544565

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