Heritage locomotives find home at Chullora rail hub now envy of world

The $9.4 million Chullora Heritage Hub is the new, centralised storage facility for 50 of the State’s 220 heritage locomotives and carriages.
The hub was first announced by the NSW Government in 2018 to provide Transport Heritage NSW (THNSW) with a new facility to better preserve the nation’s most significant heritage trains, carriages and rolling stock.
THNSW is a not-for-profit, member-based organisation and registered charity established in 2013 to operate two rail museums, deliver heritage experiences to the public and support the heritage transport sector.
The historic trains have travelled by road and rail to the former Tank Annex Building in Chullora, from Eveleigh, Thirlmere and Broadmeadow.
A workshop built during World War Two for the manufacture of army tanks, the Tank Annex Building was refurbished last year and provides safe storage for a variety of transport heritage collection items.
These include Locomotive 1219, which dominated services in the late 1800s up until the 1950s; Locomotive 5096 which was introduced from 1890 and retired in 1965; and Locomotive 2606 introduced in 1892 before retiring in 1970.
THNSW CEO Andrew Moritz said the items within the Tank Annex at Chullora, were now in an environment that would be the envy of rail and transport conservation organisations across the globe.
“For the first time, we will have most of the residual heritage rolling stock under THNSW’s care stored out of the elements and in one central location,” he said.
“It’s vital we preserve our heritage fleet so that the magic of being part of life on our railways inspires generations to come.”
More info: thnsw.com.au