C O L L E C T I O N I N F O R M AT I O N S H E E T S

Clyde Enginnering Photographic CollectionRailway and Rolling Stock

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Collection Information SeriesMeterology at Sydney ObservatoryFirst published 2008www.powerhousemuseum.com.au

Text: Geoff BarkerInformation Sheet template: Anne Slam

Digital copies from original glass plate negatives: Kate Pollard

Cover image: Three P Class locomotives, photographer unknown, Clyde Engineering Pty Ltd, Australia, 1909 2008 Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences

I N T R O d U C T I O N

In 2008 the Powerhouse Museum introduced a new series of research publications, which it has made available online in PDF format. The stories and information arise out of current collection research and provide more detailed information about the collection than is available through the Museums online database.

This is one of a number of online publications the Museum is developing. Other series include facsimile copies of old or out-of-print catalogues, books and brochures as well as collection information sheets and peer reviewed research. These are all available through the Museums on-line collection database OPAC.

C O N T E N T S

1. Background ......................................................................................................................................3

2. Photographs from the collection ................................................................................................. 5-9

3CLYdE ENGINEERING COMPANY: RAILWAY ANd ROLLING STOCK

William Henry Hudson set up the firm of Hudson Brothers in 1855 in a small shop in Redfern, Sydney. While initially specializing in woodworking they soon began to focus on metal work and the making of railway rolling stock.

The first rail line in New South Wales was opened in 1855. Like locomotives the first carriages imported into New South Wales came from England. This sense of attachment to the British Empire ensured a certain level of conservatism in the purchase of both locomotives and carriages. The first locally made goods wagons were largely timber with imported iron work but in 1865 thirty-six goods wagons were made locally.1 Following this, in 1874, P. N. Russell delivered the first locally made passenger carriages which were also the first to include the innovative bogie design for supporting the carriages.1

Hudson brothers benefited from the opening up of contracts to Australian (and American) manufacturers and in 1876 were contracted to build 200 D wagons. In 1878 they took on an even larger contract for the New South Wales Government to build 1,895 rolling stock carriages.2 By 1879 Hudson Brothers had delivered to the Railways department about 76,000 pounds worth of rolling stock.3

In 1881 the expanding business moved to a new work shop on two hundred acres of land at Granville in the Western suburbs of Sydney. The new workshops had access to its own rail station on the Parramatta to Sydney line which provided a conduit for moving large pieces of machinery. These were moved from the workshops on an internal rail system which Henry Hudson based on the one used by the Wason Car Manufacturing Company which he had visited on his American trip in 1881.4

1 Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the New South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988, p.1292 Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the New South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988, p.1151-1523 Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE, Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 154 Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE, Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 21

Their system was designed by its Director George C. Fisk and used small and standard gauge rail to traverse, connect and even go through large erecting shops and other buildings. Wason also made use of the pivoting jib and overhead traversing cranes.5 By 1883 Hudsons had a near monopoly on making rolling stock for the Government Railway and between 1884 and 1887 they made nearly 1,460 good wagons and 200 carriages and vans.6 In 1886 they had completed 13 sleeping carriages based on an American design first imported to New South Wales by Jackson and Sharpe in 1877.7

The quality of the early wagons produced by Hudson Brothers is attested to by the fact that some of this rolling stack was still in use in the 1970s. The contacts also contributed substantially to the industrialization of the country as between 1877 and 1888 around 1.8 per cent of New South Wales gross domestic product was committed to rolling stock.8 By 1890 Hudson Brothers was employing 1000 people nearly 8.0 per cent of New South Wales total manufacturing workforce.9

Unfortunately the recession of the 1890s hit Hudson Brothers hard forcing it into receivership. The Clyde Engineering Company was reconstituted from the collapse of Hudson brothers and the fortunes of the new company fell in step with the newly formed Commonwealth. Clyde Engineering continued to make carriages but 1905 saw their fortunes change when they won a New South Wales Government contract to produce thirty P Class and thirty T Class locomotives.10

5 Hunter-Bradley, Betsy, The Works: The Industrial Architecture of the United States, Oxford University Press, USA, 19986 Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the New South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988, p.1527 Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the New South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988, p.1298 Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the New South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988, p.1529 Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the New South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988, p.15210 Gunn, J., Along Parallel Lines, Melbourne University Press, 1989, p.250

b A C K G R O U N d

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The first T Class was delivered 1907 and the remaining were delivered ahead of schedule by 1912.11 This was a time of huge growth for the railways and this stimulated the production of more locomotives and led to the expansion of the Clyde works.12 In 1914 Clyde took on another contract for the delivery of a further 160 T Class locomotives all of which were delivered by 1917.13

Another important event for Clyde was the opening of Broken Hill Proprietary Limiteds works in Newcastle 1915. This led to further contracts for wagons and heavy machinery.14 The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 led to the longest period of sustained growth for Clyde and its locomotive production. From 1918 to 1930 two hundred and sixty four locomotives were built and in 1923 fifty two K class locomotives were built at the rate of one a week.15

Locomotive production took a downturn during the Depression and in 1931 the workforce fell to 143, eighty eight of which were apprentices.16 A slight ray of sunshine was a contract in 1935 with the Tasmanian Government to build six Q class locomotives.17 They also manufactured Australian Standard Garretts over this period and built twenty eight between 1936 and 1945 for Queensland Government railway.18 Business began to pick up again at the end of the 1930s when they received contracts for working on Saddle Tank engines like the Burrawa built in 1938.19 In the same year they were also

11 Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE, Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 4112 Gunn, J., Along Parallel Lines, Melbourne University Press, 1989, p.30213 Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE, Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 4614 Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE, Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 4315 Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE, Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 4616 Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE, Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 4817 Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE, Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 4918 Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE, Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 7219 The Indsutrial Railway record, No 52, pp.176-177, cited from http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/52/Australia.htm September 2007

contracted by Victorian Railways to make the first five C38 locomotives but the onset of WW2 delayed delivery until 1943.20

Clydes fortunes took an upward turn during the Second World War as it became an integral part of Factory Australia. New locomotives were also made such as the three C38s made for New South Wales Government Railway in 1942. They also began producing B Class locomotives for Australian Iron and Steel and one T Class for Lysaght Ltd. As well as this they continued to produce ancillary stock for numerous Australia companies.21

By 1950 Clyde Engineering had become the largest engineering enterprise in New South Wales.

References Carroll, B., The Engineers; 200 years at work for Australia, Globe Press, Melbourne, 1988 Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the New South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988 Gunn, J., Along Parallel Lines, Melbourne University Press, 1989 Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE, Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992

20 Carroll, B., The Engineers; 200 years at work for Australia, Globe Press, Melbourne, 1988, p.16221 Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE, Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 63

5CLYdE ENGINEERING COMPANY: RAILWAY ANd ROLLING STOCK

Farmers and Dairymens Milk Company Limited louvred van number 5, 1900-1945, (88/289-7)

Railway locomotive number 3626, 36 Class 4-6-0, 1925, (88/289-9)

New South Wales Government Railways (N.S.W.G.R.) bogie refrigerator car 17607, 1900-1945, (88/289-16)

New South Wales Government Railways, (N.S.W.G.R.) four-wheel sheep van SV8408, 1900-1945, (88/289-25)

Commonwealth Oil Corporation composite carriage No.81, built by the Metropolitan Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, United Kingdom, 1900-1940, (88/289-50)

New South Wales Shale and Oil Company Limited four-wheel tank wagon No.9, 1900-1930, (88/289-30)

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200th New South Wales Government steam locomotive built by Clyde TF 1164, 1916, (88/289-112)

Steam locomotive 5701, designed by New South Wales Government Railways, 1929, (88/289-473)

Three P Class locomotives at Clyde Engineering Pty Ltd, 1909, (88/289-489)

TF class locomotive boiler with Belpaire firebox for New South Wales Government Railways [N.S.W.G.R.], mounted on two works trolleys, 1916, (88/289-496)

Locomotive engine Burrawa in workshop, 1938, (88/289-637)

Silver model of New South Wales Government Railways [N.S.W.G.R.] T class locomotive No.356, 1907, (88/289-502)

7CLYdE ENGINEERING COMPANY: RAILWAY ANd ROLLING STOCK

Underframe for four wheel electric tram, 1900-1940, (88/289-1288)

Steam locomotive 5701, designed by New South Wales Government Railways, 1929, (88/289-1191)

New South Wales Government Railways (N.S.W.G.R.) second class car MFX72, 1907-1937, (88/289-1180)

Industrial side tank steam locomotive, 2-6-2 type, 36 gauge, built for Allan Taylor Limited, 1920, (88/289-972)

Trial run for steam locomotive C3626, 1925, (88/289-1148)

New South Wales Government Railways (N.S.W.G.R.), P class 4-6-0 express passenger steam locomotive, 1908, (88/289-1146)

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Ploughs on steel and timber S wagons bound for Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, 1900-1930, (88/289-1152)

New South Wales Government Railways (N.S.W.G.R.), steam locomotive K1384 later 5532, 1922, (88/289-1153)

New South Wales Government Railway second-class American suburban car, FA1066, 1902-1910, (88/289-1178)

South Wales Government Tramways counterweight dummy car, 1890-1915, (88/289-1184)

Trial run for steam locomotive C3626, 1925, (88/289-1148)

Rear unit of Australian Standard Garratt locomotive G21 at Clyde works, 1936-1945, (88/289-1323)

9CLYdE ENGINEERING COMPANY: RAILWAY ANd ROLLING STOCK

Australian Oil Company tank wagons, 1900-1945, (88/289-54)

Commonwealth Oil Corporation oil tank four-wheel railway wagon number 11, 1900-1945, (88/289-64)

Large slewing mechanism for crane with three D57 class locomotives under constructio, 1929-1930, (88/289-111)