Eskbank Locomotive Depot & Museum in Lithgow, New South Wales | Community organisation

Eskbank Locomotive Depot & Museum

Locality: Lithgow, New South Wales

Phone: +61 427 455 580

Address: 54 Eskbank Street 2790 Lithgow, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.eskbanklocomotivedepotmuseum.com.au

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25.01.2022 Eskbank Loco Depot running shed appears to be a hive of activity on this day taken circa 1910 - 1912

25.01.2022 The Lithgow Locomotive Depot was transfered from Eskbank in the very early 1920s because Eskbank had become to small to deal with the volume of traffic. As can be seen from the series of photographs taken from Sceneic Hill the depot gradually evolved into what would become the most modern depot in the State by the early 1980s.

25.01.2022 The CEO of Transport Heritage NSW Andrew Moritz on his recent visit to Lithgow met with volunteers and members of the Board of the Lithgow State Mine Railway. Andrew also took time out to look over the site of the proposed Eskbank Locomotive Depot & Museum which will incorporate the wagon maintenance and carriage restoration facility. The development of the Museam site is critical in the overall plans for both the Lithgow State Mine Railway as well as the Museam. The site will provide an operational hub for train operations as well as a facility for restoration and exhibition of locomotives and rollingstock in an authentic heritage location. Photo courtesy of Mathew Wilson

25.01.2022 Todays working bee was a mixed bag of opportunities. Initially we were to have a truck an excavator on site to assist us with the removal the broom and other de...bris from the depot site. However with the best laid plans the truck was a non starter due to mechanical malfunction so work continued on clearing around the water column bases and between the retaining wall and wall of running shed, shrub removal in the forecourt of Eskbank Station and a make over of Lake Pillans platform. After the usual pre start tool box talk and covid 19 administrative paper work was completed work commenced under the spring sunshine which proved to be very warm by days end. Considering it was a long weekend we also had a very good turnout of our volunteers.

24.01.2022 The mid week volunteer group from the LSMR have spend a number of weeks ploughing through thick stands of English broom which had all but taken over the running shed area of the depot. The grass has been turned into lawn and the place is looking lived in once again. The Eskbank Locomotive Depot & Museum will establish itself in the former depot as money becomes available to develop the site further. Once the replica sheds are erected the collection of locomotives and carriage...s currently in storage at the Lithgow State Mine will be transferred to their new home. The site will become even more important once steam operations begin on the State Mine branch as we will need to de-ash 2605 in one of the servicing pits which will need to be brought into operation in the short term. The depot was establish in 1882 with the installation of the 60 sellers turntable. A three road running shed was erected adjacent to the turntable in 1886. By the early 1900s the depot had basically out grown the site and the Department of Railways commenced planning for a much larger depot to be built at Corneytown (bottom of the Scenic Hill) By 1924 a third of the stalls in the new roundhouse were constructed and Eskbank was closed. The turntable was relocated to Coolah and the running shed was demolished. By 1930 the area had become a shunting yard and storage facility. Should anyone be interested in helping us maintain the area so the weeds dont take over again please contact us. Also we will be looking for a stone mason to undertake restoration work on the turntable pit as well as a brickie who could undertake repair works to the depot servicing pits.

23.01.2022 Recently the ELD&M had a visit from Philip Longley a well known supporter of rail preservation and has been known to us for 20 years. Philips particular passion has been with passenger cars. Philip came to Lithgow recently to donated a sizeable collection of engineering drawings to the Museum. The collection for the most part related to SAR 700,750 and 780 class cars of which we have six cars three 700 class, two 750 class and 780 class. This collection of drawings will be of great use for reference aid for our restoration and maintenance of the cars. Thank you Philip for this fantastic resource.

22.01.2022 Over the last few weeks members from the mid week volunteer group from the Lithgow State Mine Railway have been down working within the Eskbank Loco Depot turning our thick grass into lawn and removing the english broom which had taken over the site of the original running shed.This invasive weed if not stopped grows quite rapidly between the brick foundations of the ash and servicing pits and can destroy them. If not kept under control the whole area goes ferrel with weeds a...nd long grass and makes for a good play ground for a number of snakes who wander down from Lake Pillans. Earlly in the new year a development application will be lodged with Lithgow Council for the establishment of a new railway museam and workshop facility on the site. This area will become the centre piece of the State Mine Railways tourist initiative for the town which will show case Lithgows industrial heritage of coal mining, railway development and the iron and steel industry we lost to Wollongong in 1928. This development will compliment the work being carried out at Blast Furnace park by Lithgow City Council.

19.01.2022 Last week the Eskbank Locomotive Depot & Museum project took delivery of a large quantity of railway line which will be used for the proposed depot development at Eskbank. The donation of rail was made available by Centennial Coal from a recent track upgrade at their Lidsdale Siding. The Board of the Museum was very grateful for the efforts of James Marshall and Katie Brassil for making the donation possible. A big thank you to Centennial Coal.

19.01.2022 This represents only a fraction of the work that was required to provide the necessary documentation for the shortlisted funding application.

19.01.2022 This is an interactive railway museum!

18.01.2022 Lithgow 1962, looking west from near the coal stage.

18.01.2022 The Eskbank Wagon Maintenance & Carriage Restoration Facility and living Museum project has FINALLY been shortlisted to compete for funding to make the dream a reality! This project is unique and is based in Lithgow but we need to illustrate that the community supports it. The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art Wagon Maintenance and Carriage Restoration Facility together with the rebuilding of the Eskbank Locomotive Depot 3 road running shed as a living... Museum dedicated to showcasing Lithgows rich rail heritage. The 60 Sellers turntable complete with the sandstone surrounds will also be re-instated making it the only one of its kind left in NSW. This project will result in new tourism initiatives, new job/training opportunities and support the ongoing development of niche railway engineering sectors which would otherwise be lost. This is a competitive process and a race against time so we are asking for the community to show their support by simply commenting I support the Eskbank Wagon Maintenance & Carriage Restoration Facility and living Museum project. If you want to say more in support then please do! Thank you for supporting this initiative and helping to make the dream a reality! Further information can be found at http://www.eskbanklocomotivedepotmuseum.com.au/

17.01.2022 A view of taken in 1882 looking to the east (Eskbank Goods shed in fore ground) showing early development under way in the Eskbank locomotive depot. The area has been levelled and the turntable about to be installed. An another 4 years would pass before the three road running shed would be erected.

16.01.2022 It has been a while since we have presented an update on our carriages currently located at Rothbury. As we have been busy in other areas of the operation mainly restoring the SAR cars the cars at Rothbury have taken a back seat. Fortunately this is about to change as we make moves to remove some of the cars by road and prepare the rest for rail haulage. Last week 28/12 some of our hard working committee members (Matthew Wilson, Zane Maber and Michael Hobson) spent the day at... Rothbury and braved the opressive heat to tarp the roof of FZ 507 which is suffering from roof failure which is in turn letting water into the interior of the car. Unfortunately this is a syptamatic problem with timber cars that are not adequetly maintained. The job was completed and the tarps will keep the water out in the short term. This will be one of the first cars to be hauled by road to Lithgow in coming weeks to begin its restoration. A big thanks to the guys for putting into place some urgent measures to prevent further damage to the cars internals. In coming months there will be further working bees to prepare the cars which will be railed out as soon as they can be made fit for travel. If anyone is interested in helping please drop us a message. See more

15.01.2022 An old employment record , Eskbank is Lithgow ,and the most beautiful handwriting with a pen and nib

15.01.2022 BREAKING NEWS The Eskbank Wagon Maintanace & Carriage Restoration Facility and "Living Museam" (Eskbank Locomotive Depot & Museum) has been advised that the development has been shortlisted for funding under the Restart NSW Regional Growth - Environment and Tourism program. We had applied for State Government funding through a number of programs over the last few years and this announcment has come as very welcome news. We have until the end of October in which to submit furt...her information to support our funding application. As part of that brief we will need to illustrate that the community supports this development. In the next few days we will publish the plans for the Eskbank Depot and will outline how the commuinty can support our bid in this very compettive process.

14.01.2022 Over the last few weeks our mid week volunteers have been busy putting some finishing touches the the buffet end of the car. These have included some re laqueri...ng of the tmber panelling,.laying the art deco flooring and installing the architrave mouldings around the floor. There are a few more things to add but essentially this end of the car is almost complete. See more

13.01.2022 Please help us to get the Newnes Junction Signal Box fully restored! Please share this page to all of your friends! Sadly the signal box was burnt to the ground... in the 2019/2020 bushfires! The Newnes Junction Signal Box is of local significance as a relatively intact and functioning example of a Type E Signal Box. It is of significance for its historic relationship and connection to the adjacent colliery. The signal box is a small timber weatherboard structure on brick base with corrugated iron gabled roof with timber barge board and finial. Some parts of the walls have been reclad in fibro. Multi-paned timber windows are located all around the building. Operating level windows are shaded by a convex shaped galvanised sheet awning. Access is via a small landing supported by decorative brackets. Photo courtesy of Matt Julian

12.01.2022 Lithgow 2015 looking west over the site of the former Eskbank locomotive depot (built in 1882)

12.01.2022 Eskbank Depot became home for the Big "J" locomotives after they were imported from the Baldwin Locomotive Works in the USA in 1891.

12.01.2022 After what seems to be an eternity we have finally found a winning combination with two shipping agents to handle No.5s journey to Australia. The Museum Board ...is pleased to announce the appointment of NMT Global Project Logistics based in Houston Texas and Mayne Global of Sydney. Both companies will play an important role in the logistics of moving the locomotive from Georgetown to Lithgow a distance of some 12200 km. NMT will handle the movement from Georgetown to Long Beach where the loco will be cleaned and packed then placed into containers for the voyage to Australia. Mayne Global will handle the shipment once it arrives in Australia. We would like to thank Jim Pursell and David Mayne for their assistance in pulling this plan together.

12.01.2022 Given the threat of snow, high winds, rain, low temperatures and anything else the weather was going to throw our way this weekend todays working bee was called... off. However one of our intrepid volunteers felt that bad weather wasn’t an excuse to curtail our very important work at Eskbank depot. Matt braved the elements today and took on clearing out the ash and servicing pit which comes directly off the turntable. He did have a small black snake to keep him company in the morning however the cold weather had kept him a bit lethargic which was a good thing. His friend was relocated to a more eco friendly part of the depot. Matts efforts can be seen in the selection of photos taken today which shows how complete the servicing pit is. The brick work is in pristine condition for its age and the drain at the end is also clear. He has also cleared around one of two water column foundations to uncover the water drainage pit and grate. The turntable which was built in in 1882 was part of the same contract that also saw Eskbank Station constructed. The development of the Eskbank yard, Station building and turntable were certainly the beginnings of establishing Eskbank as an important point on the Great Western Railway. Thanks Matt for your efforts today.

12.01.2022 In this scene taken at the Eskbank Locomotive Depot around 1900 we see a plethora of J class locomotives either being serviced or on layover between assignments.

09.01.2022 If our funding application is successful later this year, Lithgow may see this heritage development built at Eskbank which will become the centre piece of rail operations on the State Mine branch as well as the site for the new Living Museum show casing Lithgows extensive railway heritage both private and government.

08.01.2022 The London Midland & Scottish Railway takes us inside a engine shed to show us how to improve safety in the workplace while working on trains, and also increase productivty by avoiding wasteful work practices.

07.01.2022 Seen here about to leave the Eskbank yard to climb the Zig Zag is a 93 class 0-6-0 locomotive built by Beyer Peacock & Co. Locomotive 190 was the last of the batch delivered in 1881. The photograph was taken in the mid 1880s. Photo is from the Neil Cram Collection.

02.01.2022 The turntable pit at the Eskbank Locomotive Depot became a swimming pool today. Photo courtesy of Nathan Carter

02.01.2022 After a number of months of discussion and a few false starts ELD&M negotiated a deal with the Seymour Rail Heritage Centre to acquire former NSWGR power car PHS 2296. The PHS had spent some 20 plus years in Victoria with a sister car where they under went some layout reconfiguration work and the guards compartment was fitted with air conditioning. The car was transported to Lithgow in March where it will be restored and re purposed for use with the SAR cars currently under r...estoration. It is currently waiting on a set of 2AE bogies so it can be moved off the carriage stands. The ELD&M was pleased to be able to repatriate this car back to NSW where she belongs to hopefully operate once again on familiar network.