Wollstonecraft

Today, this is a modern station situated upon a tight curve two miles north of the Harbour Bridge, along Sydney's North Shore Line. It came into use on the ''Milson's Point Extension Railway'', the latter of which was formally commissioned on 29th April 1893, regular public services commencing on 1st of the following month. In brief, this was a double-track line, 2 miles 65-chains in length, which was an extension of an earlier-opened single-track railway between Hornsby and St Leonards, the latter having come into use on 1st January 1890.

On opening, the station was known as "Edwards Road". At the time, it was noted in the press that platforms were built at the site, but that no high-level booking office, straddling the tracks, was present from the outset:

At Edwards Road....... platforms have been provided, and it is intended, where the traffic justifies it, to put up a wooden station building on the over bridge, similar to that at Bay Road.

Ref: The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser: Saturday 4th February 1893

High-level booking offices remain a feature today at many of Sydney's suburban stations. The original reason for such an arrangement was so that tickets could be purchased at a single entrance which gave access to all platforms. At Edwards Road, staircases were still, however, provided at the southern end of the site, descending from the road bridge to the platforms. Single-storey timber offices were also erected on the platforms, similar to those at nearby Bay Road (later called "Waverton"); these were equipped with gabled pitched roofs clad with corrugated metal.

On 1st September 1900, the station was renamed "Wollstonecraft". This was the locality, named after Edward Wollstonecraft, one of the first settlers on the North Side, who owned a large estate there.

Regular electric services began on the North Shore Line on 15th August 1927, for which overhead catenary carrying 1500-volts was erected. The full electric timetable came into use on 15th July 1928 and through running to Central Station was possible from 19th March 1932.

In September 1979, it was all change at Wollstonecraft: the vintage timber platform buildings were flattened and the station completely rebuilt. Single-storey buildings of creme-brick construction were erected on both platforms. The latter have both since been provided with step-free access in the form of ramps with a 1 in 6 gradient, leading down from the road over bridge, replacing the previous staircases. In the middle of all this upheaval, one artefact survived from an earlier time: at the northern end of the south-bound platform can still be found a concrete run-in board, dating from around the time of the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Return to Miscellaneous

Return to the Kent Rail Homepage or alternatively, check for Updates.

Website & Copyright information - Links - Contact the Webmaster

All content is copyright © David Glasspool unless otherwise stated