EARLY DAYS TRANSPORTATION IN BROKEN HILL
SILVERTON TRAMWAY RAILWAY
Well before the discovery of Broken Hill Lode it was realised that the available means of transport were quite inadequate for the carriage of substantial tonnages of ore out of Silverton - then the principle Barrier township - and of heavy machinery, and a large volume of supplies into the new mining field.
At that time the district was served by stage coaches, bullock wagons, camel teams, sundry horse drawn vehicles, donkey teams and paddle steamers.
In 1884 South Australia Government Legislation extended its narrow gauge railway system from Petersburg (now Peterborough) to the South Australian/New South Wales border, to capture goods and passenger transport to and from the Barrier.
With the discovery of rich ore on the Broken Hill Lode early in 1885 it became imperative that a railway service be constructed from Broken Hill and Silverton to the border, a distance of 56 kilometres.
The New South Wales Government rejected all requests to provide a railway, or to permit an extension across the border of the South Australian rail system.
The New South Wales Minister for Mines, J.P. Abbot, during a visit to Silverton in May 1885, made the helpful suggestion that a privately owned railway could be constructed and action was immediately taken to form a local company for that purpose.
The original Silverton Tramway Company Limited Act was passed on October 14, 1886 (amended in 1888). The completion of the South Australian rail extension to Cockburn by the end of 1886, and the Tramway connecting line was opened by the Duke of Manchester on January 12, 1888.
The facility opened up an isolated area. The choice of 'Tramway' in its company title no doubt served to distinguish a complex government-owned railway system from a small private enterprise operating over short distances.
With the Tramway Company's goods sheds, workshops and offices at Railwaytown, and the passengers Line ending at Sulphide Street in the middle of the township, Broken Hill became a terminus for rail traffic from South Australia. From this point, bullock wagons, camels and stage coaches fanned out from Broken Hill to service the outlying district.
The privately-owned railway system ceased to function on Saturday, January 10, 1970, with the departure of the last freight train for South Australia.
The Tramway line was rendered redundant as a result of the construction of a standard gauge rail system by the Commonwealth Government over a shorter route, by-passing the ghost town of Silverton where 85 years earlier the Company had been formed.
During its lifetime 2,881,000 passengers, and 59 million tonnes of freight were transported over the 56 kilometres line by the Silverton Tramway Company Limited.
The Sulphide Street Railway Station was erected in 1905 by Silverton Tramway Co. using stone from the Block 10 Mine. Most of the original internal detailing survives, including pressed metal ceilings, marble mantle pieces and tile floor.
In 1981 the Sulphide Street Railway and Historical Museum was officially opened on June 13.
In 1981, the Westside complex was commissioned on the land formerly occupied by the Silverton Tramway Co. workshops, station and goods sheds
NEW SOUTH WALES RAILWAY
The New South Wales Government conistenly refused to provide a direct rail link between Broken Hill and Sydney, despite the substantial mining royalties received. Over the years, local citizens formed various groups, commencing with the Railway extension Committee in 1890, and followed by the Darling River League in 1908,the chairman of which was Mayor J. H. Ivey. The local committees favored an extension to Broken Hill via Menindee, of the existing line at Condobolin, as opposed to Wilcannia-based committee which sought a link from Cobar to Broken Hill via Wilcannia. The claim for the Menindee route was based both on the shorter distance fro nt excelled itself in procrastination. A Public Works Committee took evidence in 1890, and an m Sydney - with consequent lower cost - and the urgent need for a permanent line to the nearest water supply at Menindee on the River Darling, 112 klm. from Broken Hill. The New South Wales Government inspection of the two routes was made by the Minister for Public Works, C. A. Lee in 1908. Finally,
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