EDIT: A lot of people have asked so here is the list of most to least busiest stations which I compiled myself a few days ago: docs.google.com/document/d/1EjV7DUisEMupyxfa1EnONEC8fPtNqbIO/edit Hey! Been too long since I did a video for my "Explore" series, so I decided it was time to fix that. Amy/girl who looks like Amy and I went and had lunch right after she got off the train haha. Although, actually, I only just got my wisdom teeth out so my lunch was a milkshake 😃. I really don't know how I filmed this entire video two days after a wisdom teeth surgery. In other news, I said about a month ago that I wanted to get to 20k subs by the middle of the year. Well, we're running 5 months early on that goal. Exciting!! Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this one! Back to a serious topic in the next video, if my schedule doesn't change.
The MacDonaldtown to Erskineville walk was a fan for many Opal Card runners in circa 2015. On a Monday people would run, skate, scoot and ride between the two station to get their 8 weekly trips up and then be able to use the Sydney network for the rest of the week for free. So for cost of around $15 you could travel anywhere on the network for the rest of the week at no extra cost. Pyrmont Bridge and Star City on the light rail was another busy route on a Monday. 😊
I was too late for the Opal hack, but I would run to MacDonaldtown from Ersko (and up the train to get out at Redfern) if I missed my train in the mornings, kept my sprinting skills up nicely then.
@@M077Y it was really good times .. if you were a city commuter it gave you reason to exercise on a Monday and save yourself some money for the rest of the week
HappyChef! I remember them, had a similar menu to something you would find in Chinatown Sussex st food court, another restaurant to have lost its life on King Street Newtown, I blame the American burger food trend that’s currently cursed Newtown, bring back the Thai food trend of the 00s!
Back in the day when you used to buy weekly tickets MacDonaldtown was a favourite for city workers who had to get through ticketing gates in the city but didn’t have to use a ticketing gate at there home station.
You are so right. The people from the Blue Mountains did that for many years. The Government decided to have a blitz on the Blue Mountains line and put ticket inspectors on every train on one particular day. Every passenger had a ticket but almost 80% had weekly tickets from Macdonaldtown to Central and the city. Most Blue Mountains train stations had no ticket barriers or staff after 3pm.
A note on density and Erskineville station. It’s not all doom and gloom, over the last few years the remaining industrial area to the south east of the station are being changed to higher density apartment blocks. So hopefully it will climb that usage chart over the next few years.
Indeed. Ashmore Estate is 2 minutes down the road and by 2035 is estimated to add 6,000 new residents to Erskineville, doubling the suburb's population: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/building-new-infrastructure/planning-for-ashmore-precinct.
@@GarySmith-me5hz based on how construction has been going so far if they complete Ashmore estate by 2025 i will be shocked 😂😂 I’m looking forward to it completion though, the additional retail/hospitality will be nice.
Couple more interesting facts: - Macdonaldtown Erskineville was a common route for Opal running before the loophole was closed - Macdonaldtown's trackwork bus stop is at Erskineville as the streets are too narrow for buses to get in - In the past, Macdonaldtown had a minibus to Newtown during trackwork
Yep. Sydney Uni students were pretty good at maxing out their 8 journeys on a Monday thanks to the triangle.. and same with Light Rail stops in Pyrmont
This was a great way to avoid the crowded trackwork buses to Newtown on trackwork days. Just get off at Redfern and get the minibus to Macdonaldtown. It was literally the size of a personal van. Nobody ever got on it as opposed to the crowded to capacity Newtown bus. Then just walk 5 mins
I was once on a country train going up the Blue Mountains and it was sitting stationary at Clyde Station for over 2 hours due to an accident further up the line. I have a bad association to that station because of that reason.
Haha yeah, I have realised I am pretty bad at spontaneous humour so I scripted all my jokes this time and they all landed much better 😃 I’ll be doing that from now on for sure
As a former USYD student, Macdonaldtown station was my go to station when I forgot my paper train ticket at home, just to avoid the transit officers at Redfern (the days before Opal) LOL On another note, thanks to my weird mind, Macdonaldtown for me isn't complete until there is a Maccas in the area! :P On a serious note, I have been to all three stations for various reasons and the walks in between them are quite nice. I'm always on the T2 line (heading to Parramatta) and in the off chance I don't pay attention and take the wrong train instead heading south, I stop at Erskinville and just walk to Newtown to resume my journey, or if Newtown is busy, I walk to Macdonaldtown to take the train home :3
@@BuildingBeautifully Something else you didn't mention is: Drugs. There are lot of drug users in this area, obviously, and a lot of them know to get off at Macdonaldtown to avoid cops. There's often cops with sniffer dogs at Newtown station but they never bother with Macdonaldtown, because nobody does. Cops and transit officers in general are obsessed with visibility. They only turn up at stations that some old grandma has "heard about on the news, I'm glad to see police doing something about it." Hence they'll show up at Parramatta, but not Harris Park. Newtown, but not Macdonaldtown. Cronulla, but not Woollooware. Etc. Real heads know this and work around it
12:20 - fun fact, the Princes Highway now ends at Murray Bridge. The section west of it is now known as the SE Freeway and once the road descends into Adelaide, it's known by various other local names before continuing as the Port Wakefield Road further north.
Great vid mate. Back in 1986 to 87 I used to travel from Museum station to Auburn on the train for work - yes the old red rattlers were still running and freezing in winter. At that time over one weekend Macdonaldtown was completely painted pink and remained that way for a year at least. Going through the station on the Monday was WTF??? Amazing. Don't know by who or why.
July 13th, 1986. The persons responsible were John Baxter (18) and his younger brother, for the sake of beautification because he found the station so ugly. Even gluing pink chairs, a table, and a potplant to the platform. SRA took him to court, trying to get a *lot* of money (at the time) for repainting the station, to which the judge scoffed at the amount, and decided that what John had done was actually quite pleasant and let him off.
I was meant to mention this!!!! I fully intended to and then it just completely slipped my mind when writing the script. Urgh. Thank you for sharing though!
Hey mate great video! I always saw the triangle as a meme when I lived there but its nice to understand it better. It would be quite interesting to see a video on the vast tram system Sydney use to have. Keep up the good work mate.
Yeah a story on Sydneys Trams would be cool, from memory one of my relatives on my Grandma's side of the family worked on the last tram as Conductor & got his photo in the paper.
@@shaneeslick there was even a Tram route between Erskineville MacDonaldtown and the Everleigh Yards. Erskineville line This line branched from tracks at Regent Street in Chippendale, and passed west along Meagher Street, then south into Abercombie Street, across the junction with Cleveland Street through Golden Grove, before swinging south into Golden Grove Street then right into Wilson Street. The line then passed under the railway lines at Burren Street, adjacent to the entrance to Macdonaldtown railway station. The line then became a single track loop passing up Burren Street to Erskineville Road, then west to Septimus Street, then Albert Street before rejoining the tracks at Burren Street. Services operated from Circular Quay using the Pitt and Castlereagh Street lines. The line opened as an electric double track tramway in 1909. The line south of Cleveland Street closed in 1940, with the northern section used by other services until its closure in 1958.
Ah, good old Mactown. My dad has quite fond memories of this little place, especially in the uni years. He remembers when the whole station was painted pink, and rocking up there with some mates to make a short film, Hell's Half Hectare.
The closeness of MacDonaldtown and Erskineville stations is the reason why MacDonaldtown these days does not get a train replacement bus service. Up to the late 1990's (or thereabouts) full size buses operated through MacDonaldtown on train replacement services. But after a concrete median was installed on Erskineville Rd removing the right turn that buses made, buses bypassed MacDonaldtown and they started running a minibus shuttle between Redfern & MacDonaldtown. It carried almost no one so in the late 2010's (IIRC) it was cancelled. The all stations buses now stop for MacDonaldtown at Erskineville shops - but they still pickup/set down almost nobody there as they instead catch a train from Erskineville.
Having lived and spent a lot of time in Newtown and Erskineville, I love that I can choose which station to use depending on where I'm going, especially when the Illawarra line stops at Erko to get to the south of Sydney. I think it's also important to note that yes, they may not be the three busiest stations separately, but if there was only one station in the area instead of three, it would be super busy - so it makes sense to have a few in this area to thin out the crowds (it can also be a nightmare trying to board during peak hour in the morning heading to the CBD). It's super handy to use Macdonaltown when you're going to the northern area of King St, instead of going all the way to Newtown and having to walk back. I also agree with another comment, that back in the day, these areas were very working class and full of industry, and people didn't have the money for a car, so to get around the train lines (and trams) were required. Think 2 adults and 7 kids to a 3 bed terrace, that's the density of the properties back in the 50s/60s (my own family). I wish everywhere had this density of stations, as it would encourage more people to use the train to get around, because there's always one around the corner. You're more likely to use it if you don't have to hike for miles or drive to get to it. It also means there's much less car traffic in the area than there might be otherwise (I mean, it can be terrible - think how much worse it would be!). Jenny Leong, the local state MP is asking for ideas on what to do with the Tram Sheds, so... hopefully that is productive (there is a community garden in part of the fenced area atm). Nice video, keep it up :)
I once studied Transport Management at Sydney Uni. Classes were held in a building on Burren St just up from Macdonaldtown Station. They've since moved the ITLS to another location.
Considering what was around McDonald's own station when it was conceived and built nearly 150y ago is more useful than what is around it now. It was the closest station to Sydney University and RPA hospital - built without diverging from the Newtown line. In those days also the area was full of market gardens for the city so there were undoubtedly a concentration of suppliers in the MEN precinct needing to transport wares . Also: Happy Chef did a wonderful Singapore Noodles that I miss ...
Great video, you missed an opportunity to explain why these stations were wanted and needed. There was so much industry work in these areas ranging from everything you could think of, even Sydney Park was a brick works, all the people who worked there also lived nearby so the amount of stations was a necessity, its kind of sad to see just how much of a shadow these areas have become over the years. An idea I have for a future video is, could you do some old convict built roads and train stations, you can still see the pick marks on a lot of them, it could take you a while to make but I think it would be very interesting to see whats become of those old roads. New subscriber too and looking forward to the next one :)
Regarding Leightonfield, industrial workers deserve transit too. It’s common in other parts of the world to cater for that. In Australia we seem to forget that people work in industrial areas
A couple of suggestions...the former Line that ran from Mortuary / Regent Street Station to Rookwood cemetary station. The history of the northern line which required a trip on a steamer boat from Hawkesbury Wharf Station to Woy Woy while the original H R bridge, Woy Woy tunnel and the track along Mullet Creek were under construction. The construction of Joll's Bridge section of road for the F3 is also fascinating.
There's actually a LOT of high density housing near Erskineville. Just to the south of the station, where warehouses used to be (and jobs), and to the east bordering Alexandria (same thing). The village part remains the same as much as possible. Once you lose that, you lose what makes these places what they are. McD-Town has always been incredibly handy, especially for poor folk. I lived a few blocks away until recently and used the station quite regularly. Always have a soft spot for the underdog of the T2. I don't think your idea of these suburbs is really understanding of the essence that is the suburbs themselves. Everything you like about Newtown is the sum of its parts, it used to be an incredibly poor and dodgy area, but also heavily alternative, before gentrification came in and got rid of the poor and dodgy, the alternative is all that is left. This happened to Paddington in the 80's. Once a teeming alternative center, now a beautiful but culturally hollow stretch of unaffordable housing and yuppies.
Thanks for reviewing these 3 train stations all within a quick walk of each other. I've only ever been to Macdonaldtown station out of these 3, and it's my favourite station in Sydney because of it's uniqueness. But I just wish it had amenities. Fun fact: I actually drove past Denistone station today for the first time.
The other day, a young lady stopped at Macdonaldtown station while carrying a large suitcase and didn't realize that there were no escalators nor elevators to exit at street level. I willingly helped her carry the suitcase down the stairs. She said that Macdonaldtown had been the closest station to her destination and that she would have otherwise dropped off at Newtown. For first-timers in Sydney, unless you have a pretty good reason, stay away from Macdonaldtown if you've got large suitcases or bicycles. Newtown or Redfern is your best option.
Uh no. Redfern only has one operational lift (down to 6-7) and only one operational escalator (up from 11-12, no down) at the moment. Hopefully the new ones will be completed this year.
Living around the corner from Erskineville station I'd sometimes get up late for work and after realising i'd miss the city train at Erskineville station, sprint down the street to catch one from Macdonaldtown haha
When I used to catch the train from Penrith in the 90s and my friends used to call Macdonaldtown the weird ghost station that no one ever used. I thought it was fortunate that you posted this today being that I have to go to Newtown for the first time in 25-30 years tomorrow and I’ll be riding around there. Then I looked up the date that you posted this… nope, just the Google / TH-cam algorithm… oh well, good to get an insight into this area!!
You missed the facts that Mac/Town used to have a much larger use when they used to have the old eastern exit & bridge to both sides of Eveleigh workshops - handy little exit to the north side when dodging fares!!
May not be exactly urban planning related but a video on the desalination plant pipeline could be interesting. Going from Kurnell, under botany bay, around the airport by the bike path, then going underground along Euston Rd to Sydney park Rd and then to a pumping station in Erskineville at purhonen's pathway to join the water supply. Many people would see the pipeline but would have no idea it's desal water
Another with no commercial activity is Cheltenham, which is used by students at Cheltenham Girls High. There was a small service station on Beecroft Rd, about a half kilometre from the Station. That went 30 or more years ago
@@brad4013 back in the 80s (before the East Hills link) I used to catch trains through there. A lot of the residents who lived to the west of the station would walk to the station to catch the train. It was common to see 30+ people getting on my regular train each morning. If I was on a later train, there would often be a dozen or more students travelling to Liverpool. Even in the early 2000s I would still see half a dozen people get off my normal train at Casula in the afternoon. In addition to serving the nearby houses, there was also ample parking for those who lived further out, on the powerhouse side, accessed by a level crossing. Nowadays the powerhouse is an arts centre, and can only be accessed from the eastern side of the line.
Macdonaldtown is steps from Carriageworks and Everleigh South development and with proper wayfinding signs etc could provide a good service to Sydney University and the northern end of Newtown. Don't dis the one part of Sydney that has industry-standard density of transport (circa 1km distance between stations).
I travelled from Canberra to Macdonaldtown many times by train. Macdonaldtown is conveniently located a short walk up the hill and through a small laneway to Missenden Road which has numerous specialist doctors, medical centres and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. A very useful station for me.
Macdonald town station was moved from the end of Charles Street. Also there was a tram network that connected Erskineville to the Everleigh yards. It ran along burren street and looped back up through Septimus St. Its purpose was for workers at the rail yards.
Love this video, I really like learning about Sydney infrastructure since it makes something mundane like taking the train to work much more interesting, can't wait to see more great content from your channel
I love this content so much. These are places that need more exposure and also the recognition of amazing architecture of train stations... please do the south southernds highlands line... The Goulburn Melbourne is interchange from the south coast...
The Moss Vale to Unanderra line still operates...with coal trains. I had to wait at the crossing lights at Robertson a week ago while one monster passed through.
i went to mcdonaldtown station once, it was me and 1 other guy, he said ... how much money do you have?, i said none and showed him my what I thought was an empty wallet, but it had a 20 in there. The train came and he followed me in and around the train, when he reealised im not giving him the 20, he got annoyed and cursed at me.
In Amsterdam they transformed old tram yard buildings into a hotel, library, cinema, food hall and small artisanal work spaces, with a car garage and bicycle garage newly constructed beneath it. It is a very busy spot, during the day and during the night.
In 1997 I lived on the north shore and started working at Alexandria so I took the train to Erskineville and walked for about 15 minutes. Then in 2000 the warehouse moved to Ashmore industrial estate, which was only a 5 minute walk. A few months later I moved to the inner west and took the train to MacDonaldtown. Just after that, during the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Macdonaldtown station was closed and I had to walk from Newtown instead. I don't remember why it was shut for the games, but it opened again afterwards.
Well done! Macdonaldtown did have a purpose when it was built, especially if you were a railway worker at the carriage sheds. It kept its second island platform in 1927 when Newtown lost its one. Next time have a look at street level, the old booking office is still there. There was a bell tower on top but it was decapitated in 1927 to put the sixth track through.
Thanks for the video! I'm a Melburnian and went to Newtown for the first time in January - it was lovely but that intersection outside the station is hostile to pedestrians and the road is wide and smelly. Now that Westconnex has opened, the roads there could do with better bus lanes and a substantial road diet!
You're not kidding. To get to buses running north along King Street to City Road Junction it is necessary to wait for two sets of pedestrian traffic lights which not only are not co-ordinated with each other, but in reflecting the Roads Authority's disdain fro pedestrians, only allows 7 seconds of the green walk light followed by almost 90 seconds of red.
I love the little suburban Erskineville. I used to get of at Erskineville to spend the weekend stay over at my friends house. Until she sold her house and moved out. Minutes walk to shops. It was fun back then.
One time I did Redfern - St Peters for Sydney Park, walked to Newtown and then took the train towards the city for other things. Very interesting distances.
Macdonaldtown reminds me of Clyde near Granville. I always joked that a train arriving at Clyde hasn't finished departing Granville, and now that the Carlingford line is closed, what use does Clyde really serve nowadays? Even more annoying when the T1 western trains stop at both Granville and Clyde on their way to the city :P Great, well documented video with this one!
Before NSW government closed the loophole, Erskineville to Macdonaldtown was the best Opal card speed run in Sydney, it's a 600 metre walk so lots of people used to tap on at each station, Opal would mark it as an actual trip, so you could log 8 trips in half an hour for $15 and the rest of your Sydney public transport week was free! You can still do it but now Opal charges half fare for all trips after that, it's still worthwhile if you're going long distance to Newcastle or Wollongong or Katoomba or Bowral.... I get off at Erskineville regularly as coming from Sydenham it's much easier than having to change trains to head to Newtown, I probably use Macdonaldtown more than Newtown station itself
My local neighbourhood. Funny seeing my local next to Erskineville station, the bike path I ride my e-scooter on in Burren st next to Macdonaldtown station, and Newtown, where I am a regular at a few of the pubs along king street, and usually take my e-scooter on the train there as the station has a lift.
So Erskineville station used to be on the north side of the road? That would have meant that there were once three stations in the suburb of Eveleigh, including Redfern and Macdonaldtown. That's a decent level of stationage for a suburb that's not really on many people's radar.
I live very close to it, from the train line it seems lost in the everleigh yards but it is in a very suburban area. It moved location in 1890's when the housing estate was built to service the workers to the train yard.
Never visited any of the stations, but I do recall the 'long way' to city from Liverpool, via Regents Park, used to stop at Newtown and Mactown, quite annoying as then I never saw anyone get off or on. When I worked at USyd, mid 2010s, I did like our team lunches, outside of class periods, in Newtown. I was considering looking to move there, to avoid the commute from Campbelltown, but tiny houses and expensive rent was enough for a hard no.
Yes!!! Macdonaldtown was my relatively quick way of getting to RPAH when I used to work there-much more reliable than changing at central for the 412 or god forbid a Parra Rd or King St bus!
I think they're constructing an extra entrance at the other end of Erskineville station because of people that live at the bottom of bridge street who have to walk all the way up to get to the station, like I used to
Another great vid, thanks, though I can’t believe you didn’t mention its pink days. I travelled through McDonaldtown for years on my way to work, and that first morning after the paint job was amazing!
I some how stumbled on your channel and I like how you present the information, so of cause I've subscribed. I was wondering if you could do something about Campsie Station, it was my childhood/early teen suburb in the 90's and something about that place always felt like a mystery like why was there an extra platform that no civilian could access, also interested in how the new metro line is going to effect access to the station and a normal train line. Also I use to live in Earlwood and I always wondered why it didn't have a train line.
Due to its proximity to the Eveleigh rail yards in the railways heyday, MacDonaldtown was more of a workers station rather than a commuter stop. Similar to ClyBurn between Auburn and Clyde which was built to service the Clyde wagon works and the Clyde freight yard.
I grew up in the Parramatta area - went to school at MBP long before they built a hospital in Westmead - and the absolute worst part of any weekend trip to the city was stopping at those stations between Strathfield and Central - little wonder the express trains were packed. Even when I moved to Erskineville briefly in the mid-80s, I either drove or caught a bus - it was only when I found myself in Kogarah that I felt train travel was a viable option. Obviously Sydney has exploded since then, and proximity to the CBD means big $$$, but you can keep that 'triangle' to yourself.
EDIT: A lot of people have asked so here is the list of most to least busiest stations which I compiled myself a few days ago: docs.google.com/document/d/1EjV7DUisEMupyxfa1EnONEC8fPtNqbIO/edit
Hey! Been too long since I did a video for my "Explore" series, so I decided it was time to fix that. Amy/girl who looks like Amy and I went and had lunch right after she got off the train haha. Although, actually, I only just got my wisdom teeth out so my lunch was a milkshake 😃. I really don't know how I filmed this entire video two days after a wisdom teeth surgery.
In other news, I said about a month ago that I wanted to get to 20k subs by the middle of the year. Well, we're running 5 months early on that goal. Exciting!!
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this one! Back to a serious topic in the next video, if my schedule doesn't change.
How's the pain
is this THE ONE before the upcoming NSW election
Loved this style of video 😊👍🏼
Haha yes
Where did you get the info when making your list?
Is there any numbers for regional NSW stations, i.e. the north coast line?
The MacDonaldtown to Erskineville walk was a fan for many Opal Card runners in circa 2015.
On a Monday people would run, skate, scoot and ride between the two station to get their 8 weekly trips up and then be able to use the Sydney network for the rest of the week for free.
So for cost of around $15 you could travel anywhere on the network for the rest of the week at no extra cost.
Pyrmont Bridge and Star City on the light rail was another busy route on a Monday. 😊
Yes I forgot to mention that! I hear it was quite an infamous hack
I was too late for the Opal hack, but I would run to MacDonaldtown from Ersko (and up the train to get out at Redfern) if I missed my train in the mornings, kept my sprinting skills up nicely then.
@@M077Y 💪
@@M077Y it was really good times .. if you were a city commuter it gave you reason to exercise on a Monday and save yourself some money for the rest of the week
HappyChef! I remember them, had a similar menu to something you would find in Chinatown Sussex st food court, another restaurant to have lost its life on King Street Newtown, I blame the American burger food trend that’s currently cursed Newtown, bring back the Thai food trend of the 00s!
Back in the day when you used to buy weekly tickets MacDonaldtown was a favourite for city workers who had to get through ticketing gates in the city but didn’t have to use a ticketing gate at there home station.
You are so right. The people from the Blue Mountains did that for many years. The Government decided to have a blitz on the Blue Mountains line and put ticket inspectors on every train on one particular day. Every passenger had a ticket but almost 80% had weekly tickets from Macdonaldtown to Central and the city. Most Blue Mountains train stations had no ticket barriers or staff after 3pm.
Ahh, the good old days 😌 But I would always get quarterly tickets. Better discount!
You could add St Peters to that list and it becomes a quadrilateral that is an where 2/3 stations would be within a 10 minute walk.
A note on density and Erskineville station. It’s not all doom and gloom, over the last few years the remaining industrial area to the south east of the station are being changed to higher density apartment blocks. So hopefully it will climb that usage chart over the next few years.
Indeed. Ashmore Estate is 2 minutes down the road and by 2035 is estimated to add 6,000 new residents to Erskineville, doubling the suburb's population: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/building-new-infrastructure/planning-for-ashmore-precinct.
@@GarySmith-me5hz based on how construction has been going so far if they complete Ashmore estate by 2025 i will be shocked 😂😂
I’m looking forward to it completion though, the additional retail/hospitality will be nice.
The NIMBYS will be quick to stop development
I can't wait for the new entrance for Erskineville to finish. A lot faster to go to Ashmore St shortening the walk to home by a block.
Couple more interesting facts:
- Macdonaldtown Erskineville was a common route for Opal running before the loophole was closed
- Macdonaldtown's trackwork bus stop is at Erskineville as the streets are too narrow for buses to get in
- In the past, Macdonaldtown had a minibus to Newtown during trackwork
Yep. Sydney Uni students were pretty good at maxing out their 8 journeys on a Monday thanks to the triangle.. and same with Light Rail stops in Pyrmont
This was a great way to avoid the crowded trackwork buses to Newtown on trackwork days. Just get off at Redfern and get the minibus to Macdonaldtown. It was literally the size of a personal van. Nobody ever got on it as opposed to the crowded to capacity Newtown bus. Then just walk 5 mins
A video on Clyde would be interesting. A station that is ‘left over’ and within a quick walk to Granville.
Agreed, Clyde would be an interesting one. Clyde station is actually visible from the end of the platforms at Granville station.
I was once on a country train going up the Blue Mountains and it was sitting stationary at Clyde Station for over 2 hours due to an accident further up the line. I have a bad association to that station because of that reason.
how about Clydeburn.
Hahaha, I forgot about Clyde!! Couldn’t believe it when I first discovered that one..
@@brianquinn5060 Yes, all part of the package. I think the remnant of that platform is still there, at least in part?
This is a great and informative video with a touch of your *good* sense of humour. Keep it up, you're one of the most underrated channels
Thank you so much!!!
Hands down your best video yet! The detail is always there but you've picked it up with the humour. Well done!
Haha yeah, I have realised I am pretty bad at spontaneous humour so I scripted all my jokes this time and they all landed much better 😃 I’ll be doing that from now on for sure
As a former USYD student, Macdonaldtown station was my go to station when I forgot my paper train ticket at home, just to avoid the transit officers at Redfern (the days before Opal) LOL
On another note, thanks to my weird mind, Macdonaldtown for me isn't complete until there is a Maccas in the area! :P
On a serious note, I have been to all three stations for various reasons and the walks in between them are quite nice. I'm always on the T2 line (heading to Parramatta) and in the off chance I don't pay attention and take the wrong train instead heading south, I stop at Erskinville and just walk to Newtown to resume my journey, or if Newtown is busy, I walk to Macdonaldtown to take the train home :3
Haha I bet Macdonaldtown is much less used now due to no more paperless tickets!
@@BuildingBeautifully Something else you didn't mention is: Drugs. There are lot of drug users in this area, obviously, and a lot of them know to get off at Macdonaldtown to avoid cops. There's often cops with sniffer dogs at Newtown station but they never bother with Macdonaldtown, because nobody does. Cops and transit officers in general are obsessed with visibility. They only turn up at stations that some old grandma has "heard about on the news, I'm glad to see police doing something about it." Hence they'll show up at Parramatta, but not Harris Park. Newtown, but not Macdonaldtown. Cronulla, but not Woollooware. Etc. Real heads know this and work around it
12:20 - fun fact, the Princes Highway now ends at Murray Bridge. The section west of it is now known as the SE Freeway and once the road descends into Adelaide, it's known by various other local names before continuing as the Port Wakefield Road further north.
Oh interesting!
@@BuildingBeautifully and btw, if you do ever get the chance to visit SA, I do recommend driving on the SE Fwy - it's a true engineering marvel
Great vid mate. Back in 1986 to 87 I used to travel from Museum station to Auburn on the train for work - yes the old red rattlers were still running and freezing in winter. At that time over one weekend Macdonaldtown was completely painted pink and remained that way for a year at least. Going through the station on the Monday was WTF??? Amazing. Don't know by who or why.
July 13th, 1986.
The persons responsible were John Baxter (18) and his younger brother, for the sake of beautification because he found the station so ugly. Even gluing pink chairs, a table, and a potplant to the platform. SRA took him to court, trying to get a *lot* of money (at the time) for repainting the station, to which the judge scoffed at the amount, and decided that what John had done was actually quite pleasant and let him off.
@@YokRzeznic thanks for your public service John and co 😂👍🏼
I was meant to mention this!!!! I fully intended to and then it just completely slipped my mind when writing the script. Urgh. Thank you for sharing though!
@@YokRzeznic Thanks Yok!
You know its a good day when this guys uploads
Haha thank you!
Hey mate great video! I always saw the triangle as a meme when I lived there but its nice to understand it better. It would be quite interesting to see a video on the vast tram system Sydney use to have. Keep up the good work mate.
Yeah a story on Sydneys Trams would be cool, from memory one of my relatives on my Grandma's side of the family worked on the last tram as Conductor & got his photo in the paper.
+1 about the trams
and another +!
Yep trams please Sharath!! 😁
@@shaneeslick there was even a Tram route between Erskineville MacDonaldtown and the Everleigh Yards.
Erskineville line
This line branched from tracks at Regent Street in Chippendale, and passed west along Meagher Street, then south into Abercombie Street, across the junction with Cleveland Street through Golden Grove, before swinging south into Golden Grove Street then right into Wilson Street.
The line then passed under the railway lines at Burren Street, adjacent to the entrance to Macdonaldtown railway station.
The line then became a single track loop passing up Burren Street to Erskineville Road, then west to Septimus Street, then Albert Street before rejoining the tracks at Burren Street. Services operated from Circular Quay using the Pitt and Castlereagh Street lines.
The line opened as an electric double track tramway in 1909. The line south of Cleveland Street closed in 1940, with the northern section used by other services until its closure in 1958.
Ah, good old Mactown. My dad has quite fond memories of this little place, especially in the uni years. He remembers when the whole station was painted pink, and rocking up there with some mates to make a short film, Hell's Half Hectare.
I heard about the time D-Town was painted pink!
The closeness of MacDonaldtown and Erskineville stations is the reason why MacDonaldtown these days does not get a train replacement bus service.
Up to the late 1990's (or thereabouts) full size buses operated through MacDonaldtown on train replacement services. But after a concrete median was installed on Erskineville Rd removing the right turn that buses made, buses bypassed MacDonaldtown and they started running a minibus shuttle between Redfern & MacDonaldtown. It carried almost no one so in the late 2010's (IIRC) it was cancelled. The all stations buses now stop for MacDonaldtown at Erskineville shops - but they still pickup/set down almost nobody there as they instead catch a train from Erskineville.
I love walking this men triangle for my nightly walk. This video makes me feel really lucky to live in the area.
Having lived and spent a lot of time in Newtown and Erskineville, I love that I can choose which station to use depending on where I'm going, especially when the Illawarra line stops at Erko to get to the south of Sydney. I think it's also important to note that yes, they may not be the three busiest stations separately, but if there was only one station in the area instead of three, it would be super busy - so it makes sense to have a few in this area to thin out the crowds (it can also be a nightmare trying to board during peak hour in the morning heading to the CBD). It's super handy to use Macdonaltown when you're going to the northern area of King St, instead of going all the way to Newtown and having to walk back. I also agree with another comment, that back in the day, these areas were very working class and full of industry, and people didn't have the money for a car, so to get around the train lines (and trams) were required. Think 2 adults and 7 kids to a 3 bed terrace, that's the density of the properties back in the 50s/60s (my own family). I wish everywhere had this density of stations, as it would encourage more people to use the train to get around, because there's always one around the corner. You're more likely to use it if you don't have to hike for miles or drive to get to it. It also means there's much less car traffic in the area than there might be otherwise (I mean, it can be terrible - think how much worse it would be!). Jenny Leong, the local state MP is asking for ideas on what to do with the Tram Sheds, so... hopefully that is productive (there is a community garden in part of the fenced area atm). Nice video, keep it up :)
I once studied Transport Management at Sydney Uni. Classes were held in a building on Burren St just up from Macdonaldtown Station. They've since moved the ITLS to another location.
Considering what was around McDonald's own station when it was conceived and built nearly 150y ago is more useful than what is around it now. It was the closest station to Sydney University and RPA hospital - built without diverging from the Newtown line. In those days also the area was full of market gardens for the city so there were undoubtedly a concentration of suppliers in the MEN precinct needing to transport wares .
Also: Happy Chef did a wonderful Singapore Noodles that I miss ...
That old photo of Newtown station made me very nostalgic. Newtown is just too gentrified these days. It's lost all it's soul.
Another great video! Impressed that you did the walk in the recent heat/humidity!… and right after your wisdom teeth operation!
Thank you!!
MacDonaldtown station exists purely so that you if the train doesn't stop there you realise you're on an express not an all-stops
Great video, you missed an opportunity to explain why these stations were wanted and needed. There was so much industry work in these areas ranging from everything you could think of, even Sydney Park was a brick works, all the people who worked there also lived nearby so the amount of stations was a necessity, its kind of sad to see just how much of a shadow these areas have become over the years. An idea I have for a future video is, could you do some old convict built roads and train stations, you can still see the pick marks on a lot of them, it could take you a while to make but I think it would be very interesting to see whats become of those old roads. New subscriber too and looking forward to the next one :)
Does anyone else remember in the 80's when someone in the middle of the night painted every inch of McDonaldtown station bright pink?
Regarding Leightonfield, industrial workers deserve transit too. It’s common in other parts of the world to cater for that. In Australia we seem to forget that people work in industrial areas
A couple of suggestions...the former Line that ran from Mortuary / Regent Street Station to Rookwood cemetary station. The history of the northern line which required a trip on a steamer boat from Hawkesbury Wharf Station to Woy Woy while the original H R bridge, Woy Woy tunnel and the track along Mullet Creek were under construction. The construction of Joll's Bridge section of road for the F3 is also fascinating.
I use Macdonaldtown station every week when I go to Lifehouse (RPA) and after treatment I will Walt to Newtown and take the train home to Redfern
Your 10 minute walk from Macdonaldtown to Erskineville Station is a gross exaggeration. 5 minutes stumble down Burren St at the very most!
There's actually a LOT of high density housing near Erskineville. Just to the south of the station, where warehouses used to be (and jobs), and to the east bordering Alexandria (same thing). The village part remains the same as much as possible. Once you lose that, you lose what makes these places what they are.
McD-Town has always been incredibly handy, especially for poor folk. I lived a few blocks away until recently and used the station quite regularly. Always have a soft spot for the underdog of the T2.
I don't think your idea of these suburbs is really understanding of the essence that is the suburbs themselves. Everything you like about Newtown is the sum of its parts, it used to be an incredibly poor and dodgy area, but also heavily alternative, before gentrification came in and got rid of the poor and dodgy, the alternative is all that is left. This happened to Paddington in the 80's. Once a teeming alternative center, now a beautiful but culturally hollow stretch of unaffordable housing and yuppies.
Thanks for reviewing these 3 train stations all within a quick walk of each other. I've only ever been to Macdonaldtown station out of these 3, and it's my favourite station in Sydney because of it's uniqueness. But I just wish it had amenities. Fun fact: I actually drove past Denistone station today for the first time.
Loving the content! Keeping me up to date with Sydney while I am living abroad.
Thank you!
Hey mate! love your work, have you considered opening a discord server for people to discuss sydney city planning (and possibly other things as well!)
That isn't a bad idea. Maybe I should.
I remember relics of the pink in 1992, some odd patches that didn't get cleaned off, I'm glad the Judge saw the bright side:)
The other day, a young lady stopped at Macdonaldtown station while carrying a large suitcase and didn't realize that there were no escalators nor elevators to exit at street level. I willingly helped her carry the suitcase down the stairs. She said that Macdonaldtown had been the closest station to her destination and that she would have otherwise dropped off at Newtown.
For first-timers in Sydney, unless you have a pretty good reason, stay away from Macdonaldtown if you've got large suitcases or bicycles. Newtown or Redfern is your best option.
Uh no. Redfern only has one operational lift (down to 6-7) and only one operational escalator (up from 11-12, no down) at the moment. Hopefully the new ones will be completed this year.
Yes, Macdonaldtown station is probably the most facility poor station in Sydney.
Living around the corner from Erskineville station I'd sometimes get up late for work and after realising i'd miss the city train at Erskineville station, sprint down the street to catch one from Macdonaldtown haha
When I used to catch the train from Penrith in the 90s and my friends used to call Macdonaldtown the weird ghost station that no one ever used.
I thought it was fortunate that you posted this today being that I have to go to Newtown for the first time in 25-30 years tomorrow and I’ll be riding around there. Then I looked up the date that you posted this… nope, just the Google / TH-cam algorithm… oh well, good to get an insight into this area!!
You missed the facts that Mac/Town used to have a much larger use when they used to have the old eastern exit & bridge to both sides of Eveleigh workshops - handy little exit to the north side when dodging fares!!
Love the video!!! Keep them coming, and do one on Ashfield!!!
This is an amazing presentation which is full of humour, and educational facts. I hope you have more like this in the future.
Thank you! I will for sure :))
May not be exactly urban planning related but a video on the desalination plant pipeline could be interesting. Going from Kurnell, under botany bay, around the airport by the bike path, then going underground along Euston Rd to Sydney park Rd and then to a pumping station in Erskineville at purhonen's pathway to join the water supply. Many people would see the pipeline but would have no idea it's desal water
I loved this video! You're my new favourite channel!
This Was A Really Good Video Sharath And I Hope You Don't Get Cancelled
Another with no commercial activity is Cheltenham, which is used by students at Cheltenham Girls High. There was a small service station on Beecroft Rd, about a half kilometre from the Station. That went 30 or more years ago
At least Cheltenham had the girl's high school. What does Casula have?
@@brad4013 Looking at the map, there is a shopping mall a couple of hundred metres or so from Casula station
That's roughly the distance from Cheltenham station was from the former service station on Beecroft Rd
Apart from the vending machine at the station 🙂
@@brad4013 back in the 80s (before the East Hills link) I used to catch trains through there. A lot of the residents who lived to the west of the station would walk to the station to catch the train. It was common to see 30+ people getting on my regular train each morning. If I was on a later train, there would often be a dozen or more students travelling to Liverpool. Even in the early 2000s I would still see half a dozen people get off my normal train at Casula in the afternoon.
In addition to serving the nearby houses, there was also ample parking for those who lived further out, on the powerhouse side, accessed by a level crossing. Nowadays the powerhouse is an arts centre, and can only be accessed from the eastern side of the line.
Where did you get the info about the patronage and rank of stations?
Love your videos and this is your best yet!
Content, information, delivery, and humour all on point and excellent.
Keep up the great work!
I wouldn't be suprised if there's a suspicous store around Newtown, Macdonaldtown, or Erskineville called MEN. Halleluiah!
Macdonaldtown is steps from Carriageworks and Everleigh South development and with proper wayfinding signs etc could provide a good service to Sydney University and the northern end of Newtown. Don't dis the one part of Sydney that has industry-standard density of transport (circa 1km distance between stations).
i love how every video sharath has the funniest intros ever and he works hard to make these videos. so the 9 people who disliked are crazy
I travelled from Canberra to Macdonaldtown many times by train. Macdonaldtown is conveniently located a short walk up the hill and through a small laneway to Missenden Road which has numerous specialist doctors, medical centres and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. A very useful station for me.
Macdonald town station was moved from the end of Charles Street.
Also there was a tram network that connected Erskineville to the Everleigh yards. It ran along burren street and looped back up through Septimus St. Its purpose was for workers at the rail yards.
Love this video, I really like learning about Sydney infrastructure since it makes something mundane like taking the train to work much more interesting, can't wait to see more great content from your channel
You've got to check out Wondabyne - not sure what you're going to do when you get there though!!
Macdonaldtown station was built as the west exit for the people working at the Everly train yards
I live near the M station. And yet despite this abundance of public transport options, many many people I know here still own and drive cars!
I love this content so much. These are places that need more exposure and also the recognition of amazing architecture of train stations...
please do the south southernds highlands line...
The Goulburn Melbourne is interchange from the south coast...
The Moss Vale to Unanderra line still operates...with coal trains. I had to wait at the crossing lights at Robertson a week ago while one monster passed through.
Any day that Building Beautifully uploads is a good day.
loving the content man, keep it up!
Great video ... again. I learn so much watching your vids my friend
The streets are narrow in erko as they were built in a time of horse and cart or walk (shankses pony or Iron Horse )
i went to mcdonaldtown station once, it was me and 1 other guy, he said ... how much money do you have?, i said none and showed him my what I thought was an empty wallet, but it had a 20 in there. The train came and he followed me in and around the train, when he reealised im not giving him the 20, he got annoyed and cursed at me.
In Amsterdam they transformed old tram yard buildings into a hotel, library, cinema, food hall and small artisanal work spaces, with a car garage and bicycle garage newly constructed beneath it. It is a very busy spot, during the day and during the night.
In 1997 I lived on the north shore and started working at Alexandria so I took the train to Erskineville and walked for about 15 minutes. Then in 2000 the warehouse moved to Ashmore industrial estate, which was only a 5 minute walk. A few months later I moved to the inner west and took the train to MacDonaldtown. Just after that, during the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Macdonaldtown station was closed and I had to walk from Newtown instead. I don't remember why it was shut for the games, but it opened again afterwards.
Well done! Macdonaldtown did have a purpose when it was built, especially if you were a railway worker at the carriage sheds. It kept its second island platform in 1927 when Newtown lost its one. Next time have a look at street level, the old booking office is still there. There was a bell tower on top but it was decapitated in 1927 to put the sixth track through.
Loving watching your channel grow man, been really impressive and great content!
where did you get the list of train stations ranked by how busy they are? i'm just curious to see how everything stacks up.
Check out my Twitter, I posted a list there a few days ago!
@@BuildingBeautifully this list would be at least three years old as Carlingford line stations are listed. The line was closed in January 2020.
Loving your videos mate, keep it up, very interesting!
Thanks for the video! I'm a Melburnian and went to Newtown for the first time in January - it was lovely but that intersection outside the station is hostile to pedestrians and the road is wide and smelly. Now that Westconnex has opened, the roads there could do with better bus lanes and a substantial road diet!
You're not kidding. To get to buses running north along King Street to City Road Junction it is necessary to wait for two sets of pedestrian traffic lights which not only are not co-ordinated with each other, but in reflecting the Roads Authority's disdain fro pedestrians, only allows 7 seconds of the green walk light followed by almost 90 seconds of red.
I love the little suburban Erskineville. I used to get of at Erskineville to spend the weekend stay over at my friends house. Until she sold her house and moved out. Minutes walk to shops. It was fun back then.
I love the humour! I haven't laughed so much watching a transit video before.
One time I did Redfern - St Peters for Sydney Park, walked to Newtown and then took the train towards the city for other things. Very interesting distances.
Macdonaldtown reminds me of Clyde near Granville. I always joked that a train arriving at Clyde hasn't finished departing Granville, and now that the Carlingford line is closed, what use does Clyde really serve nowadays? Even more annoying when the T1 western trains stop at both Granville and Clyde on their way to the city :P
Great, well documented video with this one!
Informative video as always Sharath and I loved the humour throughout 😊
Thank you!!
Before NSW government closed the loophole, Erskineville to Macdonaldtown was the best Opal card speed run in Sydney, it's a 600 metre walk so lots of people used to tap on at each station, Opal would mark it as an actual trip, so you could log 8 trips in half an hour for $15 and the rest of your Sydney public transport week was free! You can still do it but now Opal charges half fare for all trips after that, it's still worthwhile if you're going long distance to Newcastle or Wollongong or Katoomba or Bowral.... I get off at Erskineville regularly as coming from Sydenham it's much easier than having to change trains to head to Newtown, I probably use Macdonaldtown more than Newtown station itself
Are you going to do a video on westconnex or northconnex?
My local neighbourhood. Funny seeing my local next to Erskineville station, the bike path I ride my e-scooter on in Burren st next to Macdonaldtown station, and Newtown, where I am a regular at a few of the pubs along king street, and usually take my e-scooter on the train there as the station has a lift.
I’m moving to Sydney next week to Newtown and I was surprised how close these station were! Funny you make a video the next day about it ahahah
So Erskineville station used to be on the north side of the road? That would have meant that there were once three stations in the suburb of Eveleigh, including Redfern and Macdonaldtown. That's a decent level of stationage for a suburb that's not really on many people's radar.
I live very close to it, from the train line it seems lost in the everleigh yards but it is in a very suburban area. It moved location in 1890's when the housing estate was built to service the workers to the train yard.
I love building beautifully it’s my favourite TH-camr and I look forward to watching your videos 😀
Nice to hear from someone who loves this city as much as I do.
Oh wow....happy chef! I was a big fan of the laksa :)
Never visited any of the stations, but I do recall the 'long way' to city from Liverpool, via Regents Park, used to stop at Newtown and Mactown, quite annoying as then I never saw anyone get off or on. When I worked at USyd, mid 2010s, I did like our team lunches, outside of class periods, in Newtown. I was considering looking to move there, to avoid the commute from Campbelltown, but tiny houses and expensive rent was enough for a hard no.
It's a locals station, so they would always get off the door next to the stairs at the far end.
Denistone exists for me when I slept thru West Ryde. I could alight at Denison and walk down the hill😂
Nice video! Your channel is a great way to learn about Sydney!
Yes!!! Macdonaldtown was my relatively quick way of getting to RPAH when I used to work there-much more reliable than changing at central for the 412 or god forbid a Parra Rd or King St bus!
9:45 You didnt mention the railing made from blacksmiths tools from Everleigh workshops :-)
I think they're constructing an extra entrance at the other end of Erskineville station because of people that live at the bottom of bridge street who have to walk all the way up to get to the station, like I used to
King St Newtown is a traffic,parking and cycling nightmare.
Great to see the well separated cycle path running past the entrance
Quality as usual. Thank you bro.
Another great vid, thanks, though I can’t believe you didn’t mention its pink days. I travelled through McDonaldtown for years on my way to work, and that first morning after the paint job was amazing!
Urgh yes I was meant to and then it just completely slipped my mind when writing the script!!!!! Anyways, thank you for watching :))
I some how stumbled on your channel and I like how you present the information, so of cause I've subscribed. I was wondering if you could do something about Campsie Station, it was my childhood/early teen suburb in the 90's and something about that place always felt like a mystery like why was there an extra platform that no civilian could access, also interested in how the new metro line is going to effect access to the station and a normal train line. Also I use to live in Earlwood and I always wondered why it didn't have a train line.
Huh, interesting. I will look into Campsie!
Love this channel so much!
Man love these vids, thanks for doing the work your do!
this was so convenient when my partner lived near erko train station, could get either line, i always felt so fancy getting off at macdonaldtown
2:29 nice to hear the T5 has finally been extended into the city
Due to its proximity to the Eveleigh rail yards in the railways heyday, MacDonaldtown was more of a workers station rather than a commuter stop. Similar to ClyBurn between Auburn and Clyde which was built to service the Clyde wagon works and the Clyde freight yard.
OMG I love this channel. As an ex inner-westy, this video is great.
The MacErskinTown triangle is a better name
I grew up in the Parramatta area - went to school at MBP long before they built a hospital in Westmead - and the absolute worst part of any weekend trip to the city was stopping at those stations between Strathfield and Central - little wonder the express trains were packed. Even when I moved to Erskineville briefly in the mid-80s, I either drove or caught a bus - it was only when I found myself in Kogarah that I felt train travel was a viable option. Obviously Sydney has exploded since then, and proximity to the CBD means big $$$, but you can keep that 'triangle' to yourself.
finally someone remembers Erskine Park
good school