Historic images - walkabout : Spencer Street Station / Southern Cross Station - Victoria Australia
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- Spencer Street Station was opened in 1859, five years after the other major Melbourne rail terminus at Flinders Street, the station was a dead-end terminus, running parallel to Spencer Street, composed of a single main platform with a dock platform at the north end. It was not until 1874 that an extra platform was provided.
The two major city stations (Flinders St and Spencer St Stations) were not linked until 1879, when a single-track ground-level line was opened. It operated only at night, and only for freight trains. In the 1880s, it was proposed that Spencer Street station be removed in order to facilitate the westward expansion of the city, but the plan was subsequently rejected.
From 1888 to 1894, the layout of the platforms was altered, with new country platforms being built on an angle to Spencer Street itself. The current coach terminal location was the site of a number of new platforms built for suburban services.
In 1891, further plans were made for a significant new station complex, including three-storey office complex and dominant clock tower, reminiscent of the later Sydney Central station, but the 1890s Depression put an end to such expensive schemes.
In 1888, work started on the double track Flinders Street Viaduct linking the station to Flinders Street station. The line was initially only used by freight trains, with passenger train operations commencing in 1894. It was at that time that the first through platform was provided at the station, used by suburban trains from Essendon and Williamstown. The viaduct to Flinders Street was expanded to four tracks in 1915 and, following the electrification of the suburban lines through the station, today's platforms 11 to 14 were opened in 1924, along with a pedestrian subway providing access to them.
In 1938, it was announced that construction of an improved station entrance and new car park had been approved, designed by architects Messrs Stephenson and Meldrum, costing £2,000. Once again however, no construction took place.
In October 1960, work on a new Spencer Street station commenced, sparked by the construction of the interstate standard gauge line to Sydney. A station building was constructed which largely replaced the 1880s iron sheds, and a new 413-metre (1,355 ft) platform number 1 was built. The passenger subway which had been constructed as part of the 1918 works was extended to include access to country platforms. In connection with the construction of the underground loop, platforms 9 and 10 were rebuilt as part of the suburban section of the station, and a new double-track viaduct was constructed between Spencer Street and Flinders Street station, alongside the original one, bringing to six the number of tracks connecting the two stations.
In 1962, a separate subway network was constructed to carry mail between the station and what was then the Melbourne General Post Office and main postal sorting office, situated on the other side of Spencer Street.
The mechanically interlocked signal box at the station opened in 1887, and was decommissioned in June 2008. Originally built with 120 levers, it had 191 when it closed, making it the world's largest.
Artist Harold Freedman's 36.6 metre long and 7.32-metre-high History of Transport mural featured above the main concourse of the Spencer Street station and was unveiled by the premier of Victoria on January 30 1978.
Spencer Street station become Southern Cross in 2006.
By July 2004 the project had fallen behind schedule and over budget by $200 million. The station was renamed from Spencer Street to Southern Cross on 13 December 2015 and completed by late 2006 in time for the Commonwealth Games
In May 2014, the historic Water Tower Clock was installed in the concourse of the station.
en.wikipedia.o...
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"Southern Cross" Station,is still Spencer Street Station to me,thank you!.
absolutely, it is name we have today but many reminisce when it was called Spencer St Station
@@urbanaerialexplorer1885 Ditto
Can we go back to 1970s plz I want to be inside that world 🌍
They were my pre-teenage years and I thought even then, the station at Spencer St was lacking in any design and function; more a case of it being slapped together and ''she'll be right'' attitude ... but that's just me !
Always will be Spencer Street Station to me,thank you."Southern Cross" is nonsense!.
I do prefer Spencer Street Station as it lets you know exactly where it is within the CBD
Great photos from the old Spencer Street station. I don't like the new "Southern Cross" at all. Nonsensical name, expensive roof that traps all the diesel fumes, platforms further away from the entrance than previously, takes longer to get to them due to multiple up and down stair/escalator rides. Old subway worked much better. The new station costs hundreds of millions and is not an improvement over what was there previously
History is lost when some like a "shiny penny" ... I would have liked if they kept or at least reproduced the old ticket and food / refreshment store fronts and maybe had a permanent exhibit of a steam engine !
I think the whole idea of the expensive roof was specifically to dissipate all the diesel fumes. I'm no engineer so I can't say whether the principle is valid or not, but I assume it does the job expected of it.
@@philroberts7238 It might have been a great idea on paper. But in reality it doesn't work at all. Not only does it trap the fumes, the new design of the station forces passengers and workers at the stores on the higher levels up into the area where there are more fumes, closer to the roof. The old design allowed people to go under the platforms, for a quicker journey and with less exposure to fumes.
@@jdillon8360 Don't agree, I spent a lot of time at the new Southern cross station during my last 3 years working for metro and fumes were not a problem at all.
@@mendocinobeano I'm glad you had a good experience working there and the fumes weren't a problem for you. I find as a transport user that I can definitely smell and see the smoke. I still maintain that in many aspects the new station gives a poorer experience than the old one. But I'm glad you had no problems there.
I still refer to it as Spencer Street Station,thank you!.
Me too
I was a Guard on the suburban trains from 1980 to 1990. We did our safe-working training upstairs in the station building. There were about 20 of us in the training course and there was an ash tray on every desk. I think all but one of us smoked. Amazing looking back on it.
The railway network and infrastructure is one of the oldest standing pieces of history we can still see today (Churches is another) - interesting how smoking was a social thing !
What ever happened to the beautiful scale model EMD (diesel electric) locomotive that was adjacent to the northern entrance at Spence St Station, circa 1980?
wow never knew that ... didn't really use Spencer St station as a kid much; always got off at Flinders St ... hopefully it's on display in a museum for public viewing somewhere !
Got renamed in 2005 for the commonwealth games was 2015 you say when it was officially changed?
It could have been a typo by the source I had researched - Thank-you for bring it to the attention for others that might also have concern 👍
The sheer amount of Vlocity sets nowadays makes me want to throw up, whatever happened to good old Loco hauled passenger trains :(
progress for better or worse !
Wonderful research and photos mate, great stuff. Love the old trains and it's amazing to see how the landscape and buildings have changed. I remember the old Spencer Street from the 80's and 90's and as a kid I was fascinated by the big mural on the wall. I hadn't been to Melbourne for a few years and by then "Spencer St" had become "Southern Cross", I couldn't believe it was the same place. It's kind of sad but I guess that's progress.
Interesting how one looks at history in Victoria, the you soon discover how the rail network and infrastructure plays a significant role
I dreamed of getting inside that model in the early 70's.
That model of B60 is now preserved out side the front of the admin office at Progressive Rails Newport workshops
cracking aerial photo at 4:50 - exactly how I remember that part of town
it wasn't pretty, but a functioning part of town as I remembered it as a kid
Yeah, everything was better in the olden days. Till Footscray became western Bulldogs, south Melb became Sydney, and Spencer became southern cross.
@@servantofgod5642 and Museum became Melb Central
@@a7128 yeah and I became a museum
Any mention of the big model diesel loco that in the olden days was at the entrance from the car park?
I didn't note it, but I also forgot about the full size carriage / art sculpture that's on an upright angle on the NW corner of Spencer and Flinders St's
Damn spencer is so cool 😎
I'm not sure if it was cool - but definitely different to most stations !