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B1664 Railway carriage, second class, timber / iron, made by Joseph Wright & Sons of Saltley, Birmingham, England, 1854, used on the first railway in New South Wales between Sydney and Parramatta in 1855, restored by apprentices Wagon Works, Clyde Workshops, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1965-. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 5, B1664 Railway carriage, second class, timber / iron, made by Joseph Wright & Sons of Saltley, Birmingham, England, 1854, used on the first railway in New South Wales between Sydney and Parramatta in 1855, restored by apprentices Wagon Works, Clyde Workshops, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1965-. Click to enlarge
  • Image 2 of 5, B1664 Railway carriage, second class, timber / iron, made by Joseph Wright & Sons of Saltley, Birmingham, England, 1854, used on the first railway in New South Wales between Sydney and Parramatta in 1855, restored by apprentices Wagon Works, Clyde Workshops, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1965-. Click to enlarge
  • Image 3 of 5, B1664 Railway carriage, second class, timber / iron, made by Joseph Wright & Sons of Saltley, Birmingham, England, 1854, used on the first railway in New South Wales between Sydney and Parramatta in 1855, restored by apprentices Wagon Works, Clyde Workshops, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1965-. Click to enlarge
  • Image 4 of 5, B1664 Railway carriage, second class, timber / iron, made by Joseph Wright & Sons of Saltley, Birmingham, England, 1854, used on the first railway in New South Wales between Sydney and Parramatta in 1855, restored by apprentices Wagon Works, Clyde Workshops, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1965-. Click to enlarge
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    Image 5 of 5, B1664 Railway carriage, second class, timber / iron, made by Joseph Wright & Sons of Saltley, Birmingham, England, 1854, used on the first railway in New South Wales between Sydney and Parramatta in 1855, restored by apprentices Wagon Works, Clyde Workshops, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1965-. Click to enlarge

Second class railway carriage used on first railway in NSW

This second class carriage is No. 6 of the original 12 second class carriages ordered by the Sydney Railway Company for the first railway to be built in New South Wales from Sydney to Parramatta in 1855. It was built in 1854 by Joseph Wright and Sons, one of the foremost carriage builders of its day. It arrived in Sydney by ship in timefor the official opening on 26 September 1855. Its survival in the railways for over 100 years is remarkable.

The second class carriages were similar to the …

Summary

Object No.

B1664

Object Statement

Railway carriage, second class, timber / iron, made by Joseph Wright & Sons of Saltley, Birmingham, England, 1854, used on the first railway in New South Wales between Sydney and Parramatta in 1855, restored by apprentices Wagon Works, Clyde Workshops, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1965-1967

Physical Description

This is a four-wheel rail passenger carriage capable of carrying 40 seated passengers in four compartments accessible by eight doors with glazed drop windows. Each door it fitted with brass door handles and grab handles, and footboards run the length of the carriage sides. Two modern electic lights secured over the internal partitions provide light into the adjacent compartments. The original seats had fibre-padded seats. The interior is varnished timber with a painted ceiling. The exterior of the carriage is of varnished teak with "SECOND CLASS" in gold letters on each door. The number "9" is also painted in gold transfers in panels between the doors, above the crest of the Great Southern and Western Railway. (There is no significance to the choice of number 9 for the carriage.) Above the doors are louvred air vents, which were a characteristic of carriages constructed by its builder, Joseph Wright & Sons. The roof is made of timber covered with white canvas to provide some thermal insulation; it also features two air vents. The carriage has no brakes and is now fitted with single-spoke wheels, whereas the original wheels had hand-forged bifurcated spokes. The springs may also not be original.

Short URL

https://ma.as/208535

Dimensions

Height

3700 mm

Width

2500 mm

Weight

4300 kg

Source

Credit Line

Gift of NSW Department of Railways, 1967

Acquisition Date

16 June 1967

Cite this Object

Harvard

Second class railway carriage used on first railway in NSW 2023, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 30 March 2023, <https://ma.as/208535>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/208535 |title=Second class railway carriage used on first railway in NSW |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=30 March 2023 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}

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