100 years of Australian rail history and in the same condition as the day they were closed over 17 years ago, the Townsville railway workshops.
Background: A little bit of info from a governmental historical website.
“Construction of the workshops began in 1880 with the construction of the first railway station and the Machine Shop in 1881. The present railway station, the second station in the complex, was constructed between 1910 and 1913. The Workshops were permanently closed in 1990 and the major train services ceased to run to the Station prior to 2004 when a new station was constructed to the west of the Workshops.”
Today: 17 years of abandonment and 100 years of use have been relatively kind to the buildings, the iron may be rusted and some windows broken but structurally the place is in good shape. Pretty much everything is intact, the workshops, the machinery, the offices. Even the workshops are full of wheels, engines, carriages and other beautiful machinery from a time long gone. One really nice change was the total lack of graffiti.
This place is a maze of dark alleyways and ominous dark workshops. Every beam and sheet of corrugated iron seemed to groan in protest of my being there. It was as if the buildings knew I was on borrowed time. A chilly wind was blowing which seemed to make everything around me move just as I looked away. At times it was so dark I had to shuffle forward with my hands outstretched, oh how I wished for night vision goggles…with onsite security, strictly no torches allowed.
I would have liked to have taken some shots inside the workshops but without some form of artificial lighting, which would have been a neon sign advertising my presence, that was sadly impossible.
These photos are deceiving, it was very dark. The photos were long exposures 5-20minutes, with large apertures and speed at iso200.
As I was taking the photo above a feral cat passed within 10m of me (right at the doorway of the shed). I was down wind and sitting silently in the shadows, it stopped right in the doorway as a piece of iron clanged somewhere nearby, for a moment silhouetted by the pale light, then it disappeared into the darkness. It never knew I was there.
That thing on the right is an old diesel engine. Behind me (on either side of the shed) were two disused railway carriages. This was such a good place.
This is one of my favorite places I’ve ever explored. But the owners are obviously fond of the location as well and I had to I shadowed the onsite security guard for three hours to explore this place.
There was one nerve-racking moment when the guard decided to head back the way he’d come. Blocking my escape from the pitch black workshop I had just entered. As he passed only meters away, I tried to make myself look as much like discarded train parts as possible and prayed that my heartbeat was not as loud as it sounded in my head. It was about this time that I decided I’d pushed my luck far enough and made my quiet exit from the premises.
There are 12 major buildings in the yards, and I only got to explore 4 of them. All of these photos are taken at one end of the complex. I still have not seen the signal house, turntables and the rest of the workshops.
Unfortunately most of the yard except for the heritage listed former station has now been demolished, so I will never see this place again in all of its former glory.
