Clyde Enginnering Photographic Collection

Railway and Rolling Stock

C O L L E C T I O N I N F O R M AT I O N S H E E T S

I ntro d uction
In 2008 the Powerhouse Museum introduced a new series of research publications, which it has
made available online in PDF format. The stories and information arise out of current collection
research and provide more detailed information about the collection than is available through the
Museums online database.
This is one of a number of online publications the Museum is developing. Other series include
facsimile copies of old or out-of-print catalogues, books and brochures as well as collection
information sheets and peer reviewed research. These are all available through the Museums
on-line collection database OPAC.

C ontents
1.

Background . .....................................................................................................................................3

2.

Photographs from the collection .................................................................................................. 5-9

Collection Information Series

Meterology at Sydney Observatory
First published 2008
www.powerhousemuseum.com.au
Text: Geoff Barker
Information Sheet template: Anne Slam
Digital copies from original glass plate negatives: Kate Pollard
Cover image: Three P Class locomotives, photographer unknown, Clyde Engineering Pty Ltd, Australia, 1909
2008 Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences

C U R AT O R I A L R E S E A R C H S E R I E S

b ackgroun d
William Henry Hudson set up the firm of
Hudson Brothers in 1855 in a small shop in
Redfern, Sydney. While initially specializing in
woodworking they soon began to focus on metal
work and the making of railway rolling stock.
The first rail line in New South Wales was
opened in 1855. Like locomotives the first
carriages imported into New South Wales
came from England. This sense of attachment
to the British Empire ensured a certain
level of conservatism in the purchase of both
locomotives and carriages. The first locally
made goods wagons were largely timber with
imported iron work but in 1865 thirty-six goods
wagons were made locally.1 Following this, in
1874, P. N. Russell delivered the first locally
made passenger carriages which were also the
first to include the innovative bogie design for
supporting the carriages.1
Hudson brothers benefited from the opening
up of contracts to Australian (and American)
manufacturers and in 1876 were contracted
to build 200 D wagons. In 1878 they took on
an even larger contract for the New South
Wales Government to build 1,895 rolling stock
carriages.2 By 1879 Hudson Brothers had
delivered to the Railways department about
76,000 pounds worth of rolling stock.3
In 1881 the expanding business moved to a
new work shop on two hundred acres of land
at Granville in the Western suburbs of Sydney.
The new workshops had access to its own rail
station on the Parramatta to Sydney line which
provided a conduit for moving large pieces
of machinery. These were moved from the
workshops on an internal rail system which
Henry Hudson based on the one used by the
Wason Car Manufacturing Company which he
had visited on his American trip in 1881.4
1

Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the

New South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and
Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988, p.129
2
Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the
New South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and
Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988, p.1151-152
3
Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story
of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE,
Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 15
4
Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story
of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE,
Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 21

Their system was designed by its Director

George C. Fisk and used small and standard
gauge rail to traverse, connect and even
go through large erecting shops and other
buildings. Wason also made use of the pivoting
jib and overhead traversing cranes.5 By 1883
Hudsons had a near monopoly on making rolling
stock for the Government Railway and between
1884 and 1887 they made nearly 1,460 good
wagons and 200 carriages and vans.6 In 1886
they had completed 13 sleeping carriages based
on an American design first imported to New
South Wales by Jackson and Sharpe in 1877.7
The quality of the early wagons produced by
Hudson Brothers is attested to by the fact
that some of this rolling stack was still in use
in the 1970s. The contacts also contributed
substantially to the industrialization of the
country as between 1877 and 1888 around 1.8
per cent of New South Wales gross domestic
product was committed to rolling stock.8 By 1890
Hudson Brothers was employing 1000 people
nearly 8.0 per cent of New South Wales total
manufacturing workforce.9
Unfortunately the recession of the 1890s
hit Hudson Brothers hard forcing it into
receivership. The Clyde Engineering Company
was reconstituted from the collapse of
Hudson brothers and the fortunes of the new
company fell in step with the newly formed
Commonwealth. Clyde Engineering continued
to make carriages but 1905 saw their fortunes
change when they won a New South Wales
Government contract to produce thirty P Class
and thirty T Class locomotives.10
Hunter-Bradley, Betsy, The Works: The
5
Industrial Architecture of the United States, Oxford
University Press, USA, 1998
6
Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the
New South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and
Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988, p.152
7
Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the
New South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and
Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988, p.129
8
Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the
New South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and
Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988, p.152
9
Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the
New South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and
Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988, p.152
10
Gunn, J., Along Parallel Lines, Melbourne
University Press, 1989, p.250

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The first T Class was delivered 1907 and the

remaining were delivered ahead of schedule by
1912.11 This was a time of huge growth for the
railways and this stimulated the production of
more locomotives and led to the expansion of the
Clyde works.12 In 1914 Clyde took on another
contract for the delivery of a further 160 T
Class locomotives all of which were delivered by
1917.13
Another important event for Clyde was the
opening of Broken Hill Proprietary Limiteds
works in Newcastle 1915. This led to further
contracts for wagons and heavy machinery.14
The outbreak of the First World War in 1914
led to the longest period of sustained growth
for Clyde and its locomotive production. From
1918 to 1930 two hundred and sixty four
locomotives were built and in 1923 fifty two K
class locomotives were built at the rate of one a
week.15
Locomotive production took a downturn during
the Depression and in 1931 the workforce fell
to 143, eighty eight of which were apprentices.16
A slight ray of sunshine was a contract in 1935
with the Tasmanian Government to build six
Q class locomotives.17 They also manufactured
Australian Standard Garretts over this period
and built twenty eight between 1936 and 1945
for Queensland Government railway.18 Business
began to pick up again at the end of the 1930s
when they received contracts for working on
Saddle Tank engines like the Burrawa built
in 1938.19 In the same year they were also
11
Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story
of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE,
Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 41
12
Gunn, J., Along Parallel Lines, Melbourne
University Press, 1989, p.302
13
Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story
of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE,
Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 46
14
Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story
of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE,
Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 43
15
Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story
of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE,
Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 46
16
Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story
of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE,
Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 48
17
Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story
of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE,
Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 49
18
Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story
of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE,
Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 72
19
The Indsutrial Railway record, No 52,
pp.176-177, cited from http://www.irsociety.co.uk/
Archives/52/Australia.htm September 2007

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contracted by Victorian Railways to make the

first five C38 locomotives but the onset of WW2
delayed delivery until 1943.20
Clydes fortunes took an upward turn during
the Second World War as it became an integral
part of Factory Australia. New locomotives were
also made such as the three C38s made for New
South Wales Government Railway in 1942. They
also began producing B Class locomotives for
Australian Iron and Steel and one T Class for
Lysaght Ltd. As well as this they continued to
produce ancillary stock for numerous Australia
companies.21
By 1950 Clyde Engineering had become the
largest engineering enterprise in New South
Wales.
References
Carroll, B., The Engineers; 200 years at work for
Australia, Globe Press, Melbourne, 1988
Lee, R., The Greatest Public Work; the New
South Wales Railways 1848 to 1889, Hale and
Iremonger Pty Limited, Sydney, 1988
Gunn, J., Along Parallel Lines, Melbourne
University Press, 1989
Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story of
Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE,
Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992

20

Carroll, B., The Engineers; 200 years at work

for Australia, Globe Press, Melbourne, 1988, p.162
21
Murray, J., Phoenix to the World; the Story
of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves, CBE,
Playright Publishing Pty Ltd., 1992, p. 63

Farmers and Dairymens Milk Company Limited louvred

van number 5, 1900-1945, (88/289-7)

New South Wales Government Railways, (N.S.W.G.R.)

four-wheel sheep van SV8408, 1900-1945, (88/289-25)

Railway locomotive number 3626, 36 Class 4-6-0, 1925,

(88/289-9)

New South Wales Shale and Oil Company Limited

four-wheel tank wagon No.9, 1900-1930, (88/289-30)

New South Wales Government Railways (N.S.W.G.R.)

bogie refrigerator car 17607, 1900-1945, (88/289-16)

Commonwealth Oil Corporation composite carriage No.81,

built by the Metropolitan Railway Carriage and Wagon
Company, United Kingdom, 1900-1940, (88/289-50)

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200th New South Wales Government steam locomotive

built by Clyde TF 1164, 1916, (88/289-112)

TF class locomotive boiler with Belpaire firebox for New

South Wales Government Railways [N.S.W.G.R.],
mounted on two works trolleys, 1916, (88/289-496)

Steam locomotive 5701, designed by New South Wales

Government Railways, 1929, (88/289-473)

Silver model of New South Wales Government Railways

[N.S.W.G.R.] T class locomotive No.356, 1907,
(88/289-502)

Three P Class locomotives at Clyde Engineering Pty Ltd,

1909, (88/289-489)

Locomotive engine Burrawa in workshop, 1938,

(88/289-637)

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Underframe for four wheel electric tram, 1900-1940,

(88/289-1288)

Industrial side tank steam locomotive, 2-6-2 type, 36

gauge, built for Allan Taylor Limited, 1920, (88/289-972)

Steam locomotive 5701, designed by New South Wales

Government Railways, 1929, (88/289-1191)

New South Wales Government Railways (N.S.W.G.R.),

P class 4-6-0 express passenger steam locomotive, 1908,
(88/289-1146)

New South Wales Government Railways (N.S.W.G.R.)

second class car MFX72, 1907-1937, (88/289-1180)

Trial run for steam locomotive C3626, 1925, (88/289-1148)

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Ploughs on steel and timber S wagons bound for Wagga

Wagga, New South Wales, 1900-1930, (88/289-1152)

South Wales Government Tramways counterweight

dummy car, 1890-1915, (88/289-1184)

New South Wales Government Railways (N.S.W.G.R.),

steam locomotive K1384 later 5532, 1922, (88/289-1153)

Rear unit of Australian Standard Garratt locomotive G21

at Clyde works, 1936-1945, (88/289-1323)

New South Wales Government Railway second-class

American suburban car, FA1066, 1902-1910,
(88/289-1178)

Trial run for steam locomotive C3626, 1925, (88/289-1148)

C U R AT O R I A L R E S E A R C H S E R I E S

Australian Oil Company tank wagons, 1900-1945,

(88/289-54)

Commonwealth Oil Corporation oil tank four-wheel

railway wagon number 11, 1900-1945, (88/289-64)

Large slewing mechanism for crane with three D57 class

locomotives under constructio, 1929-1930, (88/289-111)

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