Circular Quay - the F39 on 20 January 1956.

Circular Quay Station turns 50 on Friday 20 January. The opening of the station by then Premier Mr JJ Cahill marked the completion of the now essential City Circle loop which now conveys thousands of commuters, shoppers and tourists around the CBD every day. Before that time trains started their journeys from either Wynyard or St James.

One of the stars of the day was a prototype single-deck train, the F39, which boasted power-operated doors and become an official member of the suburban fleet two days later.

Plans for the future of Circular Quay Station include upgrading some of the retail outlets, installing wheelchair accessible toilets on both platforms, painting the roof, improving the lighting and a spot of pigeon-proofing.

• Look at photographs of the station in days gone by.

A little history
The dream of a railway station at Circular Quay is almost as old as the opening of the railways in NSW in 1855. Whereas rail freight had the benefit of direct interface with ships from 1855, passengers had to find their own way between the rail terminus at Central and the city proper. John Whitton, the father of the NSW railways, always fought for a rail terminus at the quay to enable an easy transfer between train and ship, especially for those including himself who lived on the North Shore.

Whitton never saw his dreamed rail station at the Circular Quay. In the 20th century, debate changed from the concept of a terminal station to a city loop. The report of the City of Sydney Royal Commission in 1909 was the first time the idea of a loop was raised. The famed engineer, JCC Bradfield, was a strong advocate of the city loop and it was he who nominated the present site in 1927. The Railway Commissioner preferred a site near Harrington St and the debate was finally settled by the NSW Parliament in Bradfield’s favour.

The construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge between 1926 and 1932 diverted funds and attention away from the completion of the city loop. The underground lines terminated in 1926 at St James and the loop line at Wynyard stopped there in 1932. In 1936 a Circular Quay Planning Committee recommended a design for a very large sandstone station but nothing came of the concept. However, three important parameters from the committee were adopted in the present station design. These were the provision of a colonnade along the edge of the water, the use of natural materials for external surfaces and an unimpeded view at the ground level between the water and the streetscape.

Circular Quay under construction.

Work on the station began after the end of World War II. The post-war modern design reflected contemporary architecture existing in Europe and America. The dominant use of strong horizontal and vertical lines paid regard to the legacy from earlier inter-war functionalist architecture.

Circular Quay Station is the only station on the NSW rail system that features polished granite on external surfaces which was quarried from Canowindra in western NSW. The 2005 repairs to the station used granite from the same quarry. The station was the last major project undertaken by the NSW Department of Railways in which the Department performed virtually every aspect of the work. One exception was the ornamental bronze grilles near the stairways which feature sea-horses and fish. The station was also the last major structure to use rivetted construction and contrasts with the Cahill Expressway above it in which welding was used. It was one of a very small number of stations where the name of the station is attached to the external walls and is also one of an elite group of stations to feature flagpoles.

The quay and newly opened Cahill Expressway in 1958.

The station was opened on 20th January 1956 by the NSW Premier, JJ Cahill, who at one time, was employed by the NSW railways at the Eveleigh workshops. The Railway Commissioner took the opportunity at the opening ceremony to introduce into service the first suburban train with automatic closing doors.

- Stuart Sharp, RailCorp Heritage Office.