Marrickville railway station

Marrickville railway station is located on the Bankstown railway line, serving the Sydney suburb of Marrickville. It is served by Sydney Trains T3 Bankstown line services. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

History
Marrickville station opened on 1 February 1895 when the Bankstown line opened from Sydenham to Belmore.

When the station opened, it consisted only of the island platform. In 1916, the station's platforms were reconstructed with a new platform, now platform 2, built to the south of the island platform and the northern side of the island platform closed to make way for the Metropolitan Goods Line. The station has retained this set-up to date.

The line through the station was electrified in 1926. The booking office on Platform 2 underwent alterations in 1944.

New stairs down from Illawarra Road were built in 1985.

In June 2016 an upgrade was completed with lifts and a new concourse built. During this work, the stairs to platform 1 were closed and replaced with a temporary footbridge from platform 2. With the new concourse, both platforms can be accessed from New Illawara Rd. Even though a concourse was built, the station remains ungated.

Transport links
Transit Systems operate two routes via Marrickvile station:
 * 423: Circular Quay to Kingsgrove
 * L23: Circular Quay to Kingsgrove

Marrickville station is served by one NightRide route:
 * N40: East Hills station to City (Town Hall)

Description
The Marrickville station complex consists of two station buildings: the Platform 1 building (1895) and Platform 2 building (1911), with associated platforms built at the same time, along with a booking office on Platform 2 (1917). It also includes two sets of pedestrian steps: a northern set (1917) and a southern set (mid-1980s), along with an overbridge on Illawarra Road (1911).

Marrickville railway station consists of one wayside platform to the south and an island platform to the north. Passenger rail only uses the south side of the island platform, with the Metropolitan Goods Line running on the north. The station buildings are original, as is the booking office at the western end of Platform 2. The station is accessed via the stairs from the Illawarra Road overbridge and via a second set of stairs on the south which give access to Platform 2. Illawarra Road is a major commercial shopping strip.


 * Platform building - Platform 1 (1895)

The Platform 1 building is a rectangular polychromatic face brick building with gabled roof and surrounding cantilevered awning clad in corrugated roof sheeting. The face brick is in stretcher bond, with dark brick walls and lighter salmon coloured bricks forming a dado, framing the upper half of the windows and doors and with a diamond pattern dentil course at the high level. The building is eight bays in length, with the bays defined by engaged brick piers which coincide with the awning brackets. Original chimneys with cement mouldings and terracotta flues remain but have been painted.

The cantilever awning is on filigreed steel brackets supported on decorative cement capped brick engaged piers and bolt fixings to the station building brick walls. The soffit lining is the underside of the corrugated steel roof fixed to intermediate exposed purlins. There is a decorative timber moulding at the junction with the brick wall. The awning returns around both ends of the building and at the stair end becomes a canopy supported on timber posts. The awning edges are finished with a decorative timber boarded valance.

The external walls rise from a projecting brick plinth (now painted) with a decorative two part cement dado moulding which frames the salmon brick dado and is continuous between door and window openings. Decorative cement window and door frames rise above the dado moulding, each with a decorative keystone.

The original window and door openings have segmental arches and the windows feature a decorative moulded cement sill. The original timber windows were double hung with a double paned lower sash and a multi-paned upper sash featuring coloured glass. Much of the original coloured window glass as well as the original fanlights above the door openings remain on the southern side but several have been bricked up on the goods line side. The doors were timber panelled but most have been removed or, on the northern side, bricked up. The end brick gables feature a louvre within a round brick window frames in salmon coloured voussoir shaped bricks with four cement keystones.

Internally, the building comprises a booking hall, still accessible via the original set of double doors at the bottom of the stairs; a booking office; Station Masters room; general waiting room; ladies room and ladies toilets, a store and men's toilets. The internal usage has now changed and the toilets have modern fitouts and finishes. Original plaster wall finishes and plaster ceilings and ceiling roses remain in the general waiting room, the ladies waiting room, and ladies toilets as well as the Station Masters room.

The level of integrity is good compared with other platform buildings on the Bankstown Line. Original face brick chimneys remain but have been painted. Lower face brick plinth has been painted. Original windows retain much of the coloured glass in the upper sashes but in most windows have been replaced by diamond pattern reinforced fibreglass sheeting in the lower sashes. Some windows have expanded mesh fixed on face of brickwork. Several windows have been bricked up on the north elevation. Doors retain much original glass in the fanlights, but several original panelled doors have been replaced by modern flush doors. One door is bricked up on the north elevation.

Internally, the original plaster wall finishes and plaster ceilings and ceiling roses remain in the Station Masters room, general waiting room, ladies room and ladies toilets. The toilet fitouts are modern.


 * Platform building - Platform 2 (1911)

The Platform 2 building is a rectangular face brick building with gabled roof and integral shallower sloped single cantilevered awning. The face brick is in stretcher bond and the building is four bays in length, with the bays defined by engaged brick piers which coincide with the awning supports. The original chimney with cement mouldings and terracotta flue has been removed.

The cantilever awning is on standard double bowed steel brackets supported on decorative cement haunches and bolt fixings to the station building brick walls. The soffit lining of corrugated steel is fixed to intermediate exposed purlins and follows the roof slope. There is a decorative timber moulding at the junction with the brick wall. Vertical timber boards form a valance at each end of awning. The awning roof as for the main roof is corrugated steel.

The external walls rise from a projecting brick plinth four courses high with a decorative dado moulding run in cement which is continuous between door and window openings. Decorative cement window and door frames rise above the dado moulding. The rear or southern side of the building reflects the same detailing.

The original window openings feature a moulded cement sill with a scalloped fringe. The original timber windows were double hung with a single paned lower sash and a six paned upper sash which featured coloured glass. Most of the original window glass as well as the upper glazing bars remain but have been obscured by the installation of vandal proof fibreglass sheeting. Original door openings featured fanlights matching the upper window sashes, which have also been removed. One original timber panelled door remains. The rear of the building has been painted and all the window openings bricked up.

Internally, the building comprises a general waiting room; ladies room and ladies toilets, a store and men's toilets.

The level of integrity is low compared to that of the building on Platform 1. The original face brick chimneys have been removed. Original windows retain some of the coloured glass in the sashes but in all windows have been covered by diamond pattern reinforced fibreglass sheeting. All windows have been bricked up on the south elevation and the entire face brick wall painted. One timber panelled door remains and one is a modern flush door.

The original timber framed overhead booking office dating from 1895 was demolished and the existing timber framed booking office located on Platform 2 built in 1917-18. The building is a simple, rectangular weatherboard clad timber framed structure, with a gable roof clad in corrugated steel which extends as an awning with exposed rafters on the platform side. Originally the roof extended to the east over the open public space and ticket collection booth, but this has been replaced by a later gabled awning structure on timber posts. Externally the original ticket window survives as does two of the original timber double hung windows; the door has been replaced by a flush type.
 * Booking office (1917)

Internally much of the fabric survives including the timber lining boards, the timber boarded ceiling and the built in desk and cupboards, although it would appear much of this dates from the alterations and additions of the mid 1940s.

Platform 1 has an asphalt surface with the original brick face and edge. The northern side of this platform (not used and fenced off) has a brick edge with the original brick face. Platform 2 also has its original brick face but with a concrete edge.
 * Platforms

Steel girders and a concrete slab supported on central brick piers and side brick abutments. The original access stairs from the overbridge to Platform 1 have the original steel stringers but have new concrete treads and a new steel balustrade. The later stairs on the south were constructed from steel stringers supported on steel columns and with precast concrete treads.
 * Overbridge (1911)

The level of integrity is good. Original brick abutments and steel beams remain. The access stair down from the overbridge retains its original steel stringers but the treads are modern concrete as is the balustrade.

Heritage listing
The railway station at Marrickville is significant as it is a station on the Sydenham to Bankstown Line which was constructed to relieve congestion on the Main South Line as well as to encourage suburban development and the growth of agriculture in the late 19th and early 20th century. The highly intact main platform building represents the period of transition from the boom time of the 1880s to the standardisation of NSW railway building design from the 1890s onwards, while the booking office on Platform 2 reflects a later period of expansion in the first quarter of the 20th century.

Marrickville Railway Station is significant at a State level as the platform building demonstrates the high level of aesthetic design of the pre-1900 standard buildings, which included the use of polychromatic brickwork, decorative dentil coursing, ornate awning brackets and carved bargeboards. The platform building is intact and is representative of a small group of such ornate platform buildings including Canterbury and Belmore on the Bankstown Line. The platform building on Platform 2 provides an interesting contrast, demonstrating the simpler design of the standard platform buildings of the 1910/20s.

Also of significance is the intactness of the weatherboard booking office which is unusual for being one of the few examples of a booking office located on a platform with street entry only and no access from the footbridge or overbridge, though the structure itself is representative of a standard design.

Marrickville railway station was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.

Marrickville Railway Station has historical significance as it is one of the railway stations on the Sydenham to Bankstown Line built to relieve the crowding on the Main Southern Line and encourage agriculture and suburban growth in the late 1800s and early 20th century. The brick building on Platform 1 represents that period which marked the transition from the boom period of the 1880s to the standardisation of NSW Railways building design of the 1890s and onwards, while the booking office on Platform 2 represents a later period of expansion in the first quarter of the 20th century

The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The platform building on Platform 1 at Marrickville Station has state aesthetic and technical significance because it exemplifies the particular design and style of brick island buildings erected by the NSW Railways prior to 1900 which possessed high qualities of aesthetic features such as polychromatic brickwork, dentilled brick cornices and cement mouldings which distinguish it from other platform building types. The booking office on Platform 2 has local aesthetic and technical significance because it exemplifies the particular design and style of timber booking structures erected by the NSW Railways between 1910 and the 1950s.

The place has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.

The place has the potential to contribute to the local community's sense of place and can provide a connection to the local community's history.

The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The timber booking office is significant because of its relative intactness, including much of the original internal timber fixtures, as well its location on the platform rather than overhead, providing the opportunity for further understanding of the design of these building types constructed between the years 1910-1950s.

The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

While the two platform buildings are well represented in other railway stations, the timber framed weatherboard clad booking office on Platform 2 is significant for being one of the few examples in the Metropolitan Area of a booking office building located on a platform which has a separate road level entry and is not accessible from the footbridge or overbridge.

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales.

The building on Platform 1 is representative of the high architectural quality of the pre-1900 standard station building which marked the transition from the boom period of the 1880s to the standardisation of the 1890s. It's styling reflected the importance of the station at that time, the other important stations on the Bankstown line with the same design being Canterbury and Belmore. The standard design building on Platform 2 is representative of the type of common design utilised by the railways during the 1910/20s. The booking office on Platform 2 is representative of the type of timber construction employed in booking office design dating from 1910 to the 1950s.