Wagga Wagga Perway sheds

 A brief photo record of the Perway sheds at Wagga.

Early in September 2024, a fire broke out, and severely damaged the remaining perway shed at Wagga.

Photo by Pete Neve, taken from the LVR 620/720 railcar Sunday 22nd September 2024.  Used with permission 

Cause of the fire is unknown, although it may have been an accident, as the perway shed was being illegally accessed by homeless persons.  I understand the Wagga Rail Heritage museum had some items stored in the burnt end, and Peter M reported to me  there was a loss  of a luggage trolley, 2 country link hand luggage barrows, a Villiers trike frame, a TIC trike frame, and around $5,000 worth of steel shelving.

The group of perway sheds are a group of models that I have to make, and I was holding back on the description, until I had a chance to make it.  However, the fire has changed things.

Where were the sheds located?

The sheds were located on the northern side of the main line, between the Best St/Edmonstone St road bridge and the western end of the Wagga station platform.  A small reverse siding attached to the siding that serviced the Wagga station platform south dock. 

The shed that burnt was identified as the "Motor Mech" in the above railway site diagram.  I have orientated the plan this way, to correspond to the aerial pictures later.

The group of shed comprised The Signal Engineers, a fuel storage shed (that included a bowser), the Motor Mechanics, and lastly a storage compound shed for LP gas storage.

An Wagga council intramaps view from 1971 shows the sheds, and a freight train on the platform track.  A CPH is stabled at the end of the reverse siding - presumably for the Tumbarumba branch.  As my time period for my model layout is nominally 1970, there is a lot of interest for me, despite the lousy resolution

An image from the ARHS archives, shows the 3 main sheds - the motor mechanic shed being the one that recently burnt.  The distant LP storage shed was removed sometime between 1990 and 1995.

Wagga council aerial image from 1990.  One of the railway street cottages has been demolished. and some changes have been made to the fuel storage/bowser shed.  But most of the infrastructure remains.

In 1995, I took a few pictures of the sheds.  This being the Motor Mechanic shed.  Note the siding has been removed, along with the entire LP storage shed.  These images scanned from my prints. 

Signal Engineer shed

Western side shows a lot of detail

I am hoping that I had earlier recorded additional images on slide, although I have yet to find them.

By 2012, Wagga Council aerial view had become a lot more detailed.  One can make out the skylights on the Motor Mechanic sheds.  A new shed had been built on the former siding (where the CPH was in the 1971 image)  All the railway cottages had been demolished - only the original Best Street gatekeeper cottage remains.  Another shed ('99') had been constructed on the site of one of the cottages.  Note the large white roof building in the top RHS of the picture.  This is the former District Engineer Office - now repurposed

Detail of the roofs of the motor mechanic shed, and the Signalling engineering shed in Wagga council's  2020 image.  The "garage" at the rear of the Motor Mechanic shed is hidden in the shadow of the tree (see the 1990 image).

A year or two ago, armed with a digital camera, I took a lot more pictures.  Changes from 1995 are generally that the sheds have been boarded up.  Whilst now over 50 years after my nominal layout period, the pictures are still potentially useful for the finer details. 

Conclusion

We can never take things for granted.  Record what you can today, because it may be gone tomorrow.  

Sydney bound Intercapital daylight approaches Wagga platform in the late 1980s.  The perway sheds and track vehicles on the RHS.  Cottages, fences and walkway all add detail for the modeller to reproduce

Until next time, happy modeling.