Original Eungai station 1926 - 1992 before being bulldozed & replaced with a glorified bus stop. I'd love to see other photos of the original station in its heyday. And 2 poems written by bored flagmen in the city end cabin c1993.
(Mark Pukso)
Matey Jones has sent in these insights to her family life in the 1940s.
"Bills first abode in 1947 progress to a tent and tin Kitchen. Bill built the shower we used to get hot water from the Engines when it was crossover time or loading from the sawmill. Ray Hadleys Grandfather was the butcher there. 4 timber mills loaded there. Lot of farm produce and bananas and beautiful fish on 6 o'clock Mail for markets next day at Darling Harbour. Just researching face book and came across them!
I watched the Rail program on Strathfield line repairs last night. Men and machines!! Looking forward to next Sunday night!"
44229 North Coast Daylight Express 9-4-83 Eungai, Garry Holt
4402 on 279 at Eungai 9-4-83, Garry Holt
44227 on 277 Eungai 9-4-83, Garry Holt
4481 on 281N at Eungai 9-4-83 (Garry Holt)
Type : Station
Line : North Coast Line
Distance from Sydney : 534.556km
Opened : 1 July 1919
Closed : n/a
Status : In use
Name meaning : An Aboriginal word meaning "noisy creek"
Notes : Opened with an interlocked loop, construction name was Eunkya. The original upside platform was 121.92 metres in legth and this was later reduced to 55 metres, a further reduction occurred with the construction of the rather spartan station that now exists. The original station building contained general and ladies waiting rooms, SM's office and an out-of room. 22/11/1924 - log loading gallows installed. 20/8/1935 - 396 metyre central operatedc loop laid in. Four mill sidings were associated with the site; the timber siding, Viggers, Jeffrey & Smith and Eungai Sawmills; these were in place variously between 1919 and 1972. Eungai has a 1535 crossing loop and a 220 metre dead end siding facing the Down side of the loop.
Site of Eungai Station during construction in 1916 (it opened in 1919) - the station still exists as a truncated concrete platform. (SLNSW)
Cutting and embankment at Eungai, 18/3/1916
Eungai Rail, 1949 (Alison Elliott)
Down North Coast Mail at Eungai, 1948 (SRA)
Location of Eungai Rail (Six Maps)
Eungai (undated) (SLNSW)
Eungai Rail (1962, Alison Elliott)
The lever frame at Eungai. (Greg Lee)
The staff instruments... The Macksville instrument has some keyed staffs (Greg Lee)
Eungai, 1992 (David Johnson)
Eungai. 24th Dec 1979 (Ken Date)
Eungai, 1950s
Eungai Rail 1981 - Diesel Locomotive Shunting and Loading Timber Girders on Rail Trucks (My Dad, James Minett Photos), my Grandfather Raymond (Pat) Minett worked on the Railway as a linesman between Kempsey and Macksville and lived in Eungai Rail. (Angela Saunders)
Ken Date:
Hard to believe that a location as small as Eungai was still loading lineside freight (only) 40 years ago. But, that was typical of the North Coast line, where many locations that now seem insignificant generated all sorts of traffic.
Ken Black:
I worked in eungai in the eights
Geoff Moulds:
Sam Moulds, Plant Operator, Took Me To Work With Him Up There A Couple Of Times..Early 80's..
Ken Black:
Geoff Moulds Sam was a good mate of mine for many years
Ray Geraghty:
Eungai as can be seen was very busy.
Ray Geraghty:
The good old days
Kurt Engelhardt:
Used to order 2 NLKY vans every week to load fruit for Flemington. Honeysuckle fruit was loaded from the platform onto vans attached to the train twice a week.
My Grandmother Margaret Minett at the Eungai Rail Railway Station 1982 (James Minett photo) (Angela Saunders)
Eungai, early 80s
Eungai station sign (Craig Botton)
Eungai (modern) station (Paul Dalton)
Down North Coast Mail at Eungai, 1948 (SRA)
Eungai Rail - Rail Locomotive with Yarrahappani Mountain in the Background (James Minett Photo) 1982
Eungai... 24th Dec 1979
Pic shared with kind permission of owner Ken Date
4301 at Eungai (undated) (Records NSW)
Eungai, 19/1/2000
Eungai, undated (1940s?) (Records NSW)
9-4-1983 at eungai 4481 on 281n with the staff (Garry Holt)
Eungai (6/8/24) (Lance Lyon)
late running (empty) NT32 departs Eungai (6/8/24) (Lance Lyon)
NT32 in the loop at Eungai (6/8/24) (Lance Lyon)
NT32 enters the loop at Eungai, NT33 at the station (6/8/24) (Lance Lyon)
NT33 at Eungai (6/8/24) (Lance Lyon)
Eungai Station looking in the up direction in the right distance across from the white 534.500km marker can be seen an old LCL TNT 🧨 container that was used as a impromptu office for the BGF when bananas 🍌 were loaded from this location (my late father used to load them here as his parents grew bananas at Yarrahapinni)
Circa early 90's (Greg Riddel)
Eungai Station looking in the down direction to the left can be seen 2 x NOBX open wagons to be loaded with sleepers for Boradze Taree which are piled up in the yard.
Circa early 90's (Greg Riddel)
442 45 442 on a down freight passes the under construction (bus type shelter) new station with the old timber platform still intact at Eungai, this is a time when passenger services where being reduced but massive amounts of money 💰 was being spent on station upgrades-Go figure ?
The impromptu BGF office can be seen to the right of the loop starting signal (an old LCL TNT container) & the house to the right is still standing and out of view in the right foreground are stockpiles of timber sleepers ready to be sent by rail to Boradze Taree via the siding mid foreground.
12-6-93
Photo John Barrett
Greg Riddel