Conservation Projects

We continue to work with heritage professionals and skilled heritage trades people across NSW to conserve and restore our heritage assets for future generations.

Melocco Room mural restoration, Central Railway Station

The former Interstate Booking Office at Central Station was opened in 1951 as part of a program to bring the railways into the modern era. The main features of the room were designed by the renowned Italian artisans the Melocco Brothers. Their commission included a large marble and terrazzo mosaic floor showing the map of Australian,  travertine walling and a ‘Keenes’ cement incised wrap-around wall mural. 

As part of the retail uplift throughout 2018, extensive conservation work to the wall mural was undertaken by skilled conservators to carefully remove years of surface dirt and water damage from a 2015 fire. The conservation project won the 2019 National Trust Heritage Awards (Interior category). The space is open as a café and the Melocco Brothers mural can once again be enjoyed by the public.

Please enjoy a self-guided virtual tour of the Melocco Room to learn more.

Parramatta Signal Box conservation works

The signal box at Parramatta was constructed in 1885, and then extended in 1911 to its current size to support increased railway operations in the area, until being decommissioned in the late 1900s. The signal box however remains as a significant historical element within the State Heritage Register listing for the station precinct.

Throughout 2018, conservation works were undertaken to repair and preserve this proud relic of NSW’s railway history.  Works included reconstruction of missing timber finials, cleaning of masonry elements, roof repairs and repainting in a traditional historical paint scheme. 

Railway Honour Rolls, Central Station

Of the 8,477 railwaymen who enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces in World War I - 1214 lost their lives through that service. The NSW Government Railways sought to immortalise them on a series of honour boards. As a result, four Master Honour Rolls were commissioned and displayed on the Grand Concourse at Central Station from 1916 until they were removed from public display in the 1950s.

Sydney Trains Heritage and Transport Heritage NSW recently collaborated on a joint project to extensively restore these four Master Honour Rolls and reinstate them into the Grand Concourse at Central Station for ongoing commemoration and display. An unveiling ceremony of the Rolls was held on 8 November 2018 with some relatives of those commemorated on the Rolls present at the ceremony.

The Australian Railway Historic Society (ARHS) were also commissioned to research the historical biographical information of each individual soldier listed for ongoing public interpretation and access.  A permanent exhibition about the NSW Railways in the war and these individual biographies can be found on our NSW Railways Remember website: www.nswrailwaysremember.com.au.