Berry railway station facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Berry
Location	Station Road, Berry New South Wales Australia
Coordinates	34°46′50″S 150°41′47″E / 34.7805°S 150.6964°E / -34.7805; 150.6964
Owned by	Transport Asset Holding Entity
Operated by	NSW TrainLink
Line(s)	South Coast
Distance	140.8 km from Central
Platforms	1, 113 metres
Train operators	NSW TrainLink
Construction
Structure type	Elevated platform
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Easy Access
Other information
Website	Transport for NSW
History
Opened	2 June 1893
Traffic
Passengers (2013)	120 (daily) (Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink)
Rank	240
Services
Preceding station NSW TrainLink Following station Bomaderry Terminus South Coast Line Gerringong toward Kiama

Berry railway station is a historic train station in Berry, New South Wales, Australia. It's located on the South Coast railway line. This station serves NSW TrainLink trains that travel south to Bomaderry and north to Kiama. Sometimes, buses replace trains for early morning and late night trips. In the past, the station also handled freight trains carrying farm products like cattle and dairy.

This station is very important because of its history. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. This means it's a special place that needs to be protected.

Station History

The New South Wales Government Railways opened the South Coast Line extension on June 2, 1893. This line went from Bombo to Bomaderry. Berry Station was built as part of this extension. It was meant to serve Berry, which was the biggest town along the new railway line at that time.

The first station buildings were made of wood with metal roofs. They included a platform, a waiting shed, and a goods shed for freight. There was also a house for the stationmaster. Even though they planned for a second platform, it was never built.

Over the years, the station area grew. It included the Berry Central Butter Factory and yards for cattle. More houses for railway workers were also built. In 1912, a signal box was added to help control the trains. The goods siding, which is a side track for loading and unloading, was extended to serve the butter factory. This helped send milk to Sydney.

Many of the original buildings from 1893 are still standing today. This makes Berry Station very special. These old buildings are rare because they were built before the railway started using standard designs for all its stations and houses.

Some changes happened over time. In the 1960s, parts of the goods area were changed. In 1968, the cattle yards were removed. A new brick toilet block was added in 1979.

Two other stations nearby, Jaspers Brush and Toolijooa, opened at the same time as Berry. However, they closed in 1974 because not enough people were using them. The Berry Station Master's house is not used for railway staff anymore. For a while, it was used as a Scout Hall.

How Trains Operate Here

The South Coast Line south of Kiama has only one track and is not electric. This means that most trains from Berry going north stop at Kiama. Passengers then have to switch to electric trains to continue to Wollongong and Sydney. There were talks about making the line electric all the way to Bomaderry, but this plan didn't happen.

Berry and Bomaderry were the last places in the NSW train network to use an old system called "electric staff signalling." This system, put in place in 1908, helped control trains safely on a single track. In 2014, this old system was replaced with modern, automated signals. Also in 2014, the Opal card (an electronic ticket card) became available at Berry Station.

Platforms and Services

Station Description

The Berry Railway Station is a heritage-listed site. This means its buildings and features are protected because of their historical importance. The station has several old buildings, including the station master's house, the platform building, and a signal box. It also has pretty garden beds and trimmed shrubs.

The station is located on Station Road, across from David Berry Park. It has a car park north of the platform. The station is in a beautiful spot with the Illawarra mountains in the background.

Station Master's Residence

The Station Master's house was built in 1893. It's an early example of a railway house design. It's a single-story wooden house with a metal roof. It used to have a veranda (a covered porch) at the front. The house has changed a lot inside over the years, but its outside still looks much like it did when it was built.

Platform Building

The platform building is a long, rectangular wooden building. It has a metal roof that slopes towards the train tracks. This building holds the waiting room, the station master's office, and a room for staff equipment. All these rooms open onto the platform. The waiting room has modern floor tiles and walls, but other parts of the building still have their original wooden walls and ceilings.

Platform Garden Beds and Topiary Shrubs

The station platform has special garden beds and shrubs that are trimmed into interesting shapes (topiary). These gardens add to the station's charm. Railway gardens used to be common, but now they are quite rare.

Signal Box

The signal box was built in 1912. It's a small wooden building right next to the platform building. It used to have an open side facing the platform, but now it has a wall with windows and a door. Inside, you can still see the original levers that were used to control the train signals.

Out of Shed (Parcels Office)

This is a small wooden building with a sloping roof. It's located east of the signal box. It has large sliding wooden doors on both sides, one opening to the platform and the other to the car park. This shed was likely used for handling parcels and goods.

Lamp Room

The lamp room is a very small building with a pointed roof. It has a wooden door facing the car park. Inside, it has a concrete floor and some wooden shelves. It was probably used to store lamps and other railway equipment.

Goods Shed

The goods shed was built in 1893. It's a large shed made of corrugated iron. It has a small wooden platform along the railway side and a wider platform at one end. It has sliding wooden doors for both road and rail access. This shed was used for loading and unloading freight.

Produce Shed

This is a large shed made of corrugated steel with a pointed roof. It was built around the 1940s. It's located west of the goods shed. It was once leased by a local co-op society, likely for storing farm produce.

Platform

The platform itself was built in 1893. It's made of brick with brick caps on top. It was extended around 1915 to make it longer for bigger trains. The middle of the platform has been raised with concrete.

Landscape and Natural Features

The station platform has many plants, including the special trimmed shrubs. The area around the Station Master's house also has large, old trees. These natural features add to the beauty of the station.

Moveable Items

Inside the station, there are still some old items that are important to its history. These include signals in the signal box, special instruments for controlling trains, equipment for fog signals, an old wooden trolley, and a wooden indicator board. These items are in good condition and show how the railway used to operate.

Heritage Importance

Berry Railway Station is very important to the history of New South Wales. It's a special country railway station complex built between 1893 and the 1940s. Most of its original buildings from 1893 are still here, including the platform buildings, old equipment, and the station master's house. This station also shows how the town of Berry grew and developed.

The station is also beautiful and unique. It's a rare group of simple, early wooden station buildings, including the goods shed and the station master's house. It's located in a lovely spot within the historic town of Berry, with the Illawarra mountains in the background. The small wooden out-of-room, signal box, and lamp room are typical of the small sheds built for these purposes across the state. The Station Master's house is a rare example of an early railway house design.

The station is also important for research. Its old moveable items, like the train control instruments, signals, and fog signal equipment, can help us understand the history of railways in New South Wales.