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How do you know if your ancestor worked on the Railways? | Online indexes | Main Series of records | Further information

Background

Railway construction in New South Wales commenced under two private companies, the Sydney Railway Company, incorporated 1849 and the Hunter River Railway Company, incorporated 1853. Railway service provision commenced on 26 September, 1855 when the first trains operated on the Sydney-Parramatta or the 'Great Trunk' line. In its first full year of operation over 350,000 passengers had used the service. Passenger traffic continued to be the largest single purpose for train journeys in the nineteenth century, and accounted for more than half of all train miles traversed. By 1871 of a total of 931, 333 miles travelled 537, 846 miles were by passenger trains. In 1880 the Commissioner for railways observed that the number of passengers had risen from 776,707 to 5,440,138 in a decade during which time the miles of railway line had increased from 339 to 849 miles.[1]

Thousands of people were needed in order for the trains to run on time. Employment with the Railways covered a large range of positions, including working as a driver, cleaner, engineer, draftsman, inspector, timekeeper, porter, ganger etc.

How do you know if your ancestor worked on the Railways?

Establishing if your ancestor was employed by the railways is the first step to researching the records. A death certificate may indicate whether your ancestor worked for the railways. There may be family stories handed down through generations, or from surviving relatives who knew that a member of the family was working on the railways.

If you are seeking your own employment records contact:

RailCorp NSW
Freedom of Information Officer
PO Box K349
HAYMARKET NSW 1238
Phone: (02) 8202 2323
Fax: 8202 2855
Web:

www.railcorp.info

Online indexes

State Records have a number of searchable indexes relating to railway employment records:

Nominal Roll of the First Railway Section (AIF), 1917-20

Railway Supply Detachment, 1914

Railway Employment Records 1856-1890, 1909-32

NSW Government Railways and Tramways Roll of Honour, 1914-19

Main Series of records

Please note some of the record series are still identified by the State Rail 'R' number. This number will be replaced by a NRS (New South Wales Record Series) number in due course.

Series	Title
NRS 12922 Personal History Cards - Employees born before 1900
The cards show details relating to an individual's employment e.g. name, date of birth, educational qualifications and details of service. If you are unable to visit the Western Sydney Reading room you can order a copy from this series of the Personal History Cards via the *NEW* Copy Service page.
R297 NSW Government Railways and Tramways (1888-1890); Register of salaried officers, 1856-1890
Lists employment details of salaried officers working for the NSW Government Railways and Tramways during the period 1856-1890, including name, office, date of appointment, authority, remarks and a 'Remarks' column which notes salary changes, promotions, resignations, retirements, and acting position. » Search the 670 entries in the register
NRS 15905 Chief Commissioner of Railways and Tramways; First Railway Section Australian Imperial Expeditionary Forces (AIF) Nominal Roll, 5/02/1917-29/01/1920.
This volume provides details of railway employees who formed the 1st Railway Section of the Australian Imperial Expeditionary Force, including name, rank, age, marital status, trade or calling, address at date of enrolment, next of kin and address, religion, date of joining, unit for those already serving in the military, per-diem paid before and after embarkation, daily rate of deferred pay, name and address of allottee and remarks. Included is a group photograph of the 1st Railway Section taken at the Sydney Show Ground prior to departure for France. » Search the index » View a digital copy of the photo
NRS 15895 Traffic Branch [Department of Railways]; Personnel Register, Darling Harbour, 24/04/1909 - 7/07/1932
This volume details the employment history of workers at Darling Harbour Goods Yard. Information recorded includes employee's name, date of birth, position, station and salary. Industrial relations issues relating to the strike of August 1917 and subsequent employment of temporary staff are also documented. The records of employees who did not participate in the Railway Strike of 1917 have their entries stamped '6/8/1917. - Remained loyal. All prior offences expunged.' » Search the index

We also hold other series of personal history cards listed by railway branch and covering various date periods.

List of other personal history card records

List of related railway employment records

Details on the General Strike of 1917

For further information

Other records may be identified in Archives Investigator and the interim lists of records transferred from State Rail, available in the reading rooms. See Archives in Brief 54 for a introduction to the State Rail records held at the State Records NSW. It is also possible to view photographs from the rail collection which have been digitised on Photo Investigator.

Access

For access to records within the State Records NSW collection researchers should consult the Register of Access Directions to confirm the public availability of records. State Records' staff can advise you on the availability of records if they are not listed on the register.

[1] John Gunn, Along Parallel Lines, A history of the railways of New South Wales 1850-1986, Melbourne University Press, 1989.