Expat’s family link as icon crosses Sydney Harbour Bridge for first time
AS BRITISH expat photographer Ed Hurst perched 100ft above the railway track crossing Sydney Harbour Bridge on September 25 to record an historic moment in Australia’s steam history, his thoughts turned to his homeland and grandfather.
The bridge, which opened in 1932 after being under construction for nine years, was designed and built by Dorman Long, a Middlesbrough-based company for whom Ed’s grandfather worked. At 3770 feet long and incorporating 51,000 tons of fabricated steelwork, the bridge – which carries rail, road and pedestrian traffic – was the British firm’s biggest ever project. Nine decades after its opening, it is regarded as an icon and an engineering masterpiece.
Ed was in a look-out in one of the bridge’s pylons, the distinctive 292ft high granite-faced structures at each end of the bridge, to photograph another Australian icon – Pacific No. 3801, as it steamed beneath him on a history-making trip.
The state-owned 1943-built streamlined Class C38 locomotive was withdrawn in 1962 and is revered Down Under as the country’s Flying Scotsman. It was crossing the bridge for the first time to help commemorate the structure’s 90th anniversary.
“My granddad, having worked for Dorman Long at the time the bridge was built, albeit in Middlesbrough, made this mean all the more to me, and I feel he would have been happy to see the scene,” said Ed, 48, an organisational psychologist. His passion for steam started from his earliest years, and by the age of 12 he was a keen photographer, an interest he has continued with since moving to Australia 12 years ago.
“Steam photography will always have a special place in my soul, and when I heard that Australia’s bestknown locomotive was going to run over Sydney Harbour Bridge to mark the structure’s 90th anniversary, I just had to be a part of it.
“It wasn’t a recreation, as the line has always been electric, but simply a wonderful celebration in the modern world of two of the country’s icons – the bridge and No. 3801.”
Ed explained that the busy double track underground line leading up to the bridge was closed for more than an hour to enable the run to take place, while sub-surface stations were also closed to enable the smoke alarms to be switched off. “Try that in London!” he said. “A special occasion indeed. Let’s do it again for the bridge’s centenary.”
Volunteers on board
After travelling through the city’s underground network and crossing the bridge, No. 3801 took its train of 120 passengers, including members and volunteers of Transport Heritage NSW, the locomotive’s custodian, on a short journey to Lavender Bay in the north of the city before returning to Sydney via Waverton.
New South Wales Government transport minister David Elliott, who described the run as a “once-in-a-lifetime event,” said: “Seeing this iconic steam locomotive cross one of the world’s most famous structures was an experience like no other.” Regional transport minister Sam Farraway said No. 3801 “lifts spirits and puts smiles on people’s faces.”
Andrew Moritz, chief executive of Transport Heritage NSW, said the event was a testament to the passion and dedication of generations of rail fans.
“This magnificent engine has been in preservation for longer than when it was in commission with NSW Government Railways,” he said, adding that it had won the hearts and minds of communities around the country as the only steam locomotive to have travelled to every mainland city in Australia.