Friday, Facts & Fotos 1
One of the most significant pieces of historical machinery at Newport is the 1860 Kirkstall forge and crane. They were imported from the UK and arrived by sailing ship at Williamstown and were installed in the Williamstown railway workshops that year. They were moved to the new workshops at Newport in 1897 and still stands on the same slab of the foundry building which was demolished from around them in the mid-1980s. These machines must be preserved for future generations. They currently have a Victorian state heritage listing, but now the
Institute of Engineers Australian are preparing an application to have them Nationally listed. This is just one of the reasons that Newport must be kept for heritage rail.
This photo from PROV shows the steam hammer and crane in operation in the foundry at Newport. Note the number of workers involved in using this machine to forge steel billets into the shapes required. The wall behind in the picture is on the present boundary fence along Shae Street. The foundry building was demolished in the mid-1980s and these machines still sit in their original position.
Comments are closed