BLACKTOWN CITY HISTORY
Afternoon passenger train from Sydney arriving at Blacktown Station in the 1950s. Photo by Carl Syme, courtesy of Robert Weisendanger.
Official Opening Ceremony. Councillor John Sidney( Jack) Bromfield, Shire President, at the microphone. On his left is Premier of NSW, John Joseph Cahill, 26 February 1955. Photo courtesy Blacktown City Library.
The crowd on Main Street near the station waiting for the parade to celebrate the opening of the electric train services to Blacktown. Photo by Carl Syme, courtesy of Robert Weisendanger.
Blacktown and the first electric trains
by John Horne
Seventy-one years ago, in February 1955, the first electric train arrived at Blacktown Railway Station, marking a major milestone in the development of Western Sydney.
During the 1920s, Dr John Job Crew Bradfield— the brilliant engineer who designed and oversaw the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge— developed a visionary plan to provide Sydney with a world-class electric railway system. As a result, the first electric trains began operating on the Illawarra Line in June 1926, followed by the opening of the Sydney City underground to St James and Museum stations in December of that year.
However, for many years electric services extended west only as far as Parramatta. Passengers travelling from
Riverstone train departing Blacktown Station while a passenger train heading west waits to go, 9 January 1954. Photo by Carl Syme, courtesy of Robert Weisendanger.
Blacktown to Sydney, Penrith or Richmond continued to rely on carriages hauled by steam locomotives.
In the early 1950s, massive engineering works commenced to electrify the Western Line from Sydney to Blacktown and to quadruple the tracks between Lidcombe and Blacktown. More than 600 men worked on the project, which ultimately aimed to extend electrification all the way to Lithgow. The works included new platforms at Blacktown, a new footbridge and signal box, and a four-span overbridge on Sunnyholt Road. A flyover between Seven Hills and Blacktown was also constructed, allowing Richmond Line trains to cross three main lines without disrupting other services.
By early 1955, the line was ready for electric trains to reach Blacktown. At every stop between Parramatta and Blacktown, large and enthusiastic crowds gathered to witness the historic event. The first electric train arrived at Blacktown at around 10.30am on Saturday, 26 February 1955, on a hot and humid day that threatened rain.
The official party in the lead carriage included NSW Premier John Joseph Cahill, Minister for Transport Ernest Wetherill, their staff and other dignitaries. They were welcomed on the platform by Blacktown Shire President Councillor John Sidney( Jack) Bromfield, local councillors, and the mayors and aldermen of Parramatta, Holroyd, Penrith and Windsor.
Following the arrival, the official party was escorted to a dais in Railway Square, where an opening ceremony featuring speeches and responses was held, followed by refreshments. The dignitaries departed at 12.30pm, missing the parade
Official train accompanied by a steam train on a parallel line, 26 February 1955. Photograph by Carl Syme, courtesy of Robert Weisendanger. along Main Street and the festivities at Blacktown Showground, which continued throughout the day.
Electrification dramatically improved travel times to Parramatta and Sydney, enabling residents to seek employment further afield while remaining in Blacktown, where housing and land were more affordable. This, in turn, drove residential growth and commercial development, including large Housing Commission estates at Seven Hills, Lalor Park and Mount Druitt.
Suburbs on the Richmond Line, however, continued to rely on steam trains during peak hours, with rail motors used off-peak. The last regular scheduled steam train on the Richmond Line ran on Saturday, 25 October 1969. Diesel-electric locomotives followed until 22 May 1975, when electric trains reached Riverstone. Diesel rail cars continued between Riverstone and Richmond until full electrification was completed in 1991.
Arrival of electric trains at Blacktown
City stations:
· Toongabbie – Saturday 26 February 1955
· Seven Hills – Saturday 26 February 1955
· Blacktown – Saturday 26 February 1955
· Doonside – Saturday 8 October 1955
· Rooty Hill – Saturday 8 October 1955
· Mount Druitt – Saturday 8 October 1955
· Marayong – Thursday 22 May 1975
· Quakers Hill – Thursday 22 May 1975
· Schofields – Thursday 22 May 1975
· Riverstone – Thursday 22 May 1975
· Vineyard – Saturday 17 August 1991
Blacktown
and District Historical Society Incorporated
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10 ISSUE 59 // FEBRUARY 2026 theindependentmagazine. com. au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT