Establishment
In November 1925 172 acres (69.6ha) of land was purchased from the Newcastle Wallsend Coal Company and design of the new workshops began. The design was completed in time for work to start in the middle of 1926. The first sidings were connected to the main line in April, a platform for workers was in place by June and all sidings were completed by September of that year. Construction of the foundations for the buildings was well advanced by this time and erection of the steelwork started early the following year. By the end of 1927 the building work was virtually complete.
Machinery and tooling had been ordered early in 1927 and supplies began arriving throughout the year. Two 75-ton cranes were installed in the Erecting Shops. By early 1928, the first locomotives entered the facility and were under repair. The first locomotive to leave the workshops was 3364. The Annual Report of the New South Wales Government Railways to 30 June 1928, shows that by that date Cardiff Workshops had already overhauled 14 locomotives and repaired 15 boilers.
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