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Pit at Eveleigh Paint Shop, beneath the steel and timber, this inspection pit once echoed with the steady rhythm of tools and voices as workmen toiled to keep Sydney’s railway fleet in motion.

01 Eveleigh Paint ShopEveleigh2016

ISO 1001.6sf/8.021mm

Series · 49 prints

Eveleigh Paint Shop

Photographed 2016

Frames 49

Camera NIKON D7000 · NIKON D810

Location New South Wales, Australia

Status Retained heritage item within Redfern North Eveleigh Precinct Renewal

Years 1887 to 1989

Heritage NSW SHR 01141

Architect George Cowdery

Specs Sawtooth south-light roof · Eight rail roads in brick main wing · Cast iron column construction

01 ABOUT THIS SERIES

Series story

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

George Cowdery worked on the Britannia Bridge with Robert Stephenson in 1847. John Whitton, Engineer-in-Chief for NSW Railways, brought him to NSW in 1863, where he supervised the colony's first railway tunnels at Picton and Mittagong. The brick main wing of the Paint Shop was completed in 1887, eight rail roads under a sawtooth south-light roof.

The Paint Shop is graded Exceptional Significance in the NSW State Heritage Register, the highest grading in the North Eveleigh precinct. Eight rail roads run through the brick main wing under a sawtooth south-light roof, separated by single rows of cast iron columns. A five-road iron-clad extension was added in 1912; the combined building is large enough to hold thirteen roads of full-length passenger carriages.

The Paint Shop's second life was as a storage shed. NSW's Office of Rail Heritage moved heritage rolling stock inside, including OFS2259, a 1949 air-conditioned daylight express second/economy class car, and examples of the single-deck suburban fleet built before double-deck cars entered service in 1964.

Carriage finishing operations ran for over 100 years before the Paint Shop closed in 1989. It now sits at the centre of the Redfern North Eveleigh Precinct Renewal, rezoned in December 2023. The sub-precinct plans approximately 450 new homes across 16 buildings, with the heritage Paint Shop adaptively reused for cultural and employment uses.

NSW State Heritage Register item 01141, NSW Planning — Paint Shop Sub-Precinct Design Guide (2023) and Sydney Morning Herald (Late Mr. George Cowdery, 1913)

02 TIMELINE

Chronology

1878

1882

1887

1901

1908

1912

1989

1990

1999

03 PRINTS

Prints in this series

Hand-signed limited editions, printed from the original RAW file. Editions run from 100 down to 25 and are not reissued once they sell through.

Pit at Eveleigh Paint Shop, beneath the steel and timber, this inspection pit once echoed with the steady rhythm of tools and voices as workmen toiled to keep Sydney’s railway fleet in motion.

Centurion at Eveleigh Paint Shop, green leather seat backs line both sides of a narrow central aisle.

Interurban Passenger Seating at Eveleigh Paint Shop, two pairs of reversible seats face each other inside carriage 3102.

Interurban Passenger Seating

Guards Compartment at Eveleigh Paint Shop, a drafting chair sits on the gritty floor of the guard's compartment inside car C7485.

Guards Compartment

Air Conditioned Car at Eveleigh Paint Shop, blue tartan upholstery lines both sides of the aisle in tight rows.

Air Conditioned Car

3102 Drivers Controls at Eveleigh Paint Shop, inside the cab of carriage 3102, dust coats every surface.

3102 Drivers Controls

Phillip Shirley at Eveleigh Paint Shop, a blue and white railway carriage sits on bare concrete inside the Eveleigh Paint Shop.

Phillip Shirley

Red Rattler at Eveleigh Paint Shop, the last single-deck suburban car built in June 1960, only four years before the first double-deckers entered service.

Single Deck Interurban Car at Eveleigh Paint Shop, the deep-cushioned seats of this Interurban carriage speak to a time when long-distance rail travel prioritized comfort.

Single Deck Interurban Car

Passenger Car Compartment at Eveleigh Paint Shop, two leather bench seats face each other inside a narrow eight-passenger compartment.

Passenger Car Compartment

4052 Interior at Eveleigh Paint Shop, dust lingers on the seats of Driving Control Trailer Car D4052, its silence a stark contrast to the decades of movement it once knew.

4052 Drivers Controls at Eveleigh Paint Shop, inside the cab of D4052, pale green paint covers every surface.

4052 Drivers Controls

Genuine Leather Seats at Eveleigh Paint Shop, green leather seats line the interior of a decommissioned railway carriage.

Genuine Leather Seats

4052 Exterior at Eveleigh Paint Shop, a riveted steel carriage sits square on the tracks inside the Eveleigh Paint Shop.

Suburban Car Workshop Facing East at Eveleigh Paint Shop, light spills through the sawtooth roof, filtering through layers of steel and glass to cast long shadows across the dust-laden floor.

Suburban Car Workshop Facing East

Sputnik at Eveleigh Paint Shop, green leather bench seats line both sides of carriage 4790, their cast-iron armrests decorated with pressed circular motifs.

4052 Double Deck Seats at Eveleigh Paint Shop, inside Car 4052, time has settled into every surface.

4052 Double Deck Seats

Roof Covering at Eveleigh Paint Shop, the cracked surface of a railway carriage roof fills the foreground.

4052 Interior Close at Eveleigh Paint Shop, two rows of moulded metal seats line the aisle of Car 4052, their green paint dulled under a thick film of dust and mottled with age spots.

4052 Interior Close

Bogies at Eveleigh Paint Shop, heavy coil springs and hydraulic dampers sit exposed at ground level, the bogie assembly of a stainless steel U-boat carriage filling the right of frame.

3102 Main Passenger Car at Eveleigh Paint Shop, green vinyl seats run in two rows down the centre aisle of Car 3102.

3102 Main Passenger Car

Generating Sets at Eveleigh Paint Shop, a diesel generating set sits bolted to chequerplate flooring inside the narrow engine compartment of a power van.

Generating Sets

3102 Drivers Cabin End at Eveleigh Paint Shop, the end seat compartment of Car 3102, a transitional space where passengers once gathered before settling into their seats.

3102 Drivers Cabin End

3102 Seats at Eveleigh Paint Shop, the seating arrangement in Car 3102 reflects the practicality of Sydney’s early electric trains.

Eveleigh Paint Shop Forecourt at Eveleigh Paint Shop, decommissioned CityRail carriages sit on parallel tracks beneath the Eveleigh Paint Shop's sawtooth roof.

Eveleigh Paint Shop Forecourt

3708 W Car at Eveleigh Paint Shop, car 3708, part of the Sputnik set built in 1955, now stands fully restored within the Eveleigh Paint Shop.

Storage Cage at Eveleigh Paint Shop, a space built for function over comfort, this storage area is lined with mesh cages, once used to secure equipment and supplies.

Locomotive Hauled Passenger Car at Eveleigh Paint Shop, a narrow corridor runs the length of the carriage.

Locomotive Hauled Passenger Car

Tounge Groove at Eveleigh Paint Shop, two carriages sit side by side on parallel tracks inside the Eveleigh Paint Shop.

Power Van at Eveleigh Paint Shop, stainless steel roof ribs run the length of a PHA-class power van, its corrugated surface thick with grey dust.

Forecourt at Eveleigh Paint Shop, to the left, the stainless-steel body of Interurban trailer TF6013 reflects the muted industrial light, its corrugated panels and riveted seams built for durability.

Suburban Car Workshop East at Eveleigh Paint Shop, the suburban car workshop, an extension added to the Eveleigh Paint Shop, once echoed with the sounds of rail workers overhauling Sydney’s electric train fleet.

Suburban Car Workshop East

Batteries at Eveleigh Paint Shop, the underside of a stainless steel interurban carriage fills the frame.

Mezzanine at Eveleigh Paint Shop, the amenities mezzanine stands as a reminder of the workforce that once filled this space.

Workshop at Eveleigh Paint Shop, rails run flush with the concrete floor, cutting a straight line through the centre of the workshop toward a bright roller door at the far end.

Roller Door at Eveleigh Paint Shop, a corrugated roller door fills the frame inside the Eveleigh Paint Shop.

Regenerative Braking System at Eveleigh Paint Shop, a heavy steel enclosure sits open, its wing-bolt latches unfastened.

Regenerative Braking System

Side Door at Eveleigh Paint Shop, the Centurion, carriage 4279, underwent significant modifications during its long service life.

Suburban Car Workshop at Eveleigh Paint Shop, facing west toward Carriageworks, this view captures the interior of the suburban car workshop, an extension added to the Eveleigh Paint Shop for the overhaul of Sydney’s electric train fleet.

Suburban Car Workshop

Name Plate at Eveleigh Paint Shop, stamped into the steel, the nameplate on Car 3102 marks its origins, one of the first 50 steel motor cars procured from England.

3102 Interior at Eveleigh Paint Shop, the layout of this space reflects the evolution of Sydney’s early electric train design.

Parcel Van 3903 at Eveleigh Paint Shop, inside the carriage, timber-panelled walls curve up to a barrel-vaulted ceiling coated in grey grime.

Parcel Van 3903

Parcel Van 3903 Exterior at Eveleigh Paint Shop, the riveted steel panels of this parcel van bear the marks of time, their once-uniform surface textured by decades of service.

Parcel Van 3903 Exterior

Interurban Motor Car CF5015 at Eveleigh Paint Shop, stainless steel panelling runs the full length of the carriage, dulled with grime and covered in aerosol.

Interurban Motor Car CF5015

Car 4554 at Eveleigh Paint Shop, every seat has been stripped out.

Washroom at Eveleigh Paint Shop, inside OFS2259, a 1949 air-conditioned daylight express second/economy class car.

PHA Class at Eveleigh Paint Shop, a view down the length of a Power Van, part of the PHA class, built for the standard gauge joint stock service between Sydney and Melbourne.

Power Car at Eveleigh Paint Shop, the driver’s cab of a single-deck interurban power car, built for the demanding routes to Katoomba and Gosford.

NSW State Emblem at Eveleigh Paint Shop, the New South Wales coat of arms sits centre on a riveted steel panel.

NSW State Emblem

04 ABOUT THE PRINTS

How they’re made

Made to order by Brett in Sydney, from the original RAW file. Each print is hand-signed and numbered before it ships.

Paper

Ilford Galerie cotton rag, 310 gsm. Acrylic on metallic gloss, 260 gsm.

Editions

Open in XS and S. Limited in M (100), L (50), XL (25). From $100.

Print tiers →

Lead time

Unframed: 5 to 10 business days. Framed and acrylic: 10 to 20.

06 PRESS

In the press

I'm not trying to make out like I'm some kind of mysterious urbex badass. Lost Collective isn't about me. It's about the places I shoot and even more about the connection that the people have to the sites.

Broadsheet

Brett Patman·2016

lostcollective.com

On the LC archive.

Often I'd find myself looking at the machines and architecture and challenging myself to find one single object designed purely for aesthetics. Craftsmanship made way for efficiency in engineering long before I'd even left school.

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

People talk about what it was like to work or stay in these places, who they knew, what they did, how great the Christmas parties were, that store man nobody liked, what all the different machines were, how they worked and what became of them.

Broadsheet

Brett Patman·2016

lostcollective.com

On the LC archive.