Tounge Groove

A section of tongue-and-groove timber panelling on the interior of one of the heritage carriages at the Eveleigh Paint Shop runs along the lower part of a compartment wall. The boards are narrow, around three inches wide, set vertically with each tongue locked into the groove of the next board. The timber has been stained darker than the natural grain and waxed, polished to a soft sheen at the level a passenger's elbow or shoulder would touch the wall. A timber moulding caps the top of the panelling where it meets the painted upper bulkhead. Small brass tack heads run along the joins where the boards meet the framing behind. The condition of the panelling reflects the wear pattern of decades of service.

Tongue-and-groove timber was the standard interior finish for higher-class NSW Government Railways passenger carriages through the first half of the twentieth century. The joinery gave a tight, draught-free wall surface that flexed with the body of the carriage as the train ran, and the timber wore better than the painted-metal surfaces that replaced it in later stock. The panelling in this photograph has been restored by the Historic Electric Traction volunteer group at the Eveleigh Paint Shop as part of the ongoing carriage-restoration program. The original timber has been retained wherever possible; only the boards that had cracked or split through were replaced.