Painting in the Paint Shop - The Green Room

The Paint Shop was one of the North Eveleigh precinct’s 4 main buildings, along with the Carriage Works, Stores and the Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Office on Wilson Street. It is next to the much better publicized CarriageWorks building in North Eveleigh.

Starting my painting of
E136 'The Green Room,Heritage Store, North Eveleigh'
2017 oil on canvas 36 x 46cm
Available
Even though Eveleigh Carriage Workshops closed during the 1980s, a section of the Paint Shop remains in railway use today.

Starting my painting of

E136 'The Green Room,Heritage Store,

North Eveleigh'

2017 oil on canvas 36 x 46cm
Available
The Paint Shop is owned by RailCorp and used by the Office of Rail Heritage to store heritage rolling stock and moveable relic collections. It is the storage site of the heritage suburban electric fleet which are being painstakingly restored by the dedicated volunteers of Historic Electric Traction.

Starting my painting of

E136 'The Green Room -

Heritage Store, North Eveleigh'

2017 oil on canvas 36 x 46cm
Available
Many companies have tried to lay claim to the huge slice of no man's land west of Redfern Station, and it really does have a slightly besieged air.
The University of Sydney made a spirited attempt to add it to its empire and it was even recently touted as a potential home for Google's new Sydney headquarters before the NSW State Government poured cold water on the idea.
The latest candidate seems to be Atlassian, as the jewel in the crown of yet another proposed technology hub (don't governments love 'hubs'!)
I don't know what the difference is between a 'hub' and the more lowly category of mere 'business park', but I'm sure it would be several hundred million dollars at the least.
I know that some sort of redevelopment is inevitable, but how much of the heritage would be retained is still unclear.

Starting my painting of

E136 'The Green Room ,

Heritage Store, North Eveleigh'

2017 oil on canvas 36 x 46cm
Available
The doorway under the stairs once led to the Store itself, where an old storeman once doled out supplies.
This corner of the Paint Store is painted a brilliant and venomous shade of green. Green now has vague connotations of health and nature, but a hundred or so years ago, it had a different reputation.
This colour looks suspiciously like the notorious arsenic based 'Paris green' which was invented just after the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. It was so toxic that ballgowns dyed with this bright and deadly pigment were reputed to kill their wearers if they stayed too long at the dance. Wallpaper painted with Paris Green was even supposed to have contributed to the final illness and death of Oscar Wilde.
As though the arsenic and copper ingredients of the original formula weren't sufficiently deadly, some warped genius later added lead arsenate to the cocktail.
As this building long predates any health and safety rules my suspicions could be well founded. If you could overlook its one lonely drawback of being horribly poisonous, 'Paris green' is a very useful paint - bright, fairly stable, very opaque and giving good coverage. It has been used to colour fireworks, and also to kill rats in the Parisian sewers; hence its name. And it kills mosquitoes quickly and effectively. What's not to love about a paint like that......
In the theatre, a 'green room' is a waiting room for performers before, during and after the performance.
I feel that this quiet and neglected corner of inner Sydney will soon be the venue for a spectacular drama starring government, developers, community groups, universities and fabulously wealthy and powerful international companies.
There will probably be fireworks.

And it could well become toxic.

More paintings of Eveleigh Railway Workshops at my Eveleigh page

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The slow return from the fire

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Terminus Redux

I have mixed feelings about the renovation of the Terminus.
Although it's been restored,not demolished or replaced by apartment blocks as so often happens, it has been stripped of its poetry.

P286A 'Terminus Redux'
2017-8 ink, charcoal on paper 131 x 106cm
Enquiries : janecooperbennett@gmail.com
I painted a large mixed media work on paper, as well as an even larger oil on canvas, just before the iconic vines were removed. The awning had been stripped back to a fragile skeleton, but the bricks had yet to be sand-blasted.
However well a place is renovated, inevitably there must be compromises between keeping the original character and making it a viable business.
No expense was spared on the fitout.The designers and architects have done their best to restore the old pub building while retaining quite a lot of the original pub from tiles to timber. The pressed metal ceiling upstairs is a sympathetic replacement not the original, which was too badly damaged.

P286 'Terminus Redux'
2017-8 oil on canvas 122 x 183cm

Enquiries -janecooperbennett@gmail.com

I miss the vine-covered facade. It had probably been planted early in the 20th century by a CSR employee, as the same species of Virginia creeper covered the manager's residence and the courtyard of the 'Rum Store'.
Recently I attended the launch of Shirley Fitzgerald's wonderful book on the history of the Terminus. I was honoured that Shirley had asked me to contribute a photo of one of my paintings of the Terminus facing opposite its longtime companion and rival, the Pyrmont Point Hotel (aka the Royal Pacific).

P252 'The Terminus and the Point'
2011 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm
Private Collection : Sydney
Enquiries : janecooperbennett@gmail.com
When I went upstairs, I almost walked into one of the walls, not from one too many cocktails, but because I'd expected the hall that once led through to the building next door. I believe this passageway had to be closed off due to updated fire regulations.
A typical pub menu, priced rather steeply, cashes in on the hipster ambience from the 32 years that the Terminus spent as an icon of urban decay.
As a contrast, when I'd visited the Terminus prior to its closure in the early 1980s, they were giving out free food. Possibly this had contributed to its original decline and fall.
The new owners aren't making that mistake, quite the opposite.

Ironically despite having kept the ghost sign outside, no Resch's is on tap.

For more information about the Terminus and Pyrmont Point Hotels

see My Pyrmont page in this blog

Related posts
Looking over the overlooked-Urban decay in Pyrmont
To the Point
Wrong side of the tracks - Darling Island Bond and Free

Pretty vacant  

A Tale of two hotels - the Terminus and the Point

The bad twin of Pyrmont Street

Pyrmont Paintings past and present 
Paintings of Pink pubs - Painting the Jolly Frog Part 2

Ghost in the machine

I've been painting ghost signs in the Eveleigh Railway Workshops, as one by one, the relics of the past slowly vanish.

There are faded sepia warning signs so old that they are handwritten.
Fire extinguishers have kept a quiet vigil, like forgotten sentries post battle.

E119 'Ghost sign in the Large'
2017 oil on canvas 31 x 15cm

Enquiries 

So, what is the 'Ghost in the machine' ?
This phrase, so often used, yet little understood, was coined by the Oxford philosopher Gilbert Ryle to describe the Cartesian dualist account of the mind–body relationship.

One of the underlying assumptions within the famous maxim of the French 17th century philosopher René Descartes, 'Cogito ergo sum' ('I think, therefore I am') is  that the mind is not only distinct, but actually separable from the body.

E119A 'Ghost sign in the Large 2'
2017 oil on canvas 31 x 15cm

Enquiries 

According to the philosopher John Locke (1632–1704), a person is defined as ‘an intelligent being, having reason and reflection, which can consider itself in different times and places.’ By this definition, someone is defined as a person if they can think about themselves in the past, future, and conditional, and in a variety of different places. 
If a person has this quality of self-conscious recognition, what is the cause? Does consciousness reside in their body, their brain, or their ‘soul’? If that person has had a serious accident rendering them unconscious and without brain function -so that the body is still alive but the mind is no longer self-conscious nor could ever be again-Is the body still to be regarded as a person? If not, then how can the physical body alone be that which makes them a person?
If the Eveleigh Railway Workshops are emptied of most of their machines and other heritage items, how can they still be considered to be the Eveleigh Railway Workshops?

How much can be removed, before it becomes an empty shell?

When the contents of a container are removed, is it still a container?
What is a body without a mind or a soul?

More paintings of the Eveleigh Railway Workshops

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This is how the light gets in

Ghost train

Scar Tissue

Painting in the paint shop - The Green Room

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The fire within

Let there be rock

Starting my painting of the
'Excavation between Harris and Mount Streets, Pyrmont'
2017 oil on canvas 51 x 61cm
Available
Not far south of the Terminus Hotel, another formerly ignored and derelict site is being gentrified.
There was a 'no man's land' between Harris and Mount streets which was an overgrown wasteland, with the southern end used as a carpark for the past 3 decades.

P241B 'Panorama from the roof of Pyrmont Power Station
from Harris St, Mount St to the CSR Distillery'
1991 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm
Available
This is a small canvas I painted from the roof of the Chem-Lab of the Pyrmont Power Station in 1991, looking west towards the ethanol tanks of the CSR Distillery. In the centre is the handsome vine-covered Federation building that was once the house of the CSR Manager. The carpark can be seen to the right of the Manager's house.
Clumps of pampas grass used to poke through the badly laid bitumen, which was covered with weeds and strewn with discarded bongs.
This wasteland occasionally featured as a backdrop for early 1980s rock video clips.
Only a brick pier wall facing Mount st and a tumbledown graffitied sandstone block wall remained above ground level as relics of the row of terraces once occupying that site. The terraces had been pulled down long before I started to paint in Pyrmont.

Starting my painting of the
'Excavation between Harris and Mount Streets, Pyrmont'
2017 oil on canvas 51 x 61cm
Available 
The carpark has now been excavated, revealing the golden sandstone beneath. This is one of the few remaining still undeveloped sites in Pyrmont, and I took the rare opportunity to paint the honey coloured tones of the yellowblock sandstone before it is removed and construction starts.
It isn't far from the McCaffery's stables, which had been built over the legendary 'Paradise Quarry', where the best quality sandstone in Sydney had been extracted.

Starting my painting of the
'Excavation between Harris and Mount Streets, Pyrmont'
2017 oil on canvas 51 x 61cm
Available 
Under the bitumen, an archaeologist's dig had revealed a cobbled sandstone path, a neatly finished sandstone cesspit, carved sandstone steps and mysterious carvings. One of the carved images resembled a child-like version of a church or chapel. Paul Gye aka 'Pyrmonstrosity Pyrmontosis', who has dedicated many hours into painstakingly and expertly researching Pyrmont's hidden history, has concluded that these carvings might have dated from as early as 1840 and could refer to Dr JD Lang’s Presbyterian ‘Long Lost Chapel of Pyrmont’. The full album of photos of 'Pyrmonstrosity Pyrmontosis' site visit with photos of the carvings can be seen at Facebook album : Archaeological Site Visit - Mount & Harris Streets - 10 May 2017
The chapel was later relocated to Ultimo, and its current location is the 'Mustard Seed' ministry in Bulwara Street (ironically opposite the Lord Wolseley Hotel).
Unfortunately despite their unique heritage value, the carvings have by now been completely destroyed by the excavation.


Starting my painting of the
'Excavation between Harris and Mount Streets, Pyrmont'
2017 oil on canvas 51 x 61cm
Available 
During my site visit, I tried to persuade the archaeologists to let me paint on site before the demolition started, but they gave me the brush off, no pun intended.
Frustratingly I had to peer through the hoardings and shadecloth.

Starting my painting of the
'Excavation between Harris and Mount Streets, Pyrmont'
2017 oil on canvas 51 x 61cm
Available 
The 2,300sq metre site on the south-western side of the Terminus Hotel, will be soon transformed into a collection of 15 low-rise terrace houses, aka the 'New Life Pyrmont' project.

My painting of the
'Excavation between Harris and Mount Streets, Pyrmont'
2017 oil on canvas 51 x 61cm
Available 
I persuaded a kind passer-by to hold up my painting so I could take a good photo of it against the demolition.
The top half of the stairs once leading from Harris Street to the carpark have already been demolished, and the Harris Street frontage has been completely excavated and removed to allow trucks to enter and remove the sandstone.

I've heard that the terraces have been designed to incorporate some of the excavated sandstone from the site.

For more information see My Pyrmont page in this blog

Related posts
Looking over the overlooked-Urban decay in Pyrmont
To the Point
Wrong side of the tracks - Darling Island Bond and Free

Pretty vacant

A Tale of two hotels - the Terminus and the Point

Pyrmont Paintings past and present
Paintings of Pink pubs - Painting the Jolly Frog Part 2

Revenant

Starting painting of'703 HFA' 2017
oil on canvas 122 x 91cm

Available 

Revenant : an animated ghost or zombie believed to have revived to haunt the living.
Derived from the Latin word reveniens, "returning" 
The 703 HFA has been languishing up on stumps awaiting a restoration to past glory that will probably never happen.
This heritage wooden carriage was severely damaged in a tragic accident at Cowan on 6th May 1990, and has been sitting forlornly at the eastern end of the Large Erecting Shop in the Eveleigh Railway Workshops ever since. 

Starting painting of'703 HFA' 2017

oil on canvas 122 x 91cm

Available

When the steam locomotive 3801 was returning from the Morpeth Jazz Festival, it  struggled to climb the steep Cowan Bank, then stopped.

To assist gripping, sand was then applied to the track, but unfortunately this caused the signals to malfunction.

The signals apparently changed from red to green several times. After the signals had been green for a few moments, giving a false indication that the track was clear ahead, a CityRail Interurban passenger service entered the tunnel behind 3801 and crashed into the back of 3801's train. 
6 people lost their lives, including the driver of the intercity electric, and a passenger in the V Set's cab. An investigation into the crash suggested the handbrake in one of the carriages may also have been applied. 

'703 HFA' 2017 oil on canvas 122 x 91cm

Available

There have been sporadic episodes of restoration over the past 27 years, which were curtailed due to lack of funds, manpower or commitment. 
A restored carriage would be a symbolic triumph over the past tragedy, but this would be a difficult and expensive task.

The dented frame of the carriage has severe structural problems and the wheels in front of the carriage have ‘sharp flanges’ - extremely worn edges which are the railway equivalent of a car having bald tyres. 
The 703HFA continues to haunt the shed, more a revenant than a phoenix.

The transformation of the Large Erecting Shop into a running shed means that it has an uncertain future. 
More paintings of Eveleigh Railway Workshops

Related Posts

Ghost Train

Ghost in the machine

Scar Tissue

Painting in the paint shop - The Green Room

The slow return from the fire

The fire within

Terminus Indeterminate

Starting a new canvas of the 'Terminus Hotel',

2017 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm

Enquiries

The Terminus Hotel, corner of John and Harris St, Pyrmont is being renovated after over 20 years of not so benign neglect as part of the Wakil's collection of derelict inner city buildings.

The former poster child of urban decay has fallen to the inexorable tide of gentrification. It won't be totally obliterated as so many unfortunate heritage icons all over Sydney have been.

Starting a new canvas of the 'Terminus Hotel',

2017 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm

Available
Enquiries
Hopefully as much as possible of its quirky heritage will be retained, but at this stage it is difficult to predict the outcome, as so much depends on the personal taste of the developers, architects and designers.

Starting a new canvas of the 'Terminus Hotel',

2017 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm

Available

Enquiries

The cantilevered rusty steel awning has just been stripped down to a skeletal framework. It matches the bare branches of the tree on the corner of John and Harris St opposite the old bakery.
I don't know if the awning will be removed or restored.
Usually I paint the Terminus from the other side of Harris St, to pair it with its rival pub, the Pyrmont Point (aka 'the Royal Pacific). However, one of its most distinctive characteristics, the distinctive parapet skyline, a key feature of Federation Free Style architecture is best displayed from the John st vantage point.

Starting a new canvas of the 'Terminus Hotel',

2017 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm

Available

Enquiries

Some tendrils of the Virginia creeper that once covered most of its facade still cling to the top. It was possibly the only thing binding all the bricks together.

Starting a new canvas of the 'Terminus Hotel',

2017 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm

Available
Enquiries

The creeper is usually (and wrongly) known as 'ivy', however ivy doesn't change to russet tones in autumn, or drop its leaves for winter.

Starting a new canvas of the 'Terminus Hotel',

2017 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm

Available

Enquiries

The same creeper also covers much of the facade of the CSR manager's house further south down Harris St. An entire courtyard in the CSR refinery used to resemble a jungle.

Starting a new canvas of the 'Terminus Hotel',

2017 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm

Available

Enquiries

Long before 'green walls' became fashionable decor, the south facade of the building now rather bizarrely known as the 'Rum Store' was entirely covered in Virginia creeper from floor to ceiling.

Starting a new canvas of the 'Terminus Hotel',

2017 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm

Available

Enquiries

I've always wondered whether the Virginia creeper so prevalent in the Pyrmont of the last part of the 20th century had been planted by the same shade craving person.

Starting a new canvas of the 'Terminus Hotel',

2017 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm

Available

Enquiries

I'm glad that I took the opportunity to capture this moment. This is possibly the last time the Terminus will be in anything resembling its original state or composed of its original materials.

Starting a new canvas of the 'Terminus Hotel',

2017 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm

Available

Enquiries

It won't be very long before the Terminus is boarded up to undergo the sort of serious structural alterations that will be required for its reinvention.

Starting a new canvas of the 'Terminus Hotel',

2017 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm

Available

Enquiries

It's unknown at this stage whether the famous ghost sign on Harris St will be retained, as it is painted on the original brickwork.

Starting a new canvas of the 'Terminus Hotel'

2017 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm

Available 

Enquiries 

For more information about the Terminus and Pyrmont Point Hotels

see My Pyrmont page in this blog

Related posts
Looking over the overlooked-Urban decay in Pyrmont
To the Point
Wrong side of the tracks - Darling Island Bond and Free

Pretty vacant  

A Tale of two hotels - the Terminus and the Point

The bad twin of Pyrmont Street

Pyrmont Paintings past and present 
Paintings of Pink pubs - Painting the Jolly Frog Part 2