Historic Photo of the Day: 2024-12-10

Today's historic photo of the day: A view of the northernmost operational platform during early stages of construction of the Hyatt Hotel over Adelaide Railway Station, April 9 1985. Adelaide station is the main passenger railway station serving the city of Adelaide, located on North Terrace the northern edge of the central business district. Opened in 1856 as the Adelaide terminus of the line to Port Adelaide, the station is an all broad gauge multi-track stub-end terminal station serving suburban and formerly long distance trains. The grand station building, reminiscent of New York Grand Central station was built in the 1920s. In the 1980s, the tracks and platform were completely re-built under a project known as the Adelaide Station and Environs Redevelopment (ASER) project to enable a hotel and later convention centre to be built on the airspace above. The photo here was taken during the early stages of those works after the higher number platforms had been closed for construction of foundations, but whilst the lower numbered platforms were still operational. Today, Adelaide station still serves suburban trains, some of which are now electrified at 25kV AC. All platforms are now obscured beneath the buildings that now occupy this site. The grand station building is still in place, and whilst the bulk of the building now houses a casino, the grand foyer is still used by rail passengers although the platforms themselves are just utilitarian.