The design of the Sydney Harbour Bridge specified four train lines – two on the western side, still in use today, and two on the eastern. Both pairs of tracks were built, together with their associated tunnels at the southern end running to the Wynyard underground station. Similarly, North Sydney Station was built with two platforms to handle the four tracks.
At the last minute it was decided that only the western tracks would be for trains. Trams would use the eastern ones. Fortunately, the gauges of trams and trains in NSW were identical and so the switch was relatively straightforward.
The only changes necessary were to raise the eastern tracks to the level of the platform at Milsons Point station, so that tram passengers could safely board, and to run the tracks onto the road at North Sydney, linking with the existing tram network, rather than continuing to North Sydney station. However, the two extra tunnels leading to the north out of that station had already been commenced. These were now not needed but they can still be seen today.
So, where was this planned but abandoned railway intended to have run to? Readers may be surprised to know it was Warringah.
On 1 February 1932, just a few weeks before the opening of the bridge, Dr. John Bradfield addressed a public meeting at Collaroy to announce that there had been a change of plan. Instead of a railway, Warringah was to get a motorway, with a busway down the middle.
It would cross from Beauty Point to Seaforth on a high-level bridge and then essentially follow the current route of Wakehurst Parkway to Mona Vale. As we know, this plan also failed to materialise, although land was resumed at Seaforth in anticipation.
