As at 16 March 2016, The Steam Tram Rolling Stock Collection is of state heritage significance as a remnant of the state government-provided steam tram network in NSW which was in operation between the 1880s and the 1930s. This street-based public transport, which supplemented the rail networks in Sydney and Newcastle, broadened social outlets and employment opportunities, especially for lower income people. The collection, comprising two carriages and one locomotive, has state technical significance as a rare showcase of steam tram rolling stock technology, both imported and locally manufactured. Two of the examples of rolling stock were adaptively designed and manufactured in NSW and thus demonstrate the design and craft expertise of their Sydney manufacturers. The rolling stock demonstrates construction methods of joinery and fitting from an early stage in the development of public street transport. They form the only operational collection of steam tram engine and carriages in NSW and are among the last remaining representatives of this type of rolling stock in NSW. The collection is of state social significance to the many enthusiasts of historic train technology and historic steam technology. Riding on these steam tram trailer cars provides a live sensory experience today of what street transport was like for people of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Valley Heights Steam Tram Rolling Stock was listed on the
New South Wales State Heritage Register on 21 October 2016 having satisfied the following criteria.
The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. This collection of steam tram rolling stock is of state historical significance as a remnant of the steam tram network in operation in NSW between the 1880s and the 1930s. In Sydney, steam trams were the first form of transport to impact to the greatest extent on freeing working-class people from the confines of their immediate community for the purposes of employment, recreation and socialising. Because tram timetables were well designed to connect with train stations and rail services, the steam tram service gave greater scope for distance travel within better time frames.
The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. The collection is of state aesthetic and technical significance as a rare showcase of steam tram rolling stock technology, both imported and locally manufactured. Trailer cars 72 and 93B were designed and manufactured in NSW in the late nineteenth century and demonstrate the design and craft expertise of their Sydney manufacturers, Hudson Brothers and Henry Vale & Co. Successive local modifications demonstrated by these cars enhanced the efficiency and safety aspect of the local product over the imported originals (e.g. safety gate mechanism 1906 and redesigned controls from two to one person operation, 1906.
The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. This collection of three examples of steam tram rolling stock held at Valley Heights is of state social significance to the many enthusiasts of historic train technology and historic steam technology from all over NSW. A dedicated group of volunteers are engaged in the restoration and maintenance of this collection and regularly make it accessible to the public.
The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. The Valley Heights Steam Tram Rolling Stock is of research significance at a state level because it demonstrates construction methods of joinery and fitting from an early stage in the development of public street transport. The steam-generated vacuum brake system in the 93B carriage, which is in working condition, was a 19th-century development which was associated almost exclusively with steam trams in government service.
The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. This moveable heritage collection of three examples of steam tram rolling stock held at Valley Heights is of state significance for its rarity as the only collection of operational steam tram carriages in NSW. These three carriages are among the last remaining representatives of this type of carriage manufacture in NSW. The 193B carriage is one of only three remaining in NSW in salvable condition. The Eames Vacuum brake system is the only surviving example of this type of system in Australia.
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales. This collection of steam tram rolling stock is of state significance as representative examples of early steam tram transportation in NSW. The 72 and 93B are typical examples of trailer cars which once formed the mainstay of Sydney's steam tram system, and the 103A locomotive is now the only operational one in Australia of the group of similar engines that powered the steam tram network. == Photo gallery ==