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Bomaderry Railway Station
In 1887 the southern terminus of the South Coast Line reached "North Kiama Station" (now known as Bombo). The NSW Government Railways intended for the line to eventually connect with the Sydney network in the north, and Jervis Bay or even Eden in the south. In 1886, the firm of W. Monie & J. Angus was awarded the contract to begin the extension south. A major milestone in the work was completion of the 342-metre truss bridge over the Shoalhaven River in 1881. Bomaderry Station opened as the new – and, it was assumed, temporary – southern terminus two years later. But while the connection to Sydney opened in October 1888, progress towards Jervis Bay stalled. The bridge was converted for road traffic instead. Now confirmed as a permanent railhead, and with Nowra on the Shoalhaven's opposite bank expanding, Bomaderry Station's significance grew. A large goods yard was added, along with a 60-foot turntable (1914), dairy siding (1921), weighbridge (1921), railway crew barracks (1924), Vacuum Oil Company siding (1929) and crane (1934). The goods yard and goods shed were further extended in 1944. The original platform building was destroyed in a fire in 1945 and rebuilt in the inter-war functionalist style the following year. According to the Heritage Branch, "The building is divided into three bays, each recessed behind the other to create a "stepped" effect. There are two semi-circular ended lobbies flanking the projecting parcels office on the west elevation. The circular lobby has been achieved by the use of projecting square masonry ribs (rather than callow bricks) to support a flat, concrete slab roof over the lobbies. ... one of the finest representative examples of an inter-war functionalist style railway building in the state. ... particularly noteworthy for its use of curved elements." Bomaderry was also noteworthy as the terminus for the last section of the NSW metropolitan rail network to use the electric staff signalling system. The system, installed in 1908, was replaced with automated signalling in 2014.