
“Wow, now this is what I love about old buildings. Can you see how they have changed it from an old train workshop into this amazing facade for future offices and apartments?”
The Midland Railway Workshops have played a big part in more than one generation of the Brady family story, but the whole area was nothing like this in its day. A network of train tracks and parked up locomotives has been replaced by a world class hospital, shopping precinct and soon to be yuppie living.
Just thinking about transport, there would have been very few cars, so no bay-after-bay of car parks. Most of the workers walked or rode bicycles to get to work. Industrial sounds of fabrication and repairs, have made way for bright advertising and fancy new shops. As the main hub for all work on the Midland to Perth line of diesel trains, the ground, buildings and almost everything around had a generous layer of diesel dust. Colour wouldn’t come to Midland for many years yet, life seemed almost black and white.
Hundreds of men would have walked in, worked hard all day and walked out again. Day-in, day-out.
The sound of a real train engine building up momentum would have mesmerised man and boy alike. This is a stark contrast to today’s quiet electric shuttles.
Have we lost the magic? Are facades all we have left to remind us of a simpler time?
“Quick, the auction is about to start hold up your number, we don’t want to miss this opportunity to save the past!”

Image submitted by Norma Lawson – 2015 – William Frederick Brady 2nd from left.
Source:
Google Maps: Midland Railway Workshops
Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority
Wikipedia: Midland Railway Workshops
HAA004 Writing Family History
Week 4 E-tivity – Googling Places Past
Length – 250 words
University of Tasmania
Darryl Brady
Student ID: 425182
Hi there. Is there a list of names of the men in the photo we are trying to find photos of a mr Thomas Miller that worked in the midland wok shops around 1953 onwards. He passed away on 8/5/17 band he has no photos of himself only one taken before he passed he had no family he was a child immigrant and a bindoon boy victim. Hope you can help he had a rail drop on his leg years later and had to voluntarily retire.
He joined a mobile gang after