Former Australian manufacturer of railway rolling stock
Commonwealth Engineering (often shortened to Com-Eng, later Comeng [/ˈkɒmɛndʒ/KOM-enj]) was an Australian engineering company that designed and built railway locomotives, rolling stock and trams.
History
Smith and Waddington, the predecessor to Commonwealth Engineering, was founded in 1921, in the Sydney suburb of Camperdown, as a body builder for custom motor cars. It went bankrupt in the Depression, and was reformed as Waddingtons Body Works and the main factory was moved to Granville, after a fire in the main workshop. The Government of Australia took control of the company during World War II as the company was in serious financial difficulties but had many government orders in its books. The government purchased a controlling stake in the company in 1946 and changed the name to Commonwealth Engineering.[1]
The Granville factory closed in 1989 and has been demolished. The site, which was situated between the Great Western Highway and Main Western railway line west of Duck River, has been replaced with new developments including high-rise housing and light industries.
^ a bDunn, John (2006). Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 1: 1921-1955. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 1877058424.
^Dunn, John (2008). Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 2: 1955-1966. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 978-1877058738.
^Dunn, John (2010). Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 3: 1967-1977. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 9781877058905.
^Dunn, John (2013). Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 4: 1977-1985. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 9781922013514.
^Dunn, John (2013). Comeng: A History of Commonwealth Engineering. Vol. 5: 1985–1990. Kenthurst, New South Wales: Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 978-1-922013-52-1.
^"John Dunn Obituary". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
^The Indian Railcar Contract Adam, Eric Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, December 1989 pp285-291
External links
Media related to Commonwealth Engineering at Wikimedia Commons