Disembarked railway passengers were required to either walk or be conveyed to the city centre by horse drawn and in later years steam and electrically powered trams which ran along George, Pitt or Elizabeth Streets.

[4] Mounting public concern over the increasing congestion of street traffic and the need for a rail link into the city eventually forced the Government to appoint a Royal Commission in March 1890.

The Royal Commission recommended the adoption of a proposal by the Chief Railway Commissioner, Mr Eddy, for a line along the eastern city edge to a terminus in Hyde Park.

Public opinion was, however, against the loss of a large portion of Hyde Park for railway purposes and eventually the Royal Commission recommended the adoption of an alternative proposal from Mr Eddy which would see a central city station at King Street and branch lines splitting east and north.

[4] No further action was taken until April 1896 when the Premier was forced "in the interest of the safety and comfort of the travelling public' to appoint a second Royal Commission to investigate and report on a suitable route.

Inquiries and reports continued over the next few years and, while the Government did authorise the construction of Central station in 1900, agreement on a city railway service could not be achieved.

[4] In 1912 the Government commissioned the engineering firm of Mott and Hay who recommended an amended variation of the 1908 scheme with lines to the eastern and western suburbs.

Bradfield's farsighted plan proposed an electric underground city railway loop, viaduct crossings and tunnels out of the city, a Harbour Bridge Crossing and connections from the city network to two lines progressing north to Hornsby and to Narrabeen/Pittwater, a loop line through stations at King Cross, Paddington, Edgecliff, Bondi, Waverley, Coogee, Waterloo to Erskineville, a western loop to a Balmain station via a bridge from Millers Point to Darling Street, through stations at Rozelle, Leichhardt and Annandale to Stanmore and a branch line through Drummoyne, Five Dock, Gladesville to Ryde – all costing around £18,000,000 excluding land resumptions.

[4] Work on the city railway system commenced in 1916 with the firm of Norton, Griffiths and Co beginning excavations tunnelling and foundation building for the link between Central station to Macquarie Street.

Funding problems resulting from World War 1 austerity measures and political indecision forced construction to cease in June 1918 with the completion of the Macquarie Street Bridge and tunnels through the Botanical Garden.

The imagination of the public was captivated as crowds gathered daily to view construction of the tunnels and stations beneath the Hyde Park grounds.

[4] Costing £2,007,943, Museum station was built as a single main tunnel arch in concrete spanning both east and west platforms and two centre tracks.

[4] The interiors of Museum and especially St James station were well detailed, with extensive use of wall tiling and metal stair railings in the style of the period.

The railway attracted tens of thousands of people during the first few weeks of its operations, "swarms of interested mothers and fathers, together with their children, thronged the platforms and stairways examining Dr Bradfield's super Christmas box to the public".

[4][7] Media praise for the opening of the two city stations was offset by reporting which focused on the fact that only a small portion of Bradfield's plan was in place.

[4] After 1956 and the opening of Circular Quay station, St James and Museum suffered from reduced passenger usage and peak hours are now only a shadow of those in earlier years.

This entrance sits at the foot of the District Court of New South Wales' Downing Centre, formerly the site of the Mark Foy's department store.

It played an important part in the development of the CBD in Sydney as evidenced by direct pedestrian subway connections to adjacent department stores such as Mark Foys.

The combination of the entry portals, pedestrian subways and decorative interiors including light fittings, tiling and signage contribute to the aesthetic significance of the place and evoke a former era of railway travel.

Social value embraces the qualities for which a place has become a focus of political, national, regional, local or other cultural sentiment to a majority or minority group.