When I travelled to Brisbane the train left from Platform 1, easy from Pitt St, but the local trains are at the other (S-E) end of the station, down stairs as I recall. There's a couple of hostels on Pitt St, convenient for early trains. Location is a bit far from the waterfronts but keep going north and you'll get there.

Many years go, I used to travel insterstate by train, once a year at Christmas time, with a child in tow. We had a four hour stopover at Central, so would walk the 10-15 mins across to Darling Harbour for a cheap meal in Chinatown, then walk back wih plenty of time to change into our pyjamas for our connecting overnight train trip. The facilities at Central for travellers are excellent, with a bathroom, travel lounge, standard included service of luggage transfer from one train to the connection service for interstate or cross-state train travellers (plus there is additional luggage storage for a fee, if required) - all near the interstate train platform, so great for parents travelling with young kids. In addition, at the other end of the Grand Concourse there is a bar, a massive network of platforms for suburban train connections inside (including one to the airport) and suburban bus connections outside - all from the one, convenient place.

On a recent trip to Sydney, with my now adult offspring, we took advantage of the paid luggage storage so that we could have lunch during the couple of hours we had to spare before our flight out. It was a very convenient but rather expensive option at a cost of $39, considering we only needed enough time to go out for lunch, but I guess that's what you have to pay for 2 suitcases and 2 smaller items - and that actually entitled us to about 4 hours of storage, even though we only needed it for 2 of those hours. Nevertheless, it was worth it for the convenience and opportunity to enjoy a couple of hours out in the city instead of being restricted to eateries at the railway station or airport.

The first rail terminal dates back to 1855 although the current station was opened in 1906. The clock tower was added in 1921. It is a big and impressive station and works well. The Sydney net-work is efficient and clean and the station easy to navigate.