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Central Australia Railway

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Central Australia Railway
Route and principal completion dates
Overview
StatusPartially closed and removed, remaining section used by the Pichi Richi Railway
Termini
Service
System
Operator(s)South Australian Railways
Commonwealth Railways
(became Australian National)
History
OpenedPort Augusta–Marree: 1884
Marree–Oodnadatta: 1891
Oodnadatta–Alice Springs: 1929
Closed1981
Technical
Line length1,241 km (771 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in);
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge from 1957 to 2016 (new route Port Augusta–Marree)
Route map

1241 km
Alice Springs (old)
Alice Springs abattoir
Alice Springs (current)
1237 km
Heavitree
Macdonnell triangle
1231 km
Macdonnell
1224 km
Mount Ertwa
end preserved track
Ewaninga triangle
1208 km
Ewaninga
1192 km
Pohill Siding
1175 km
Ooraminna
1163 km
Deep Well
Deep Well siding
1141 km
Rodinga
Rodinga stock yards
1125 km
Maryvale
1099 km
Bundooma
1076 km
Engoordina
1060 km
Mount Squire
1044 km
Rumbalara
Rumbalara stock yards
1028 km
Musgrave
1014 km
Finke (Aputula)
1012 km
Finke stock yards
997 km
Crown Point
981 km
Duffield
965 km
Wall Creek
962 km
Northern Territory
South Australia
border
945 km
Abminga
Abminga sidings
929 km
Bloods Creek
908 km
Ilbunga
895 km
Mount Emery
876 km
Pedirka
859 km
Mt Rebecca
841 km
Mt Sarah (Stevenson Creek)
825 km
Macumba
811 km
Alberga
804 km
Wire Creek
Wire Creek siding
792 km
Todmorten
Oodnadatta sidings
770 km
Oodnadatta
744 km
North Creek
Mount Dutton stock yards
729 km
Mount Dutton
Mount Dutton triangle
714 km
Algebuckina
698 km
Peake Creek
Warrina stock yards
682 km
Warrina
Edwards Creek triangle
666 km
Edwards Creek
Edwards Creek siding
650 km
Duff Creek (Weedina)
632 km
Boorthana
616 km
Box Creek
600 km
Anna Creek
588 km
Douglas
574 km
William Creek
William Creek triangle
554 km
Irrappatana
537 km
Strangways Springs
525 km
Beresford
501 km
Coward Springs
Coward Springs triangle
489 km
Margaret
473 km
Curdimurka (Stuarts Creek)
453 km
Lake Eyre
440 km
Bopeechee
425 km
Alberrie Creek
407 km
Wangianna
387 km
Callanna
Marree gauge interchange
Marree
356 km
372 km
Marree
359 km
Mundownda
Witchelina
339 km
Wirrawilla
Farina triangles
Farina
303 km
320 km
Farina
Lyndhurst
278 km
294 km
Lyndhurst
Old Mine loop
Telford
271 km
Telford
end of Leigh Creek line tracks
Leigh Creek Coalfield
Copley
245 km
262 km
Copley
Leigh Creek
240 km
Puttapa
231 km
247 km
Puttapa
Beltana
232 km
Beltana
212 km
Nilpena (Black Fellows Creek)
Parachilna
175 km
195 km
Parachilna
Commodore
163 km
183 km
Commodore
Brachina
153 km
173 km
Brachina
163 km
Edeowie
Moralana
127 km
137 km
Mern Merna
Cotabena
107 km
124 km
Hookina (Wonoka)
Neuroodla
89 km
105 km
Hawker
89.6 km
Wilson
73.0 km
Gordon
57.5 km
Willochra
Wilkatana
48 km
39.8 km
Quorn
Quorn Pichi Richi Depot
32.4 km
Summit siding
23.6 km
Woolshed Flat
18.2 km
Saltia siding
start dormant tracks
Bungala Solar Plant
Goods yard
Northern Power Station
Port Augusta Racecourse
0 km
Port Augusta
Pichi Richi Depot

The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and dismantled in 1980, was a 1241 km (771 mi) 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta and Alice Springs.[1] A standard gauge line duplicated the southern section from Port Augusta to Maree in 1957 on a new nearby alignment. The entire Central Australia Railway was superseded in 1980 after the standard gauge Tarcoola–Alice Springs Railway was opened, using a new route up to 200 km to the west. A small southern section of the original line between Port Augusta and Quorn has been preserved and is operated as the Pichi Richi Railway.

Naming

[edit]

Whilst officially the Central Australia Railway, it has been known by a number of names.

Initially the northern end point had not be determined. Government acts and the press used a number of terms prior to construction including

  • The Port Augusta Railway
  • The Northern Railway
  • The Port Augusta to (far) North Railway

After construction, railway was referred to as Port Augusta-Oodnadatta railway[2] before the line was extended towards Alice Springs and it was also referred to as the North-South Railway in possible anticipation to extend the line to Darwin.[3]

It has also often been referred to as the Great Northern Railway[4] in the 1890s and into the twentieth century. The most southern part of the line between Port Augusta and Quorn is now referred to as the Pichi Richi Tourist Railway.

Another colloquial name used was The Ghan, after the passenger train that utilised the line. It is suggested that The 'Ghan name is in recognition of the Afghan Cameleers that plied their trade in the area well before the railway; however, see The Ghan (Etymology) for alternatives. This colloquial term for the railway appears to have been widely in use from at least the early 1930s;[5] it may have been in use prior to this. The new Adelaide–Darwin railway line initially used The New Ghan as a trading name. It has now reverted to The Ghan, relegating the original line name colloquially as The Old Ghan.[6][page needed][7][page needed]

History

[edit]
Timeline of the
Great Northern Railway / Central Australia Railway
[8]: 15–20 [9]
Year Date Event
1853 First recorded wagon (hauled by bullocks) through Pichi Richi Pass.
1854 Town of Port Augusta surveyed.
1854 18 May Goolwa to Port Elliot horse-drawn railway opens.
1854 South Australian Government begins program of railway construction.
1856 19 April Adelaide to Port Adelaide line opens.
1857 5 October Adelaide–Gawler line opens.
1857 Surveyor-General Goyder inspects construction of the road through Pichi Richi Pass.
1862 Act of Parliament passed, offering land grants in exchange for constructing a railway north from Port Augusta. Goyder advises that a railway through Pichi Richi Pass is "not practical".
1863 Control of the Northern Territory is handed from New South Wales to South Australia.
1864 SA Parliament passes the Waste Lands Act granting licences to squatters on northern pastoral lands.
1865–1866 Severe drought in SA.
1865 Goyder defines the boundary of arable land in SA.
1869 Government passes the Strangways Act allowing credit to purchase farming land in the north of SA.
1870 29 August Adelaide and Burra Railway opens.
1870 Government offer of land in return for constructing northern railway.
1870 Survey for Port Augusta and Northern Railway looking at alternative routes. Completion of Overland Telegraph Line to Darwin.
1873–1877 Boom agricultural years in Mid-North.
1877 Construction starts on the Port Augusta and Government Gums Railway. Equipment stockpiled at Port Augusta.
1878 18 January Official "turning of the first sod" of the Port Augusta and Government Gums Railway at Port Augusta by state governor Sir William Jervois.
1879 19 June First shipment by rail from Quorn to Port Augusta.
1879 15 December Line opens from Port Augusta to Quorn.
1880 28 June Line opens from Quorn to Hawker.
1880–1882 Drought conditions cause crop failures in Willochra area.
1881 1 July Railway opens to Beltana.
1882 18 April First train arrives at Farina (previously named Government Gums).
1882 17 May Official opening of the Port Augusta and Government Gums Railway and Terowie to Quorn Railway at Quorn by Governor Sir William Jervois.
1884 13 January Hawker Railway Station burns down. Replaced by current stone station building.
1884 7 February Railway extended to Hergott Springs by contractors Moorhouse, Robinson and Jesser.
1885–1891 Deviations constructed in Pichi Richi Pass to ease curves.
1887 Public meeting in Adelaide called for bridges at Strangways Springs and Peake Creek to be purchased locally rather than cheaper English bridges. Cost difference was £11,944 v. £8145.
1888 1 February Railway extended to Coward Springs by Engineer-in-Chief South Australia, using unemployment relief labour.
1889 1 June Railway extended to William Creek. More sharp curves in Pichi Richi Pass eased by deviations.
1889 1 November Railway extended to Warrina by SA Government unemployment relief scheme.
1891 7 January Railway extended to Oodnadatta by SA Government unemployment relief scheme.
1891–1892 Severe recession in Australia.
1892 17 December Y class loco no. 141 is allocated to the Northern Division of the SAR. (It was later modified to a Yx class and is now at the Pichi Richi Railway.)
1904 2 May Tenders called for extension of railway from Oodnadatta to Pine Creek, Northern Territory. The contract was not signed: the federal government blocked the employment of Chinese labourers.
1911 1 January South Australia hands the Northern Territory to the Commonwealth Government, including the Great Northern Railway. The South Australian Railways continues to provide trains and staff for the time being, with the Commonwealth bearing losses and liabilities.
1911 January Loco Y141 derails near Brachina due to washout, killing the driver.
1912 14 September Construction starts on the Trans-Australian Railway from Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie.
1914 28 March Boiler of Y class locomotive explodes at Cudmore Hill near Port Augusta.
1914 28 July World War I starts.
1917 17 October Opening of the Trans-Australian Railway.
1918 Hergott Springs renamed as Marree.
1918 11 November End of World War I. Global influenza pandemic follows.
1921 4 June SAR rolling stock, including the "Coffee Pot", sold to Commonwealth Railways.
1923 Sleeping car introduced between Terowie and Marree. An SAR employee at Quorn jokingly names the train to Oodnadatta The Afghan Express, which is eventually shortened to The Ghan.
1925 June Delivery of the first two NM class steam engines (NM15 and 16).
1926 1 January Commonwealth Railways takes over operation of the Great Northern Railway and names it the Central Australia Railway.
1926 Alternative routes considered for extension to Stuart.
1926 Algebuckina bridge strengthened for NM class locos. Deviation used, but soon damaged twice by flood waters.
1927 21 January 34-kilometre (21-mile) line built from Oodnadatta to Wire Creek, which becomes construction base for the 439-kilometre (273-mile) extension to Stuart.
1928 23 December Opening of line to Rumbalara railhead.
1929 2 August Line completed to Stuart. First passenger train hauled into Stuart by NM35 on 6 August.
1929 Commonwealth Railways changes name of Stuart railway station to Alice Springs.
1930 17 January Finke River bridge destroyed by floodwaters. Traffic suspended for seven weeks until March 1930. Deviation built downstream.
1930 Completion of mechanical engineering workshops at Port Augusta.
1937 26 July Standard-gauge line between Port Pirie and Port Augusta completed.
1938 Major flooding north of Oodnadatta. Railway closed for several weeks.
1939 3 September World War II commences.
1942 New loco shed and Kennicott water treatment plant constructed at Quorn. New sheds also built at Marree, Oodnadatta and Alice Springs.
1943 19 February Head-on collision at Strangways between two freight trains. No fatalities.
1944 11 May Crash near Copley. Freight train hauled by NM25 runs into the rear of troop train; four soldiers killed.
1944 Leigh Creek coal trains start. Coal goes via Quorn (narrow gauge) then Terowie to Adelaide (broad gauge).
1945 September World War II ends.
1946 Major flooding. Food dropped by air to stranded Ghan.
1949 Ghan sleeping car service suspended due to coal shortages.
1949 15 December Commonwealth Railways commissioner recommends construction of a standard-gauge railway from Stirling North to Leigh Creek.
1951 Diesel-electric locos ordered (NSU class).
1951 27 August Construction commences on Brachina to Leigh Creek standard-gauge line.
1952 4 July Royal Commission report recommends Brachina to Stirling North route west of the Flinders Ranges for new standard-gauge line, bypassing Quorn and Hawker.
1954 Playford power station opens at Port Augusta. Narrow-gauge coal trains operate through Pichi Richi Pass.
1954 June Arrival of first NSU diesel locos.
1954 24 June First diesel-hauled Ghan departs Quorn hauled by NSU 51 and 52.
1954 November Arrival of first NDH "Gloucester" railcars to operate Port Augusta to Marree passenger service.
1955 14 February Destruction of Hookina Bridge by floodwaters.
1955 28 May Standard-gauge line to Brachina completed. "Piggyback" trains commence on 4 June for coal and cattle trains (until 25 June 1956).
1956 17 May Standard-gauge line completed to Leigh Creek coalfield.
1956 10 July New schedule has southbound Ghan passengers transferring to standard-gauge railcars at Brachina.
1956 13 August Last narrow-gauge Ghan through Pichi Richi Pass. Passengers travel by standard-gauge train from Port Augusta to Copley. Copley becomes transfer station for freight and passengers.
1956 4 October Narrow-gauge line Hawker to Copley closed. Rails then lifted.
1957 29 June Standard-gauge railhead reaches Marree.
1957 27 July Official opening of the standard-gauge line to Marree.
1958 26 March Narrow-gauge line between Copley and Marree closed. Rails then lifted. Marree becomes transfer station between standard-gauge and narrow-gauge lines.
1961 Pedirka sandhills deviation completed.
1965 24 April First NT class diesel-electric locos in service. All were later transferred to Darwin; they returned south after the North Australia Railway closed in 1976.
1967 February & March Severe flooding. Low-level Finke River bridge destroyed.
1968 Saltia bridge in Pichi Richi Pass hit by over-height truck.
1969 29 January Last passenger service to Quorn from Terowie.
1970 8 January Last regular freight service between Quorn and Hawker.
1970 November Survey of Tarcoola to Alice Springs line commences.
1971 28 April NJ diesel-electric locomotives introduced. NJ1 named Ben Chifley.
1972 17 September Stirling North to Hawker line officially closed.
1973 July Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society formed.
1974 Second low-level bridge at Finke destroyed by floodwaters.
1974 20 July First steam-hauled train on the new Pichi Richi Railway.
1975 12 April Construction commences on Tarcoola to Alice Springs line. First sod turned by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam at Tarcoola.
1975 1 July Commonwealth Railways becomes Australian National Railways (ANR), a new federal government agency.
1978 1 April ANR takes over the South Australian Railways and Tasmanian Government Railways.
1980 9 October Tarcoola–Alice Springs line opens; first standard-gauge train northward.
1980 25 November Last narrow-gauge Ghan from Marree to Alice Springs. Locos NJ3 and NJ6.
1980 11 December First standard-gauge Ghan to Alice Springs.
1980 December Last revenue train to Oodnadatta.
1981 17 October Last train on Peterborough–Quorn line, by Steamtown Peterborough.
1982 Rails between Alice Springs and Marree removed.
1987 10 June Standard-gauge line from Leigh Creek to Marree closed and rails lifted.
1995 4 June Standard-gauge line between Adelaide and Melbourne opens.
2001 17 July Construction commences on Alice Springs–Darwin line.
2001 September Pichi Richi Railway extended to Port Augusta.
2003 18 September Standard-gauge line reaches Darwin.
2004 3 February First standard-gauge Ghan arrives at Darwin from Adelaide.
2007 19 January Wirreanda Creek bridge at Gordon destroyed by floodwaters.
2013 Abminga railway station area listed in state heritage list.
2016 27 April Last coal train from Leigh Creek to Port Augusta.
2016 May Port Augusta power stations closed and demolished. Port Augusta to Leigh Creek railway mothballed.

Proposal

[edit]

From the proposal for a line heading north of Port Augusta to turning the first sod in 1878 took 18 years[10] and the process was referred to by the press as one "which has so far failed to extend itself out of the region of nebulous ideas.".[11]

The key issues reported at the time were:

Cost benefits

[edit]

Significant debate about the cost delayed and eventually altered the final design. The costs were significant for the South Australian colony and there was rigorous debate over that period. Mineral extraction was touted as the key benefit,[12] with farming and passenger traffic deemed by many as being uneconomic alone although others suggest the key products were 'wool, station stores, and copper' in that order.[13] The cost per kilometre was set in the Acts which precluded more expensive options.[citation needed]

Gauge and minimum speed

[edit]

There was fierce debate about the gauge of the line, the maximum weight to be carried and maximum speed as all three dictated the cost.

Route and end point

[edit]

A multitude of routes and end-points were nominated with over a dozen potential routes explored, most of these to the north. End points that were discussed included Government Gums (Farina, South Australia (320 km), Yudnamutana, South Australia (390 km) and Beltana (232 km). The 1867 Act stated that the line would be 200 miles from Port Augusta. Newspapers of the time did mention extending the line to Port Darwin although this was not gazetted in Parliament.

State versus corporate

[edit]

The State run South Australian Railways wanted to build the line and there were others who thought 'capitalists', predominantly from the United Kingdom, would offer better value for money. South Australian Railways developed a trial called the Northern Extension Railway to Burra to test the engineering capabilities.[14]

Legislation

[edit]

The following Acts were passed by the parliament of South Australia and, after federation in 1901, the Australian parliament.

Parliamentary Acts associated with the Central Australia Railway
Year Act Juris-diction Key provisions
1862 The Northern Railway Act 1862[15] SA
  • Carriage of passengers, merchandise and produce between Port Augusta and some point (not less than 100 miles) northwards.
  • First 20 miles to be completed in two years, remainder in five years.
  • Speed was to be a "rate of not less than eight miles an hour for the whole distance travelled, including stoppages (luggage trains excepted)".
  • Propulsion was to be either horse or steam locomotive.
  • Two passenger and two goods trains were to be provided at least twice a week, one way, for the entire length.
  • All military, police, and other forces, when proceeding on duty, and all public mails and public stores, or stores belonging to a public department, were to be conveyed in the ordinary trains free of charge.
  • in the event of war or civil commotion, the whole of the resources of the railway were to be placed at the disposal of the government at the charges actually incurred.
  • The company would be entitled to a grant of the land traversed by the railway for a breadth of two chains, and to grants of contiguous blocks of land up to 20 square miles at the rate of two square miles for every mile traversed by the railway.
1864 The Port Augusta and Northern Railway Act 1864[16] SA
  • Similar to the 1862 Act.
  • Purpose was "to encourage the formation of railways northwards from Port Augusta, or Port Paterson, with a branch line between those ports".
  • Land grant increased to four square kilometres with some limitations.
1864 The Sale of Railways Act 1864[17] SA
  • Authorised SA Government to sell any railway or tram line; reflected lack of commitment to financing railways in South Australia.
1867 The Port Augusta and Northern Railway Act 1867[18] SA
  • Length of railway was extended to at least 200 miles from Port Augusta; costs "shall not exceed 3750 pounds for every mile"; land grants removed.
  • Gauge "shall be five feet and three inches".
  • Horse drawn or steam engine propulsion were still alternatives.
1876 Port Augusta and Government Gums Railway Act 1876[19] SA
1883 Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway Act 1883[20] SA
  • Specified a narrow gauge of "three feet six inches" for the Palmerston and Pine Creek railway (i.e., what was to become the northern part of the Central Australia Railway).
1902 The Transcontinental Railway Act 1902[21] SA
1907 The Northern Territory Surrender Act 1907[22] SA
1910 Northern Territory Acceptance Act 1910[23] Cth
  • Federal legislation to confirm the 1907 Act. Specified a line from Port Darwin to be constructed to meet the Port Augusta (Central Australia) Railway at the South Australian border and be referred to as The Transcontinental Railway. No start or completion date included.
1949 Railway Standardization (South Australia) Agreement Act 1949[24] Cth
  • Authorised a Commonwealth–SA agreement for railway gauges in SA to be converted to standard gauge on grounds of defence and development of Australia, facilitation of interstate trade and commerce, and to secure maximum efficiency and economy in railway operation – financed 70 per cent Commonwealth, 30 per cent SA. In a supplementary provision in the Schedule, the Commonwealth undertook to standardise the Central Australia Railway and North Australia Railway and to build a new standard-gauge railway to close the Alice Springs–Birdum gap.
1950 Brachina to Leigh Creek North Coalfield Railway Act 1950[25] Cth
  • Authorised an agreement between the Commonwealth and SA for the federal government to construct a railway "as soon as practicable" from Brachina to Leigh Creek North Coalfield; acknowledged that the limited capacity of the narrow-gauge line to transport coal to the impending Port Augusta power station necessitated a standard-gauge railway. (The Act provided only for 60 per cent of the required distance from the coalfield to Port Augusta; objection by the South Australian Government to the alignment of routes further south led to a royal commission being appointed.)
1950 Port Augusta to Alice Springs Railway (Alteration of Route) Act 1950[26] Cth
  • Appointed a royal commission to investigate which of two routes were more suitable for the construction of a standard gauge railway between Stirling North and Brachina. Specific factors ordered to be taken into account included the proposed conversion to standard gauge of the railway from Port Augusta to Alice Springs; the cost of construction, maintenance and comparative economics of the respective routes; the probability of increased tonnage of coal hauled from Leigh Creek and the consequential financial results on the cost of constructing and operating railways on the respective routes. Consideration of "any break-of-gauge station required at the northern terminus of the standard gauge line" was explicitly excluded.
1952 Stirling North to Brachina Railway Act 1952[27] Cth
  • Authorised the Commonwealth Railways to construct a standard-gauge railway from Stirling North to Brachina. Specified that the total cost of this railway and the previously authorised Brachina to Leigh Creek North Coalfield railway, including the cost of rolling stock, was not to exceed 11  million pounds. (This Act provided for the remaining 40 per cent of the distance from the coalfield to Port Augusta, the SA Government having accepted the findings of the royal commission, causing a delay of 24 months.)
1954 Leigh Creek North Coalfield to Marree (Conversion to Standard Gauge) Act 1954[28] Cth
  • Authorised the standard-gauge line to be extended to Marree, subject to agreement by the SA Government. Specified that the total cost of this railway and the two railways previously authorised was not to exceed 12.241 million pounds.
1974 Tarcoola to Alice Springs Railway Act 1974[29] Cth
1997 Alice Springs to Darwin Railway Act 1997[30] SA
  • Committed South Australian Government funding up to $125 million (plus $25 million if necessary for contingencies, and $26.5 million to underwrite any loans) to the Alice Springs to Darwin railway. Included the South Australian and Northern Territory governments' acknowledgement of various mutual obligations.

Construction

[edit]

Design, construction, as well as a hiatus, occurred in four periods distinct under both South Australian and Federal Australian Governments over a fifty-year period.

Initial design and route

[edit]
Remaining trackbed of the Central Australia Railway near Lake Eyre South after the rails were lifted in 1981. Much of the 1241 km (771 mi) railway was laid on bare earth without ballast.

Around 1871, there was general agreement between Robert C. Patterson, Assistant Engineer (report writer), H. C. Mais, (Engineer-in-Chief) and Surveyor General. George Goyder (creator of the Goyder line of rainfall) about the length and route of the railway.[13] All three could not see going further north than Beltana (232 km) due to rain fall and environment, The two options out of Port Augusta were the Western Plains and the Pichi Richi routes.[31] The Pichi Richi route, while more expensive, offered access to the farmland to the west.

An extensive permanent survey was conducted circa 1876 and the final route mapped to Government Gums due to the water available at the terminus.[32] The length was to be "198 miles 66.92 chains", and the route consisted of "no less than 64 bridges, ranging in length from 20 feet to 740 feet, 470 flood-openings from 10 to 40 feet wide, 550 culverts from 2 feet 6 inches to 10 feet wide, 61 pipe-drains,and 14 water courses".[32]

Initial build to Farina (Government Gums)

[edit]

The first sod was turned at Port Augusta on 18 January 1878 and took until 1882 to reach Government Gums (320 km), 1884 Maree (372 km), 1888 Coward Springs (501 km) and finally Oodnadatta in 1891 (770 km). Construction was by South Australian Railways as a 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge railway.[33][34][page needed]

Cessation of extending the line

[edit]

Between 1891 and 1926, the railway line was not extended. Discussion occurred about if the existing line should be extended or commence a standard gauge railway from Tarcoola.[35][36] The South Australian Railways were transferred to the Australian Federal Government on 1 January 1911 however South Australian Railways continued running the service until 1 January 1926.[1] In 1926, Commonwealth Railways took over the running and commenced planning for extending the railway line north.

Completion from Oodnadatta to Alice Springs

[edit]
A Commonwealth Railways poster of the 1940s advertising train travel to winter holidays in Central Australia. The scene is Heavitree Gap, or Ntaripe in the Arrernte language, 3.5 km (2 mi) south of Alice Springs railway station. Both the size of the cliff and the speed of the train bore no connection with reality.

Extending the line from Oodnadatta to Alice Springs commenced around 1926 and was completed on 6 August 1929.

The Northern Territory Act (Cth 1910) required the building of a north–south railway although no date was specified. Two unballasted routes were shortlisted with a standard gauge line from Kingoonya to Alice Springs estimated at 4.5m pounds and the 1.7m pound narrow gauge extension from Oodnadatta to Alice Springs. The 270 miles 65 chain extension was passed after a number of debates in Federal Parliament.[37]

Railway workers were paid 5 pounds, 8 shillings a week and a request for this to be raised to 6 pounds per week was refused by Sir John Quick in the Federal Arbitration Court on 11 March 1927.[38]

The first train consisted of 12 carriages including Mail and Fruit vans. There were 60 first class and 60 second class passengers and left on 5 August 1929 however an official ceremony to be attended by the Prime Minister was cancelled due to the cost of running a special train.[39][40]

Operations

[edit]

Conditions

[edit]

The tortuously curving narrow-gauge line between Marree and Alice Springs was notoriously prone to delays, often caused by flash floods washing away bridges and tracks.[41] Some track was laid on sand without ballast, and wood sleepers were used, serving as food for termites, causing unstable tracks.[42]

Floods

[edit]

The choice of route through the most arid regions of Australia was influenced above all by the need for water for steam locomotives. Since time immemorial, Aboriginal people had followed a chain of artesian springs and waterholes to sustain them when carrying ochre from the Far North of South Australia to trading places in the south. The explorer John McDouall Stuart followed a similar route during several expeditions between 1858 and 1862.[43] The route taken by the Overland Telegraph ten years later, to which Stuart is believed to have given attention during his travels, was very similar. When the railway route was surveyed, it was hardly surprising that it followed the reliable sources of water.[44]: 52  The downside – an endless source of frustration for the railway maintainers – was that washouts occurred at some locations almost every year. When heavy rains fell inland in New South Wales and Queensland, gigantic "flash floods" came down normally dry riverbeds; bridges, embankments and other earthworks gave way under the onslaught. All but the largest bridge were severely damaged or washed away entirely, and miles of track were washed out – almost every year at some locations.[8]: 21–24 

Flood events on the Great Northern Railway / Central Australia Railway
Date Location Event
1882 – March Flinders Ranges Washouts throughout[8]
1889 – January Farina to Marree Washouts throughout[8]
1890 – January Hawker to Beltana Washouts throughout[8]
1903 – December Farina Washouts delay trains in the Farina area[8]
1904 – February North of Parachilna Track washed away; two days' delay[8]
1911 – February Brachina Train entered the creek south of station after rains. Driver of locomotive Y141 killed.[8][45]
1914 – January Entire line Major washouts throughout[8]
1915 Brachina Bridge destroyed[8][46]
1917 – January Entire line Washouts[8]
1918 – January Near Bopeechee Line cut by floodwaters[8]
1919 – February Farina to Marree Washouts[8]
1926 – March Copley to Farina; Oodnadatta region; Algebuckina Widespread rain caused damage in various parts of Central Australia.[47] A deviation at Algebuckina River was washed out twice while the bridge was being strengthened.[8]
1929 – December Throughout, especially Marree and northward More than 450 miles (720 kilometres) of track damaged by heavy rain after a seven-year drought; "unparalleled in the history of the railway"[48][49][8]
1930 – February Quorn to Marree; Finke and northward Services suspended 17 January to 6 March after some Finke River bridge piers were carried away and others were damaged. A deviation was put in place to run the line over the river bed.[50][8]
1930 – October Oodnadatta to Alice Springs Many washouts[8]
1931 – April Many washouts; Hookina Creek bridge damaged by logs[8]
1932 – March Finke River crossing closed for 6 days[8]
1933 – November Damage at various locations[8]
1935 – January Damage at various locations[8]
1935 – October Quorn to Parachilna, Ilbunga to Blood's Creek Washouts[8]
1936 – January Boolcunda Creek bridge Bridge badly damaged; track closed for 8 days[8]
1936 – February Camel Creek near Rodinga; Margaret Creek bridge Rodinga: a locomotive and three wagons used in repairing tracks after recent floods dived nose-first into Camel Creek after the bridge was undermined.

Margaret Creek bridge washed out; large pigsty constructed. Alice Creek bridge destroyed.[8]

1936 – March Finke 16 people were marooned at Finke River railway crossing, which was 4 feet (1.2 metres) under water; ten washaways were to the south[51]
1936 – May Willochra to Gordon Washouts[8]
1937 – February Willochra Track subsides, derailing locomotive NM33[8]
1937 – December Willochra to Beltana Washouts[8]
1938 – February Damage at more than 100 locations north of Edward's

Creek

Marree Mixed stranded due to flooding further north. Major flooding north of Oodnadatta. Floodwaters nearly 16 feet (4.9 metres) over rails and 2.4 kilometres (1.5 miles) wide at Peake Creek. Finke River 7 feet (2.1 metres) over rails.[8]
1939 – January, February Hawker, Farina, Finke Trains held; no train to Alice Springs for 34 days causes food shortage[52][8]
1939 – June Flood damage at numerous locations[8]
1940 – January Oodnadatta to Alice Springs Washouts[8]
1940 – February Finke Finke River floods[8]
1941 – March Finke River crossing closed[8]
1944 – February Severe flooding[8]
1946 – January Bundooma; Hookina to Parachilna Washouts caused by 6.8 inches (170 millimetres) of rain; line closed for three weeks, food dropped by air[8]
1946 – February Railway closed for 23 days. Marree Mixed stranded. The Peake, Alberga, Stevenson, Hamilton and Finke rivers flooded. Food dropped by air.[8]
1947 – February, March Beresford; Ewaninga to Alice Springs Alice Springs train marooned at Beresford[8]
1949 – May Heavy rain and washouts[8]
1950 – February, March Brachina, Commodore; Farina to Marree No trains for 3 weeks Quorn to Marree; shortage of coal from Telford Cut coalfields shortages disrupted power supplies[53][8]
1950 – March Brachina to Curdimurka Alberga and Hamilton Rivers flood, making 180 mi (290 km) of line impassable; a coal train was among the trains stranded[54]
1950 – June Alberga Alberga and Hamilton Rivers flood[8]
1953 – January Oodnadatta to Finke Trains delayed several days[8]
1954 – October Finke to Bundooma Numerous washouts[8]
1955 – February Hookina Numerous washouts between Willochra and Nilpena. Hookina bridge destroyed. Deviation built in two weeks, then also washed away in July and October 1956.[8]
1956 – July Pedirka–Ilbunga; Hookina Railway closed for two days; Hamilton River (Pedirka) and Stevenson Creek (Ilbunga) flooded.[8] Hookina River flood delayed traffic for 36 hours, then another 36 hours five days later. Further floods on 16 October washed

the deviation track away and because a new standard-gauge line had been built it was never restored.[55]: 50 

1960 – December Ewaninga Washaways; track damaged[8]
1961 – April Finke Services delayed for 12 days[8]
1963 – May Oodnadatta area The Ghan was held up for nearly a week by floods described as "the worst since 1938", and 114 of the 140 passengers were eventually flown from Oodnadatta to Alice Springs on five special flights.[56]
1963 – June Marree to William Creek; Peake Creek; Alberga River Extensive flooding and damage. Ghan stuck at William Creek with loco derailed. Ghan passengers airlifted from Oodnadatta.[8]
1967 – February, March North of Oodnadatta Major flooding in many locations; track breached in more than 32 places. Low-Level Finke bridge again destroyed. Line closed for 27 days.[8]
1968 Services suspended for three weeks[8]
1974 – January to April North of Oodnadatta; Lake Eyre Heavy rains. All roads into Alice Springs closed. Low-level bridge at Finke destroyed. Line closed from 13 January to 16 March. No passenger services until 1 April.[8] Lake Eyre, normally dry, flooded to its deepest in recorded history. On the southern shore of Lake Eyre South, levees were required and the railway was eventually rebuilt on a new embankment.[55]: 52 
1981 (post-closure) Abminga Rail recovery train stranded at Abminga. Finke River flowing.[8]
2007 (post-closure) Gordon Wirreanda Creek bridge destroyed[55]: 66 

World War II

[edit]

In 1944, it was reported that trains had increased on the line from the normal two a week to 56, whilst the North Australia Railway had increased from one a week to 147. Rolling stock, sidings, marshaling areas and water points for the steam engines were all key issues in increasing traffic on the line.[57]

Diesel locomotives

[edit]

The first diesel-electric locomotive entered service in June 1954. It was one of 14 locomotives ordered for both the Central and North Australia Railway. Built by the Birmingham Carriage and Wagon company, the locomotives had a maximum range of about 1130 kilometres (700 miles) and were designed to haul 330 long tons (300 tonnes) at 50 kilometres per hour (31 miles per hour) on level track.[58]

Film

[edit]

Shortly before the closure of the narrow gauge line in 1980, BBC Television filmed an episode of the television series Great Railway Journeys of the World featuring the original route of the Ghan (and the infamously slow speed of the train).[citation needed]

Decline, conversion to standard gauge and closure

[edit]

After World War II, the railway line existence became questionable for a number of reasons:

  • The railway had a history of extensive flood damage as the original steam engines required access to streams which were prone to floods.
  • The track was narrow gauge and not ballasted and thus loads and speeds were both reduced, reducing the profitability of the line.
  • Goyder's Line of rainfall (1865), excluding rains in 1865, 1872 and some other years, was shown as being highly accurate with communities and cropping lands north of his line being abandoned after long dry spells. The entire railway is north of this line.
  • Trucks and roads were becoming more reliable and utilised in South Australia.
  • The 1910 Northern Territory Acceptance Act mandating a railway line between Darwin and Adelaide requiring a standard gauge railway, which would need to be less susceptible to flooding than the existing route designed for diesel-electric engines rather than steam.
  • Improved railway engineering and construction methods allowed for improved design.
  • The standard gauge upgrade of the southern section of the line from near Port Augusta to Maree placed pressure on the remaining narrow gauge sections that remained opened due to transfer and maintenance costs.

Standard gauge line to Marree

[edit]

In 1949, both South Australia and the Federal Government enacted the Railway Standardisation (South Australia) Agreement Act[24] which looked at the upgrade of all lines to standard gauge, including the Central Australia Line. The act was more of an overarching statement rather than a commitment to complete all lines in a set order or time.

The Leigh Creek and Telford Cut Coalfields were first excavated in 1943 following a shortage of coal during World War II and between 1951 and 1954, discussions surrounded two route options to upgrade to standard gauge. Option B2 was upgrading the current line to Telford, the C option was the chosen option which was up to 32 km west of the current line.[59] The South Australian and Federal governments bickered over by-passing the township of Quorn and it was only after a Royal Commission, that the Commonwealth Railways got their way with option C avoiding Quorn and the work commenced on the 255 km line.

The South Australian Government and agriculturists wanted to extend the standard gauge line a further 88 km to Marree.[60][61] This would reduce the bruising of the cattle and shorten the time to market as well as increase the number of cattle that could be transferred. Transferring livestock at Telford was considered problematic with coal dust and machinery.[62]

The federal minister of transport travelled to the area in mid-1954 and confirmed the extension from Telford Cut to Marree. The cost was set at 1,241,000 pounds, compared to 821,000 pounds to bring the existing line up to an acceptable level including ballasting and possible bridge replacement.[63]

The Minister for Transport, Senator George McLeay and the Commonwealth Railways Commissioner, Mr. P. J. Hannaberry, both stated that they were "strongly in favour" to extend the standard gauge line all the way to Alice Springs in 1952.[64] By April 1954, Hannaberry had changed his mind and stated it was "out of the question".[65]

In 1957, the Marree Railway Line, the new standard gauge line from Stirling North (near Port Augusta) to Marree (372 km from Port Augusta) opened, replacing the existing line via Quorn. This was predominantly for coal to be transferred from the Leigh Creek and Telford Cut Coalfields to the power stations at Stirling North. The line was extended to Marree for cattle to be transported to market from the grazing plains, including around the Birdsville Track.

Closures

[edit]

With the new standard gauge Marree Railway Line opened, the narrow gauge line began to close in sections:

  • 1957: The section between Brachina (173 km) to Beltana (232 km) is closed in March
  • 1957: The section between Leigh Creek (262 km) to Marree (372 km) is closed in July
  • 1958: Beltana (232 km) to Leigh Creek (262 km) closed in July.[66]
  • 1972: Port Augusta (0 km) to Hawker (105 km) closed.
    • Some sections of the narrow-gauge line remain in operation as the Pichi Richi Railway and the section from Port Augusta to Stirling North was realigned and restored in 2000–2002.
  • 1981: The entire narrow gauge line was closed with the section between Marree (372 km) and Alice Springs (1243 km) abandoned, replaced by Tarcoola-Alice Springs line standard gauge line.[67][page needed]
  • 1987: Standard gauge between Marree and Telford Cut closed.
  • 2016: Stirling North-Telford Cut standard gauge line mothballed after power station and mine closure.[68] On 3 December 2016, Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia began storing wagons in the disused sidings at Stirling North. various rail operators including Bowmans Rail, Sydney Rail Services, One Rail Australia, Southern Shorthaul Railroad and Pacific National have operated trains to and from the sidings for desire or temporary storage of trains and wagons.
  • 2018: For a short period between 28 February 2018 & 29 July 2018, Bowmans Rail were operating a section of the former Leigh Creek Line for a few kms to off-load containers used in the construction of the Bungala Solar Farm.
  • 2023: Trains now run as required to CFCLA’s (now RailFirst Asset Management) Stirling North Yard including twice in 2023.

Heritage trail, restoration and preserved sections

[edit]

The old railway route is now a heritage trail.[69]

In 1974, the newly formed Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society commenced a restoration program, headquartered at Quorn at the picturesque southern end of the railway; Stirling North, near Port Augusta, was the other terminus. It progressively restored and operated the Pichi Richi Railway as a working museum, upgrading track and undertaking preservation of a wide range of South Australian Railways rolling stock and some locomotives, secured against deterioration in the former running sheds. Between 2000 and 2002, the line was extended 12 km (7 mi) to Port Augusta station, running alongside the standard gauge mainline for about half the distance.[70]

In May 2016, traffic ceased on the standard gauge line between Telford Cut coal mine and Port Augusta after the power station at Port Paterson was shut down.[71]

The Farina Restoration Project Group, whose members travel to the former town at agreed periods to work voluntarily, is restoring the small, now-deserted railway township of Farina.[72]

List of stations, stopping places and localities

[edit]
Stations, stopping places and localities on the Central Australia Railway
For south-to-north sequence, read across. As an indication of settlement today, 2016 census populations of 100 or more are shown as [pop.]. Population figures of early years are not available. Compared with the final decades of the 20th century, the present-day population Port Augusta is higher; Stirling North much higher; Quorn lower; Marree and Oodnadatta much lower; Alice Springs lower.
Port Augusta [pop. 6560] Port Augusta racetrack Stirling North [pop. 2670] Saltia
Woolshed Flat Pichi Richi Summit Quorn [pop. 1230]
Willochra Gordon Wilson Hawker [pop. 340]
Hookina (at Wonoka) Mern Merna Edeowie Brachina
Commodore (originally Meadows) Parachilna Nilpena (originally Blackfellow's Creek) Beltana
Puttapa Copley (originally Leigh Creek) [pop. 320] Telford Lyndhurst
Farina (originally Government Gums) Wirrawilla Mundowdna Marree (originally Hergott) [pop. 100]
Callanna Wangianna Alberrie Creek Bopeechee
Lake Eyre Stuart's Creek (Curdimurka) Margaret Siding Coward Springs
Beresford Strangways Springs Irrappatana William Creek
Douglas Anna Creek Box Creek Boorthanna
Duff Creek Edward's Creek Warrina Peake Creek
Algebuckina Mount Dutton North Creek Oodnadatta [pop. 200]
Todmorten Wire Creek Alberga Macumba
Mount Sarah Mount Rebecca Pedirka Mount Emery
Illbunga Bloods Creek Abminga Wall Creek
Duffield Crown Point Finke (now Aputula) [pop. 170] Musgrave
Rumbalara Mount Squire Engoordina Bundooma
Maryvale Rodinga Deep Well Ooraminna
Mount Polhill Ewaninga Mount Ertiva MacDonnell
Heavitree Alice Springs [pop. 24,750] Alice Springs Abattoirs

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Central Australia Railway". War Time History of the Commonwealth Railways. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Port Augusta-Oodnadatta railway". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 24 October 1925. p. 16 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "North-South railway". The Northern Miner. Charters Towers. 28 April 1921. p. 16 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "South Australia Great Northern Railway Impresses Commissioner". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill. 4 December 1922. p. 4. Retrieved 9 October 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Newspaper archive". Trove. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2017.[dead link]
  6. ^ Newell, Brian R (2000), Following the Old Ghan railway line 1878–1980 (1st ed.), Brian R Newell, ISBN 978-0-646-39415-2
  7. ^ Pearce, Kenn (2011), Riding the 'wire fence' to the Alice: memories of the old Ghan railway, Railmac Publications, ISBN 978-1-86477-079-7
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay Browne, Jeremy R. (2020). Along the old Ghan line: a guide to discovering the old Ghan railway: Port Augusta to Alice Springs. Adelaide: Jeremy Browne. ISBN 9780646821870.
  9. ^ Barrington, Rodney, ed. (2024). Into the Pass: a history of Pichi Richi Railway. Quorn, South Australia: Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society Inc. ISBN 9781763538726.
  10. ^ "The Port Augusta Railway". Adelaide Advertiser / The Express and Telegraph. No. 18 January 1878. p. 2. Retrieved 1 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "The Port Augusta Railway". South Australian Register. No. 11 August 1870. South Australian Register. 11 August 1870. Retrieved 1 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "Port Augusta Railway". Border Watch (Mt Gambier). No. 11 December 1869. Retrieved 2 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ a b "The Port Augusta Railway". The South Australian Advertiser. 5 August 1871. p. 3. Retrieved 2 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Opening of the Northern Extension Railway". South Australian Register. Adelaide, SA. 30 August 1870. p. 5. Retrieved 11 June 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "The Northern Railway Act 1862". Australasian Legal Information Institute. UTS and UNSW Faculties of Law.
  16. ^ "The Port Augusta and Northern Railway Act 1864". Australasian Legal Information Institute. UTS and UNSW Faculties of Law.
  17. ^ "The Sale of Railways Act 1864". Australasian Legal Information Institute. UTS and UNSW Faculties of Law.
  18. ^ "The Port Augusta and Northern Railway Act 1867". Australasian Legal Information Institute. UTS and UNSW Faculties of Law.
  19. ^ "Port Augusta and Government Gums Railway Act 1876". Australasian Legal Information Institute. UTS and UNSW Faculties of Law.
  20. ^ "Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway Act 1883". Australasian Legal Information Institute. UTS and UNSW Faculties of Law.
  21. ^ "The Transcontinental Railway Act 1902". Australasian Legal Information Institute. UTS and UNSW Faculties of Law.
  22. ^ "The Northern Territory Surrender Act 1907" (PDF). Australasian Legal Information Institute. UTS and UNSW Faculties of Law.
  23. ^ "Northern Territory Acceptance Act 1910". Federal Register of Legislation. Australian Government. 27 December 2011.
  24. ^ a b "Railway Standardization (South Australia) Agreement Act 1949" (PDF). Australasian Legal Information Institute. UTS and UNSW Faculties of Law.
  25. ^ "Brachina to Leigh Creek North Coalfield Railway Act 1950" (PDF). Australasian Legal Information Institute. UTS and UNSW Faculties of Law.
  26. ^ "Port Augusta to Alice Springs Railway (Alteration of Route) Act 1950". Federal Register of Legislation. Australian Government. 14 December 1950.
  27. ^ "Stirling North to Brachina Railway Act 1952". Federal Register of Legislation. Australian Government.
  28. ^ "Leigh Creek North Coalfield to Marree (Conversion to Standard Gauge) Act 1954". Federal Register of Legislation. Australian Government. 15 December 1950.
  29. ^ "Tarcoola to Alice Springs Railway Act 1974". Federal Register of Legislation. Australian Government. 18 October 1974.
  30. ^ "Alice Springs to Darwin Railway Act 1997". South Australian Legislation. Government of South Australia. 22 November 2021.
  31. ^ "The Port Augusta Railway". The South Australian Advertiser: 5. January 1878 – via National Library of Australia.
  32. ^ a b "THE PORT AUGUSTA AND GOVERNMENT GUMS RAILWAY". Adelaide Observer. 19 January 1878. p. 6 – via National Library of Australia.
  33. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics. "Completion of the Adelaide to Darwin railway line". Year Book Australia, 2005. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 28 April 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  34. ^ Fuller, Basil (2012), The Ghan: the story of the Alice Springs railway, New Holland Publishers, ISBN 978-1-74257-275-8
  35. ^ "Central Australia Railway Development Commonwealth Scheme". Advocate, Burnie, Tasmania. 3 June 1925 – via National Library of Australia.
  36. ^ "TO TAP CENTRAL AUSTRALIA". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia). 20 January 1926. p. 7 – via National Library of Australia.
  37. ^ "The Senate – Alice Springs Railway". The Age. Fairfax. Sydney Morning Herald. 29 January 1926. p. 7. Retrieved 23 April 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  38. ^ "(article)". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 March 1927.[full citation needed]
  39. ^ "(article)". The Age. 5 August 1929. p. 8.[full citation needed]
  40. ^ "(article)". The Age. 1 June 1929. p. 20.[full citation needed]
  41. ^ "Central Australia Railway Floods". Townsville Daily Bulletin. 16 March 1939. p. 12. Retrieved 8 October 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  42. ^ "The Australian Outback". Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railways. Episode 2. 13 December 2012. Channel 5. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  43. ^ "Maps depicting the explorations and surveys of John McDouall Stuart". John McDouall Stuart Society. 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  44. ^ Wilson, John (2021). The train to Oodna-Woop-Woop: a social history of the Afghan Express. Banksia Park, South Australia: Sarlines Railway Books. ISBN 9780646842844.
  45. ^ "Brachina railway disaster". Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1889 – 1931). 3 February 1911. p. 8. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  46. ^ "Floods in the Quorn district". Chronicle (Adelaide, SA: 1895 – 1954). 2 January 1915. p. 15. Retrieved 15 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  47. ^ "Central Australia". Age (Melbourne, Vic.: 1854 – 1954). 26 March 1926. p. 9. Retrieved 15 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  48. ^ "Isolated". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842 – 1954). 30 December 1929. p. 9. Retrieved 15 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  49. ^ "Drought of seven years has been broken". Evening News (Rockhampton, Qld.: 1924 – 1941). 30 December 1929. p. 2. Retrieved 15 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  50. ^ "Central Australia Railway". The Telegraph (Brisbane, Queensland). No. 26 November 1930. 26 November 1930. p. 14. Retrieved 28 July 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  51. ^ "Message from Alice Springs". The Age. No. 25, 237. (Original, Melbourne. Digital reproduction, Canberra: National Library of Australia – Trove digital newspaper archive). 4 March 1936. p. 11. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  52. ^ "Train weeks late". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. p. 12. Retrieved 23 April 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  53. ^ "Floods isolate 120 mile area of Central Aust. Railway". Newcastle Sun (NSW: 1918 – 1954). 4 February 1950. p. 2. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  54. ^ "Alice Springs line cut". Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW: 1888 – 1954). 17 March 1950. p. 1. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  55. ^ a b c Rodney Barrington, ed. (2024). Into the Pass: a history of the Pichi Richi Railway. Quorn, South Australia: Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society Inc. ISBN 978 1 7635387 3 3.
  56. ^ "Flood bound 114 fly to "Alice"". The Age. Fairfax. 20 May 1963. p. 3. Retrieved 23 April 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  57. ^ "Federal Trains Increase". The Worker (Brisbane). 24 November 1944. p. 12. Retrieved 5 July 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  58. ^ "New diesel electric locos for Central Australia Railway". Quorn Mercury. 10 June 1854. p. 1 – via National Library of Australia.
  59. ^ "Route of standard Gauge Railway". Quorn Mercury (SA: 1895 – 1954). 8 November 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  60. ^ "Marree Railway "High Priority"". Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1931 – 1954). 11 March 1954. p. 3. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  61. ^ "BROAD GAUGE TO MARREE, S.A. AIM". Mail (Adelaide, SA: 1912 – 1954). 26 April 1952. p. 8. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  62. ^ "THREE PARTIES WOULD GAIN BY EXTENSION TO MARREE". News (Adelaide, SA: 1923 – 1954). 5 May 1954. p. 6. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  63. ^ "BROAD GAUGE RAILWAY FOR NORTH". Chronicle (Adelaide, SA: 1895 – 1954). 6 May 1954. p. 10. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  64. ^ "Standard gauge to Marree". Quorn Mercury (SA: 1895 – 1954). 10 July 1952. p. 1. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  65. ^ "ALICE BROAD GAUGE "OUT OF QUESTION"". News (Adelaide, SA: 1923 – 1954). 30 April 1954. p. 12. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  66. ^ "Route Information Oodnadatta to Alice Springs". Chris's Commonwealth Railways Information (ComRails). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  67. ^ Reid, Graeme (1996), The Demise of the Central Australia Railway, Australian Railway Historical Society, New South Wales Division
  68. ^ Nicholson, Leanne (7 October 2015). "Alinta to close Leigh Creek mine in weeks". Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  69. ^ South Australian Tourism Commission; Northern Territory Department of Lands, Planning & Environment (2001), Discover the outback Port Augusta to Alice Springs: Old Ghan Railway heritage trail, Northern Territory Department of Lands, Planning & Environment, South Australian Tourism Commission, retrieved 8 October 2012 – via National Library of Australia
  70. ^ "Pichi Richi Railway: authentic outback railway in the Flinders Ranges". Pichi Richi Railway. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  71. ^ Gage, Nicola (18 November 2015). "Leigh Creek mine site should be revegetated, traditional owners urge". ABC News (Australia).
  72. ^ "(home)". Farina Restoration Project Group.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]