"Pichi Richi Railway"Preservation
Society: Site http://www.prr.org.au/
Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society, is an entirely
voluntary organisation dedicated to the preservation of
the narrow gauge line through Pichi Richi Pass to
Stirling North. This is the last remaining section of the
Port Augusta
and Govenunent Gums line begun in 1877. Tourist Trains
are operated from Quorn using Steam locomotives or
vintage diesel power, and historic rolling stock during
school holidays and at other times on published
schedules. Vacancies
Exist Specialised Fields Quorn Show Special
Patron : His Excellency Sir Eric Neal, AC, CVO Governor
of South Australia
President : Richard Atkinson / Vice President : Bryan
Homann
Secretary : Phillip Mellors / Treasurer : Peter Homann
Correspondence may be addressed to - The PRRPS, Railway
Station, Quorn, SA 5433
Membership enquiries may be addressed to -Dal & Val
Phillips, Membership Officers PRRPS, 43 Scholefield Rd,
Kingston Park SA 5049
My project is a brief description and history of The
Northern Railway devision of South Australia, which
covers an area from Riverton and Clare in the south to
Yunta and Quorn in the North . This railway system once
used three different gauges , Narrow , Broad and Standard
which carried a variety of freight , from Wool and Wheat
to Coal and Copper from Burra and Lead Zinc ore from
Broken Hill, some of this rail system is still used to
day to carry Interstate Passengers on The Ghan and The
Indian Pacific and Two ccompanies run Interstate Freight
services between Sydney and Perth , lead and zinc ore is
still hauled daily from Broken Hill to the Smelters at
Port Pirie.
This old historical map of South Australia and her
Railways will help you understand the vast network of
railways which made up The Northern Railway Devision..
Stations
Riverton Station
South Australia 1992
This beautiful station which is located 53 kilometres
north of Gawler, was offered
for sale by the STA and tenders were called in 1992, The
beautifull Station Building is now an Art Gallery and
Museum and the owners live in the Station Masters
residence. It was at Riverton Station in March 1921 where
Mr Brookfield,a New South Wales State politician , met
his end when he was shot by a Russian Imigrant ,
Tomayeff. According to Newspaper reports in The
Advertiser , Mr Brookfield then member for Barrier, was
one of five train passengers who faced a hale of forty
shots. Somehow, three of the passengers survived. The
Advertiser, of March 23rd, 1921 reported that Tomayeff
started shooting at a crowd at the station, prompting Mr
Brookfield to grag a gun from a policeman and fire two
shots.
These missed Tomayeff who shot the MP before being
overpowered by a bystander . He never stood trial and
died in a mental asylum in 1948.
Extract from Railways of Australia Network 1992
Designed and built entirely by the South Australian
Railways , at its Islington Workshops, the Red Hen railcars were responsible
for the eventual withdrawal of steam hauled Adelaide
suburban passenger services. The SAR originally built a
combined total of 74/300 class (single ended) and 37/400
class (double ended) railcars at Islington
Workshops,between the years 1955 and 1971.
Restoration
As far as I am aware no restoration of the railway system
is currently under way , a number of red hen cars have
been converted to holyday cabins and some work has been
done on the water tower and loco shed , three Red Hen
power cars need urgent attention if they are to remain in
running order.
Tracks
Only a small section of the original Broad Gauge tracks
remain, these are the main line from Gawler
to Burra.
and a loop next to the main line adjacent to the Station.
From the mid 1940s and throughout most of the 1950s the
coal tippler at Terowie was busy Transhipping
coal from narrow gauge to broad gauge wagons.The bulk of this
coal came from the Leigh Creek fields and was destined for the
Osborne Power Station in the Adelaide suburbs. Double headed T
class locomotives would haul trains of up to 660 tons from Quorn
to Terowie where they would be placed in the sidings ready for
transshipment. The tippler shunting locomotive, usually a Y based
at Terowie, would take about three of the fully loaded wagons at
a time and, in the case of the bogie wagons,shunt them one at a
time onto the tippler. Three four wheel wagons could be handled
on the tippler in one go.
Before the tippler rose cables were attached to hold the trucks
otherwise they would fall off. Two large cables would then be
wound up to lift the base of the tippler and the truck to an
angle of about 135 degrees where the coal would fall out and make
its way down the chute to be deposited into waiting broad gauge
wagons. It took about seven minutes to complete each
tip and afterwards the wagon would be nudged off the tippler by
the loco and it would run under its own momentum down the track.
Once the empty trucks were stationary a team of oilers would have
to refill the oil boxes every time as oil would escape while the
truck was upside down. There were usually a lot of oil drums
lying around. The Y would then position the trucks ready for the
return journey to the coalfields.
The tippler was situated on the Adelaide side of Terowie station
past the goods shed and sidings. It had its own power house and
was quite a landmark. Leigh Creek coal traffic peaked in the mid
1950s and then rapidly declined. After some years of disuse the
tippler was demolished in 1968. Very little remains today apart
from a few Concrete footings.
Extract from "S.A.R Narrow Gauge Journal" No2.
These days, in the new millenium only a small part of what was
, remains, this includes a few small shops , a post office ,
"Primary"
School. and two Hotels ,one of which
"The Terowie Hotel" is to be
reopened this month , most of the original houses still remain
and many are inhabited , I would like to see the old Railway Station and remaining broad gauge track
restored and used as a tourist attraction , an old restored broad
gauge Red Hen could take tourists on the 1.5 Klm track which
is still mostly intact, as of May 2000 . The old Site with its
army Jail brings back Memories to
many Passengers and Soldiers who
traveled through Terowie over the years , General Douglas
MacArthur made his famous speech:" I came out of Bataan and
I shall return." There is a plaque at the railway station
which commemorates the event.
This piece of Railway Heritage with its
Historic Crane and
Track needs restoring , being situated in The Mid North
of South Australia Gladstone was an important Marshalling centre
in the main grain growing area of the state, With large Wheat storage Silos and a
Passenger Terminal
, with a large Station
, which is now in a state of decay after years of
neglect.
Three gauges of
railway were used . Narrow
, Broad and Standard.
A railway line to Port Pirie used primarily for the
transportation of wheat was opened in 1877. Today, ore
trains carrying lead and zinc concentrates from Broken
Hill pass through on their way to the smelters at Port
Pirie. Gladstone railway Yards will hold the
train enthusiast's attention as one of the world's few
junction points of the three different gauges - narrow,
standard and broad, all laid together in one Siding .
