The first section of the line opened from Gawler. It was built to service the copper mining at Kapunda, opened on 13 August 1860.[2] It was extended to Morgan on 23 September 1878[3] to provide a more efficient freight and passenger connection between the Murray paddle steamers and both the city of Adelaide and Port Adelaide for ocean transport.[4][5]
The Eudunda to Morgan section closed on 2 November 1969, and Morgan residents requested that the line was preserved to Mount Mary, though this was rejected, with the line being removed not long after. [6] In 1975, the remaining line to Eudunda and the Robertstown branch came under the ownership of Australian National as part of the SAR's sale to the Federal Government. The Kapunda to Eudunda section was closed on 11 March 1994 by AN, with the deterioration of the River Light bridge at Hansborough being cited as a reason for closure. [4]This section was pulled up the following year. The remaining Gawler to Kapunda section was leased by the South Australian Government to Australian Southern Railroad (later known as ORA) in 1997 as part of AN's SA freight asset sale to Genesee and Wyoming. The line's last documented use was on 21 May 2003 by Australian Railroad Group locomotive CK4, though grain services had ceased years before.[7] One Rail Australia continues to clear vegetation on the line to help meet the lease agreement with the SA Government, although the track itself has not been maintained since the last train passed.
Route
Railway bridge over Light River at Hansborough (2010)
The Kapunda railway was the first extension of the line from Adelaide to Gawler. It passed through Roseworthy from where the Peterborough line later branched. The line headed northeast from Roseworthy to reach Freeling, then the line crossed the River Light just south of Kapunda. The extension continued through Hansborough, running across the River Light once again and Pine Creek before reaching Hampden, then turning south and going through a steep descent into Eudunda. From there, the line curved northwards towards the junction for the Robertstown line, then heading west across the plains adjacent to what is now the Thiele Highway to Morgan. The Robertstown line branch opened in 1914 from Eudunda to Robertstown, passing through Point Pass along the way.[4][8]
^Chief Engineer for Railways. "Map showing lines of railways in South Australia" (Map). Johnny's Pages. South Australian Railways. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
^"Opening of the North-West Bend Railway". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide. 2 November 1878. p. 9. Retrieved 3 September 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
^ abcQuinlan, Howard; Newland, John (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 55. ISBN0 909650 49 7.
^The Formation of the South Australian Railways National Railway Museum
^"Burra Railway". Burra History. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
^"Robertstown Railway". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 10 December 1914. p. 9. Retrieved 23 September 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Public Works". South Australian Register. Adelaide. 14 June 1879. p. 3 Supplement: Supplement to the South Australian Register. Retrieved 3 September 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Hay to Morgan". The Maitland Weekly Mercury. NSW. 10 June 1922. p. 3. Retrieved 3 September 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
External links
Gallery
January 07, 2023
morgan, railway, line, north, west, bend, railway, railway, line, south, australian, railways, network, railway, over, gawler, river, bridge, near, beginning, route, 2012, overviewstatusdormantterminigawlermorgancontinues, fromgawler, lineservicesystemsouth, a. The Morgan railway line or North West Bend railway was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network Morgan railway lineRailway over the Gawler River bridge near the beginning of the route 2012 OverviewStatusDormantTerminiGawlerMorganContinues fromGawler lineServiceSystemSouth Australian RailwaysOperator s South Australian Railways Australian National Australian Southern RailroadHistoryOpenedGawler Kapunda 13 August 1860 1860 08 13 Kapunda Morgan 23 September 1878 1878 09 23 ClosedEudunda Morgan 2 November 1969 1969 11 02 Kapunda Eudunda 11 March 1994 1994 03 11 TechnicalLine length129 0 km 80 2 mi Track gauge1 600 mm 5 ft 3 in Route mapMorganEbaMount MaryBowerSutherlandsRobertstownPoint PassRobertstown lineEudundaHampdenHansboroughBagot WellKapundaFordsFreelingPeterborough lineRoseworthyto Gawler Centralvia Barossa Valley lineGawlerGawler lineAdelaide 1 This diagram viewtalkedit Contents 1 History 2 Route 3 Possible extension 4 References 5 External linksHistory Edit Bridge over the Gawler River 2012 Morgan railway station during operation The first section of the line opened from Gawler It was built to service the copper mining at Kapunda opened on 13 August 1860 2 It was extended to Morgan on 23 September 1878 3 to provide a more efficient freight and passenger connection between the Murray paddle steamers and both the city of Adelaide and Port Adelaide for ocean transport 4 5 The Eudunda to Morgan section closed on 2 November 1969 and Morgan residents requested that the line was preserved to Mount Mary though this was rejected with the line being removed not long after 6 In 1975 the remaining line to Eudunda and the Robertstown branch came under the ownership of Australian National as part of the SAR s sale to the Federal Government The Kapunda to Eudunda section was closed on 11 March 1994 by AN with the deterioration of the River Light bridge at Hansborough being cited as a reason for closure 4 This section was pulled up the following year The remaining Gawler to Kapunda section was leased by the South Australian Government to Australian Southern Railroad later known as ORA in 1997 as part of AN s SA freight asset sale to Genesee and Wyoming The line s last documented use was on 21 May 2003 by Australian Railroad Group locomotive CK4 though grain services had ceased years before 7 One Rail Australia continues to clear vegetation on the line to help meet the lease agreement with the SA Government although the track itself has not been maintained since the last train passed Route Edit Railway bridge over Light River at Hansborough 2010 The Kapunda railway was the first extension of the line from Adelaide to Gawler It passed through Roseworthy from where the Peterborough line later branched The line headed northeast from Roseworthy to reach Freeling then the line crossed the River Light just south of Kapunda The extension continued through Hansborough running across the River Light once again and Pine Creek before reaching Hampden then turning south and going through a steep descent into Eudunda From there the line curved northwards towards the junction for the Robertstown line then heading west across the plains adjacent to what is now the Thiele Highway to Morgan The Robertstown line branch opened in 1914 from Eudunda to Robertstown passing through Point Pass along the way 4 8 Possible extension EditThere were proposals to extend the line to connect to Wentworth New South Wales 9 and even to Hay to provide a more direct rail route to Sydney 10 References Edit Chief Engineer for Railways Map showing lines of railways in South Australia Map Johnny s Pages South Australian Railways Retrieved 7 March 2016 Opening of the Kapunda Railway South Australian Advertiser 14 August 1860 Opening of the North West Bend Railway The South Australian Advertiser Adelaide 2 November 1878 p 9 Retrieved 3 September 2014 via National Library of Australia a b c Quinlan Howard Newland John 2000 Australian Railway Routes 1854 2000 Redfern Australian Railway Historical Society p 55 ISBN 0 909650 49 7 The Formation of the South Australian Railways National Railway Museum name VisitMorganRailways Visit Morgan Burra Railway Burra History Retrieved 25 October 2022 Robertstown Railway The Advertiser Adelaide 10 December 1914 p 9 Retrieved 23 September 2015 via National Library of Australia Public Works South Australian Register Adelaide 14 June 1879 p 3 Supplement Supplement to the South Australian Register Retrieved 3 September 2014 via National Library of Australia Hay to Morgan The Maitland Weekly Mercury NSW 10 June 1922 p 3 Retrieved 3 September 2014 via National Library of Australia External links EditGallery Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Morgan railway line amp oldid 1118059403, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
