Farina railway station

Last updated

Farina
SAR NG open wagon at Farina January 2021.jpg
A preserved narrow-gauge bogie open wagon next to the rebuilt goods platform at Farina in 2021
General information
LocationFarina, South Australia
Coordinates 30°04′S138°17′E / 30.06°S 138.28°E / -30.06; 138.28
Operated by
Line(s)
Distance650 kilometres (400 miles) from Adelaide railway station
Platforms1 (ground level)
Other information
StatusClosed
History
Opened22 May 1884
Closed10 June 1987
Rebuilt27 July 1957
Services
Preceding station Commonwealth Railways Following station
Copley
towards Port Augusta
Central Australia Railway Marree
towards Alice Springs
Copley
towards Stirling North
Marree railway line Marree
Terminus

Farina railway station, in the South Australian outback, was completed in 1882 when the narrow-gauge Central Australia Railway progressed towards Marree. In 1957, a new standard-gauge line, called the Marree railway line, was constructed in parallel with the narrow-gauge line, which was closed in 1981; traffic ceased on the standard-gauge line in 2019.

Contents

History

In 1878, construction commenced at Port Augusta on the Great Northern Railway, a lightly constructed line expected to be about 200 kilometres (120 miles) long, with the prospect of becoming a south–to–north transcontinental railway partly due to mineral discoveries in the Flinders Ranges and good rainfall in the Far North convincing farmers to settle there. [1] Farina (known as Government Gums at the time) was picked as the terminus for the railway, though it was viewed by a lot of the general public as the first section of a railway to Darwin. The railway reached Quorn in 1879, Hawker in 1880, Beltana in 1881, and finally reached Government Gums in 1882. [2] [3] The Governor of South Australia, Sir William Jervois, declared the line to Government Gums open on 22 May 1882.

When the railway arrived, the township was re-named Farina (Latin: farina, ground wheat, flour) since the area was expected to be good for growing crops. [1] However, the good rainfall experienced at the time ended a few years after settlement, putting an end to settlers' belief that crops could be sustained in the region because "Rain follows the plough". [4] Despite the lack of crops, the railway helped carry other commodities including sheep, wool, and cattle. Farina remained as the railhead for 2 years until the railway was extended to Marree in 1884, helping to transport more livestock and making Farina a through station. [4] Farina boasted a livestock loading facility that saw thousands of sheep and cattle being loaded on to trains each year. However, after severe droughts and the closure of the nearby mineral mines, the town declined. [4]

A new standard gauge line to Marree replaced the existing narrow gauge one in 1957, and for a short time, the town was one of the few places that the 2 railways crossed over. Livestock continued to be loaded at Farina, though the town was eventually completely abandoned in 1980. [4] Goods trains continued passing through the town until 1987 when the railway closed between Marree and Telford Cut. The last passenger train was a special tour by Train Tour Promotions using a set of Bluebird railcars on 9 May 1987. The railway was officially closed on 10 May 1987, and the line through Farina was removed in 1993. [4]

Present Day

Today, the Farina Restoration Group continues to conserve the ruins of the town and the railway. [1] Markers have been placed within the town to show where the track once was, including where the SG and NG line once crossed. A SAR narrow gauge open wagon has been placed on a length of track adjacent to the former narrow gauge goods platform, and the sheep and cattle loading ramps on the standard gauge triangle have been rebuilt with SAR sheep and cattle wagons placed next to them. [5] The water tank and a few railway buildings also remain at the site. The Farina Restoration Group eventually plans to rebuild the narrow gauge station building, which was a standard SAR design made out of wood. Planning is also underway to move locomotive NSU63, currently at the Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre in Peterborough, to Farina in the near future. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marree, South Australia</span> Town in South Australia

Marree is a small town located in the north of South Australia. It is located 589 kilometres (366 mi) North of Adelaide at the junction of the Oodnadatta Track and the Birdsville Track, 49 metres (161 ft) above sea level. Marree is an important service centre for the large sheep and cattle stations in northeast South Australia as well as a stopover destination for tourists traveling along the Birdsville or Oodnadatta Tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farina, South Australia</span> Ghost town in South Australia

Farina, formerly Farina Town and originally Government Gums, is an abandoned town in the Australian state of South Australia. The name also applies to an area of about 8500 square kilometres in which the town is located. At the 2006 census, 55 people lived in the larger area; by the 2021 census, the population had fallen to 15.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quorn, South Australia</span> Town in South Australia

Quorn is a small town and railhead in the Flinders Ranges in the north of South Australia, 39 kilometres (24 mi) northeast of Port Augusta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pichi Richi Railway</span> Heritage railway in South Australia

Pichi Richi Railway is a 39 kilometres narrow-gauge heritage railway in the southern Flinders Ranges of South Australia between Quorn and Port Augusta. For much of its length the line lies in the picturesque Pichi Richi Pass, where the line was completed in 1879 as work proceeded north to build a railway to the "Red Centre" of Australia – the Central Australia Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Australia Railway</span> Former Australian narrow-gauge railway line

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. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transporter wagon</span>

A transporter wagon, in railway terminology, is a wagon (UIC) or railroad car (US) designed to carry other railway equipment. Normally, it is used to transport equipment of a different rail gauge. In most cases, a transporter wagon is a narrower gauge wagon for transporting a wider gauge equipment, allowing freight in a wider gauge wagons to reach destinations on the narrower gauge network without the expense and time of transshipment into a narrower gauge wagons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Break of gauge</span> Meeting place of different width rail lines

With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, leading to passengers having to change trains and freight requiring transloading or transshipping; this can add delays, costs, and inconvenience to travel on such a route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail transport in South Australia</span>

Rail transport in the Australian state of South Australia is provided by a number of railway operators who operate over the government-owned railway lines. The network consists of 1435 mm standard gauge links to other states, the 1600 mm broad gauge suburban railways in Adelaide, a freight-only branch from Dry Creek to Port Adelaide and Pelican Point, a narrow-gauge gypsum haulage line on the Eyre Peninsula, and both copper–gold concentrate and coal on the standard-gauge line in the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor north of Tarcoola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commonwealth Railways</span> Australian railway operator (1912–1975)

The Commonwealth Railways were established in 1917 by the Government of Australia with the Commonwealth Railways Act to administer the Trans-Australia and Port Augusta to Darwin railways. In 1975, all assets were acquired by the Australian National Railways Commission, branded as Australian National Railways and subsequently Australian National, trademarked as AN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beltana</span> Town in South Australia

Beltana is a town 540 kilometres (336 mi) north of Adelaide, South Australia. Beltana is known for continuing to exist long after the reasons for its existence had ceased. The town's history began in the 1870s with the advent of copper mining in the area, construction of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line and The Ghan railway and began to decline in 1941 with the beginning of coal mining at Leigh Creek. The fortune of the town was sealed by the 1983 realignment of the main road away from the town. The town, adjacent cemetery and railway structures are now part of a designated State Heritage Area declared in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commonwealth Railways NSU class</span> Narrow-gauge diesel-electric locomotive class of the former Commonwealth Railways, Australia

The Commonwealth Railways NSU class was a class of diesel-electric locomotives built in 1954 and 1955 by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, England, for the Commonwealth Railways to be deployed on the narrow-gauge Central Australia Railway and North Australia Railway.

Telford Cut was an open-cut coal mine, now closed, in the Leigh Creek Coalfield in South Australia. For the 72 years between its opening in 1943 and its closure, the mine supplied sub-bituminous coal to fire power stations first in Adelaide then, from 1954, Port Augusta. Production ceased in November 2015 but stockpiled product was transported to Port Augusta until the last power station closed down in May 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Northern Railway (Mt Isa line)</span> Narrow gauge railway line in Queensland, Australia

The Great Northern Railway is a 1067 mm gauge railway line in Queensland, Australia. The line stretches nearly 1,000 kilometres linking the port city of Townsville, Australia to the mining town of Mount Isa in north-west Queensland. Along with a passenger service called the Inlander, it is a major freight route connecting the Mount Isa Mines to the Port of Townsville. In 2010, the line moved 5.8 million tonnes of cargo, and this is expected to increase significantly in coming years.

Newcastle was an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia from 1884 to 1902 and again from 1915 to 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Augusta railway station</span> Railway station in South Australia

Port Augusta railway station is a railway station located on the Adelaide-Port Augusta railway line in Port Augusta, South Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marree railway station</span> Railway station in Marree, Australia

Marree railway station was located on the Central Australia Railway, and later the Marree railway line serving the small South Australian outback town of Marree.

The Marree railway line is located in the Australian state of South Australia.

The NDH class railcars are a class of self propelled diesel-hydraulic railcars designed by Commonwealth Engineering and built by the Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Company in England for the Commonwealth Railways, Australia in 1954. They were known as Gloucester railcars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copley railway station, South Australia</span> Railway station in Copley, Australia

Copley railway station was located on the Central Australia Railway, and later the Marree railway line serving the small South Australian outback town of Copley.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Farina Restoration Group. "The Railway". Farina Restoration Group. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  2. ↑ Beltana Progress Association. "Railway Station - Beltana". Beltana Progress Association. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  3. ↑ The Flinders Ranges Council. "Hawker Brochure" (PDF). The Flinders Ranges Council. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Farina Restoration Group. "History". Farina Restoration Group. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  5. ↑ Walking SA. "Farina Town Walking Trail". Walking SA. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.