| Morgan railway line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 The former Light River railway bridge near Kapunda in April 2022. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Closed and dismantled beyond Kapunda, remaining section dormant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Continues from | Gawler line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System | South Australian Railways | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 129.0 km (80.2 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Morgan railway line or North-West Bend railway was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network.
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. This was rejected, and the line being removed not long after. [6] In 1978, 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] In 2015, a short section of the line within Kapunda was repurposed as the Swann Path (also known as the Kapunda Rail Trail,) and it is planned to be extended to the southern end of the town in the future. [8] [9] The lease of the land and ownership of the rail infrastructure passed to Aurizon in 2022, following their purchase of One Rail Australia (the final successor of Australian Southern Railroad).
The line's present owner, Aurizon does not list the line as being open or in use, but it is available for access. [10] The line has fallen into disrepair, being damaged by floods and bushfires. [11] The line has been severed at several points for drainage and road surface improvements. In 2022, the line was blocked off from the Gawler line, and the wider Adelaide metropolitan network after a fence was installed at the Gawler River bridge.
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] [12]
There were proposals to extend the line to connect to Wentworth, New South Wales, [13] and even to Hay to provide a more direct rail route to Sydney. [14]
Light Regional Council is a local government area north of Adelaide in South Australia. It is based in the town of Kapunda, and includes the towns of Freeling, Greenock, Hansborough, Hewett, Roseworthy and Wasleys.
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.
Roseworthy is a small town in South Australia, about 10 km north of Gawler on the Horrocks Highway. At the 2016 census, Roseworthy had a population of 994.
The Gawler line, also known as the Gawler Central line, is a suburban commuter railway line in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. The Gawler Line is the most frequent and heavily patronised line in the Adelaide rail network. It is also the only line to have no other interchange with another line except Adelaide.
Eudunda is a town in the Mid North region of South Australia, situated 110 kilometres northeast of Adelaide in the Regional Council of Goyder. As of 2021, Eudunda had a population of 815 people. Eudunda is known as the birthplace of author and educator Colin Thiele.
The Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association, more commonly referred to as the BL&GFA, is an Australian rules football competition based in the Barossa Valley, Gawler Region and Light Region of South Australia, Australia. Just 42 kilometres north of the state capital of Adelaide, the BL&GFA is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football League. In 2024, the Willaston Donnybrooks secured their twenty-fifth premiership overall and their third in the BLGFA. The current president of the League is Mick Brien and the major sponsor of the league is the Grant Burge Winery.
Robertstown is a town in the Mid North region of South Australia, situated 125 km north of Adelaide, in the Regional Council of Goyder. At the 2021 census, Robertstown had a population of 223 people.
Hansborough is a locality along the Thiele Highway, in South Australia's Mid North region. It is situated 9 kilometres south-west of Eudunda and 18 kilometres north-east of Kapunda. The Light River runs through the locality.
Thiele Highway is a road in South Australia connecting the outskirts of Adelaide to the north-west bend of the River Murray at Morgan, South Australia. It is named after author Colin Thiele, who lived most of his life in towns along the route and set some of his stories in the area.
The Roseworthy–Peterborough railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. It extended from a junction at Roseworthy on the Morgan railway line through Hamley Bridge, Riverton, initially to Tarlee, then extended in stages to Peterborough.
The Hamley Bridge–Gladstone railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. It extended from a junction at Hamley Bridge on the Roseworthy-Peterborough line through Balaklava and Brinkworth to Gladstone.
The District Council of English was a local government area in South Australia from 1878 to 1932.
Kapunda railway station was located on the Morgan railway line. It served the town of Kapunda, South Australia.
Roseworthy railway station was located at the junction of the Morgan railway line and the Roseworthy-Peterborough railway line. Situated in the town of Roseworthy, South Australia, it was located 49 kilometres from Adelaide by rail.
Eudunda railway station was located at the junction of the Morgan railway line and the Robertstown railway line. Situated in the town of Eudunda, South Australia, it was located 111 kilometres from Adelaide by rail.
Freeling railway station was located on the Morgan railway line in the town of Freeling, South Australia.
Fords railway station was located on the Morgan railway line. It served the locality of Fords, South Australia.
Saddleworth railway station was located on the Roseworthy-Peterborough railway line. It served the town of Saddleworth, South Australia.
Manoora railway station was located on the Roseworthy-Peterborough railway line. It served the settlement of Manoora, South Australia.
