National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide

National Railway Museum
	The Ron Fitch Pavilion – one of the two main pavilions – at the museum
Established	1970 (Mile End); 1988 (Port Adelaide);
Location	76 Lipson St; Port Adelaide SA 5015; Australia;
Coordinates	34°50′44″S138°30′31″E / 34.84556°S 138.50861°E
Type	Railway museum
Owner	National Railway Museum Inc.
Nearest car park	Adjacent
Website	www.nrm.org.au

Last updated December 26, 2024

The National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide, South Australia is the largest under-cover railway museum in Australia. More than 100 major exhibits, mainly from the South Australian Railways (SAR) and Commonwealth Railways and their successor, Australian National, are displayed at its 3.5-hectare (8.6-acre) site. A large archival collection of photographs of those railways and records created by them is also managed by the museum. The museum operates with a large number of volunteers.

History

Locomotive Peronne hauls a special train on narrow-gauge - 1067 millimetres (3 feet 6 inches) - track at the museum; track on the left is for miniature train rides around the site. NRMPortAdelaideLocomotivePeronne15July2007.JPG — Locomotive *Peronne* hauls a special train on narrow-gauge – 1067 millimetres (3 feet 6 inches) – track at the museum; track on the left is for miniature train rides around the site.

Mile End, 1964–1988

In 1963, a group of rail preservationists asked the South Australian Railways Commissioner to allocate land near the site of the former Mile End locomotive depot to hold a small collection of withdrawn steam locomotives. The first locomotive arrived in 1964 and in 1970 the site opened as the Mile End Railway Museum. Only a few exhibits were under cover and the effects of weather took their toll; an alternative, under-cover venue was sought.^[1]

Move to Port Adelaide

In 1987, the Mile End Railway Museum obtained a $2 million Bicentennial commemorative grant to redevelop the former Port Dock goods terminal, off Lipson Street, as the new property. In January 1988, the museum closed at Mile End and 11 months later opened as the Port Dock Station Railway Museum.^[1]

In 1999, funding was received as part of Australia's Centenary of Federation to construct a Commonwealth Railway Museum within the museum's precinct.^[2] The facility, opened in 2001, houses a representative sample of exhibits from the Commonwealth Railways and its successor, the Australian National Railways Commission.^{[note 1]} Included are vehicles from The Ghan , Tea and Sugar and Trans-Australian trains. At the opening, the museum was renamed the National Railway Museum on the initiative of deputy prime minister and noted railway enthusiast, Tim Fischer, AC.^[1]^{[note 2]}

In May 2009, the main pavilion was named after Ron Fitch, who as South Australian Railways Commissioner had facilitated the transfer of much of the museum's early rolling stock. At the same time, the Commonwealth Railways Museum was renamed the Ronald E. Fluck Pavilion, after the museum's founder.^[1]

Construction of spur line

In 2017, $16.4 million was allocated in the state budget for a new station to be built near the original site of the Port Dock railway station, at the end of a new 1.0 km (1100 yard) spur line ^[4]^[5] using the existing corridor beside the museum that connects to the Outer Harbor railway line.^[6]^[7] In June 2019, when some museum track had already been dismantled, the development was paused while a North West Planning Study was conducted; a forecast cost increase to $40 million was cited.^[8]^[9] On-ground preparatory work was reversed in January 2020.^{[ citation needed ]}

In June 2023 the project, by then budgeted at $51 million, resumed with partial severing of the direct rail connection to suburban lines, followed by removal of some of the museum's rail siding storage space. A general loss of land in the museum's leaseholding was incurred. The line extension was planned to include a dual-purpose island platform for both regular suburban services and on the other side of the platform during special event days and holidays, broad-gauge heritage trains.^[10]

Collection

The South Australian Railways owned 129 diminutive Y and Yx class locomotives on its narrow-gauge system from 1885. Beyond Y97 is the broad-gauge 500 ("Mountain") class locomotive number 504, one of 10 introduced in 1926 to haul trains unaided over the Mount Lofty Range. The 500 class was almost 3 times as powerful than the Rx class that it displaced, and 4
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1/2 times more powerful than its museum neighbour. NRM-504andY97.jpg — The South Australian Railways owned 129 diminutive Y and Yx class locomotives on its narrow-gauge system from 1885. Beyond Y97 is the broad-gauge 500 ("Mountain") class locomotive number 504, one of 10 introduced in 1926 to haul trains unaided over the Mount Lofty Range. The 500 class was almost 3 times as powerful than the Rx class that it displaced, and 41⁄2 times more powerful than its museum neighbour.

The museum houses its large static collection in two pavilions and the historic Port Dock railway station goods shed. On the site, all three mainline gauges of Australia are represented: narrow, 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in); standard, 1435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in); and broad 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in). The collection comprises more than 100 major exhibits, mainly from the Commonwealth Railways and South Australian Railways. It also holds rolling stock from the Silverton Tramway and Victorian Railways.^[11]

Operational locomotives and railcars on these gauges are:

narrow gauge: former Broken Hill Associated Smelters steam locomotive Peronne (1918 Andrew Barclay 0-6-0T tank locomotive)
broad gauge: former SAR diesel-electric locomotives 515 and 801, "Red Hen" railcars 321 and 400, and "Bluebird" railcar 257.

The museum also operates locomotives, including steam locomotives Bill (with a 2-4-0 wheel arrangement) and Bub (0-4-2 T), for visitor rides on its 457-millimetre (18.0-inch) track around the site.

Locomotive and railcar exhibits as of 2022^[update]

Steam locomotives

SAR Rx 93
SAR Y 97
SAR P 117
SAR T 253
SAR F 255
SAR 409
SAR 504 Tom Barr Smith
SAR 523 Essington Lewis
SAR 624
SAR 702
SAR (ex VR) 752
CR G 1
CR NM 34
Silverton Tramway Y 12
Silverton Tramway A 21
Silverton Tramway W 25
Broken Hill Associated Smelters Peronne ←(operational)
BHP Whyalla no. 4

Diesel locomotives

SAR diesel shunter 515 & 517 ←(no. 515 is operational)
SAR mainline diesel 703 ←(static, to be operational)
SAR diesel shunter 801 ←(operational)
SAR mainline diesel 900
SAR mainline diesel 930
CR GM class GM 2
CR mainline diesel NSU 61
CR diesel shunter DE 91

Railcars

SAR Model 55 Brill railcar 8
SAR Model 75 Brill railcar 41
SAR Bluebird railcar 257 Kestrel ←(operational)
SAR Redhen railcars 321 and 400 ←(operational)
STA 2000 class railcars 2006 and 2112
CR Budd Railcar CB 1

Operations

The museum operates a number of historic locomotives for shunting of rolling stock and during special events. Within the museum grounds, 457 mm (18.0 in)-gauge steam and diesel locomotives provide rides on a track 1.2 km (0.75 mi) long. In 1992, the museum, in cooperation with the local council, built a 1.7 km (1.1 mi) line along the beach from Semaphore to Fort Glanville. From October to April, trains operate – subject to temperatures being less than 35 °C (95 °F) – on weekends, public holidays and school holidays. The line travels along the coastline, through the sand dunes and the Fort Glanville Conservation Park; the locomotive is turned at each end.

Since 1982 the museum has published its bi-monthly Catch Point Magazine, a full-colour, A5-format, 48-page magazine that features news and articles about railway operations mainly in South Australia.^[12]^[13]^[14]

Buildings

The museum has a number of historic buildings, some original to the site and others transported for display,^[15] including the following:

Port Dock station goods shed: this is the only remaining intact building of the Port Adelaide (later named Port Dock) station complex. Typical of South Australian Railways structures of the 19th century, architecturally it is an austere industrial building notable for its scale and the use of large timber beams throughout. Its size and scale reflect the economic prosperity of South Australia when it was built, in 1878 – a time when Port Adelaide's facilities were being extended to serve the growing import and export trade.^[16] It has been entered in the SA Heritage Register.^[16]
Woodville signal cabin: this two-storey wooden building from suburban Woodville, prominently backing on to Lipson Street, is connected to the narrow gauge yard.
Callington shelter shed: typical of a type of building provided by the South Australian Railways at small country stations, this shelter shed and minuscule booking office was originally built in 1951 for the then small rural community of Callington, 24 kilometres (15 miles) west of Murray Bridge on the main Adelaide-Melbourne line.
Eudunda gangers' shed: typical of hundreds of such sheds on the South Australian Railways where track-maintenance gangers and packers held their tools and track inspection trolleys, this example came from Eudunda, 110 kilometres (68 miles) north of Adelaide.

Gallery

A train on the museum's 1.7 km (1 mi) Semaphore and Fort Glanville Tourist Railway, headed by miniature steam locomotive, Bub
Turning a miniature locomotive on the seafront line at Semaphore
SAR-designed and built diesel-electric locomotive no. 900 ready for transfer to the museum
Commonwealth Railways dining car DA 52, which served fine food across the Nullarbor Plain between 1930 and the 1960s
Commonwealth Railways GM class diesel-electric locomotives, such as no. GM2, revolutionised schedules on the Trans-Australian Railway in 1951
Railway signalling and safeworking display
South Australian Railways 75-class railcars, designed by US company Brill, were introduced in 1928 to run on suburban and country lines alike
The relocated Woodville signal cabin
1914-built locomotive no. 4, which hauled BHP iron ore trains from Iron Knob to Whyalla
Narrow-gauge Beyer-Garratt 400 class locomotive no. 409 was one of ten introduced in 1952 to haul silver-lead-zinc ore mined at Broken Hill to Port Pirie

Notes

↑ The Australian National Railways Commission used the trading names, successively: Australian National Railways, Australian National, and AN (the latter being a trademark).
↑ Mr Fischer proposed "national" in view of the multi-jurisdictional scope of the museum's collection and the incorporation of all three of the nation's major railway gauges.^[3]

Related Research Articles

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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.

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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">South Australian Railways</span> Government department that ran South Australias railways from 1854 to 1978

South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Australian National, and its Adelaide urban lines were transferred to the State Transport Authority.

The Redhen railcars was the nickname given to the 300 and 400 classes of diesel-hydraulic railcars designed by the South Australian Railways and built at its Islington Railway Workshops between 1955 and 1971. The railcars, which operated in Adelaide suburban service until 1996, remain a nostalgic part of South Australian memory. Some continue to be operated by the SteamRanger Heritage Railway, the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide and other railway preservation entities.

Railmotor is a term used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for a railway lightweight railcar, usually consisting of a railway carriage with a steam traction unit, or a diesel or petrol engine, integrated into it.

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The Silverton Tramway was a 58-kilometre-long 1,067 mm railway line running from Cockburn on the South Australian state border to Broken Hill in New South Wales. Operating between 1888 and 1970, it served the mines in Broken Hill, and formed the link between the 1,435 mmstandard gauge New South Wales Government Railways and the narrow gauge South Australian Railways lines. It was owned and operated by the Silverton Tramway Company (STC).

The 79 class is a diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric, Erie, United States for the Department of Railways New South Wales in 1943.

The Commonwealth Railways NC class consisted of two diesel-hydraulic locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville, New South Wales in 1956. The Lakewood Firewood Company, Kalgoorlie was the first owner; the Commonwealth Railways purchased them in 1965. They ceased revenue service in the early 1980s.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Railways 830 class</span> Class of Australian diesel-electric locomotives

The 830 class are a class of diesel locomotives built by AE Goodwin, Auburn for the South Australian Railways between 1959 and 1966. The New South Wales 48 class and Silverton Rail 48s class are of a very similar design.

The 500 class were a class of South Australian Railways diesel shunter locomotives built at Islington Railway Workshops between 1964 and 1969.

The 700 class is a class of six diesel-electric locomotives based on the Alco DL500G model, built by AE Goodwin, Auburn, New South Wales for the South Australian Railways. They are virtually identical to the New South Wales 442 class locomotive.

The Bluebird railcars were a class of self-propelled diesel-hydraulic railcar built by the South Australian Railways' Islington Railway Workshops between 1954 and 1959.

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The South Australian Railways 700 class was a class of 2-8-2 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways.

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References

1 2 3 4 "About the National Railway Museum – A brief history of the museum". National Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
↑ 150 years of the Port Adelaide Railway, 1856 to 2006: a review of the Adelaide to Port Adelaide Railway. Port Adelaide, S. Aust.: National Railway Museum. 2006. pp. 79, 80.
↑ Sampson, Bob (November 2019). "Vale – Tim Fischer AC". Catch Point Magazine. Port Adelaide: National Railway Museum. p. 28.
↑ "Port Adelaide to get new train station served by 1km rail spur". ABC News. 24 June 2017. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
↑ Kemp, Miles (24 June 2017). "State Budget 2017: Trains return to the heart of Port Adelaide after a 36-year absence". The Advertiser. Adelaide. Retrieved 15 July 2017.subscription: the source is only accessible via a paid subscription ("paywall").
↑ Pisani, Ashleigh (30 June 2017). "National Railway Museum warns issues to resolve before Port Dock Railway spur can return". Portside Messenger. Adelaide. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
↑ Pisani, Ashleigh (18 July 2018). "Barossa Wine Train booted from the Port". Portside Messenger. Adelaide. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
↑ Adelaide's public transport going back to the future under Stephan Knoll Archived 12 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine ABC News, 21 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
↑ Sampson, Bob (July 2019). "DPTI News". Catch Point Magazine. Port Adelaide: National Railway Museum. p. 6.
↑ Sampson, Bob (July 2023). "Dept Infrastructure & Transport news". Catch Point Magazine . Port Adelaide: National Railway Museum. p. 5. ISSN 2207-9114.
↑ "Search rollingstock exhibits". National Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013.
↑ "Catch Point Magazine". National Railway Museum. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
↑ Australian Railway Historical Society. South Australian Division; Mile End Railway Museum; Port Dock Station Railway Museum (1982), Catchpoint : S.A.'s modern railway magazine, Mile End Railway Museum (South Australia)
↑ National Railway Museum (2017), Catch Point Magazine (digital), National Railway Museum, ISSN 2207-9114
↑ "Buildings". National Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013.
1 2 "The South Australia Heritage Places database". maps.sa.gov.au. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.

Bibliography

Sampson, Bob (2010). Your Guide to the National Railway Museum (6th (revised) ed.). Port Adelaide, SA: National Railway Museum.

External links

Official Website

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.

[3] The Australian National Railways Commission used the trading names, successively: Australian National Railways, Australian National, and AN (the latter being a trademark).

[5] Mr Fischer proposed "national" in view of the multi-jurisdictional scope of the museum's collection and the incorporation of all three of the nation's major railway gauges.^[3]

[History-1] 1 2 3 4 "About the National Railway Museum – A brief history of the museum". National Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.

[2] 150 years of the Port Adelaide Railway, 1856 to 2006: a review of the Adelaide to Port Adelaide Railway. Port Adelaide, S. Aust.: National Railway Museum. 2006. pp. 79, 80.

[4] Sampson, Bob (November 2019). "Vale – Tim Fischer AC". Catch Point Magazine. Port Adelaide: National Railway Museum. p. 28.

[ABC_news-6] "Port Adelaide to get new train station served by 1km rail spur". ABC News. 24 June 2017. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.

[ADVstatebudget-7] Kemp, Miles (24 June 2017). "State Budget 2017: Trains return to the heart of Port Adelaide after a 36-year absence". The Advertiser. Adelaide. Retrieved 15 July 2017.subscription: the source is only accessible via a paid subscription ("paywall").

[8] Pisani, Ashleigh (30 June 2017). "National Railway Museum warns issues to resolve before Port Dock Railway spur can return". Portside Messenger. Adelaide. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2017.

[9] Pisani, Ashleigh (18 July 2018). "Barossa Wine Train booted from the Port". Portside Messenger. Adelaide. Retrieved 1 August 2018.

[10] Adelaide's public transport going back to the future under Stephan Knoll Archived 12 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine ABC News, 21 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.

[CatchpointJul2019-11] Sampson, Bob (July 2019). "DPTI News". Catch Point Magazine. Port Adelaide: National Railway Museum. p. 6.

[12] Sampson, Bob (July 2023). "Dept Infrastructure & Transport news". Catch Point Magazine . Port Adelaide: National Railway Museum. p. 5. ISSN 2207-9114.

[13] "Search rollingstock exhibits". National Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013.

[14] "Catch Point Magazine". National Railway Museum. Retrieved 23 October 2023.

[15] Australian Railway Historical Society. South Australian Division; Mile End Railway Museum; Port Dock Station Railway Museum (1982), Catchpoint : S.A.'s modern railway magazine, Mile End Railway Museum (South Australia)

[16] National Railway Museum (2017), Catch Point Magazine (digital), National Railway Museum, ISSN 2207-9114

[17] "Buildings". National Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013.

[:0-18] 1 2 "The South Australia Heritage Places database". maps.sa.gov.au. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.

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v t e Port Adelaide landmarks
Buildings and structures	Birkenhead Bridge Fishermen's Wharf Market Hart's Mill Jervois Bridge Mary MacKillop Bridge Port Adelaide Lighthouse Port Adelaide Workers Memorial Tom 'Diver' Derrick Bridge
Cultural institutions	National Railway Museum South Australian Aviation Museum South Australian Maritime Museum Torrens Island Concentration Camp
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Pubs and hotels	Birkenhead Riverview Tavern (1877) The British Hotel (1847) Dockside Tavern (1850) First Commercial Inn (1841) Newmarket Hotel (1879) Port Admiral Hotel (1849) Port Anchor Hotel (1873) Port Dock Brewery Hotel (1855) Railway Hotel (1856) Royal Arms Hotel (1878) The Lighthouse Hotel (1857) Largs Pier Hotel (1882) Glanville Hotel (1865) Lord Exmouth Hotel (1859)

National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide

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