The Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre ("Centre") is a static railway museum based in the former railway workshops located in Peterborough, South Australia.
Peterborough was the administrative and service centre for the Peterborough Division of the South Australian Railways, [1] employing up to 1,500 people in the workshops during its heyday. The railway workshops covered an extensive area mainly to the west of the township, and it is in these original buildings that the exhibits are displayed.
The turntable and roundhouse are the main features of the exhibit.
The turntable is unusual in that it accommodates three rail gauges: Narrow gauge (1,067 mm or 3 ft 6 in), standard gauge (1,435 mm or 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) and broad gauge (1,600 mm or 5 ft 3 in). In Australia there were only two similar turntables (located at Port Pirie and Gladstone); all three were on the same line, with the one at Peterborough the only one remaining. This unique situation arose from the standardisation project of the late 1960s. [1] At this time the broad gauge line was extended from Terowie to Peterborough and the Port Pirie to Broken Hill section (passing through Peterborough) was replaced by standard gauge line. The Peterborough to Quorn section remained narrow gauge.
Prior to the cessation of railway operations by Steamtown Peterborough Railway Preservation Society in June 2002, a steering committee, made up of the Federation of North East Councils, the Northern Regional Development Board, and the Flinders Ranges Area Consultative Committee, as well as Society representatives, was established. This led to a project to formalise development of the workshops precinct, which in turn led to the development of the Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre. [2]
Considerable effort was put into improving the grounds and the presentation of the displays, including interpretive signage.
It was hoped that Garratt 402 could return from the Zig Zag Railway in Lithgow; however, negotiations were discontinued. Garratt 402 was the only member of its class which travelled the entire Quorn Line. [3] [4]
A reception centre, which includes offices, a souvenir shop and a cafe, was built just off Main Street, at the north-eastern corner of the 1960s-vintage diesel workshop.
The Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre was officially opened on 29 November 2009 to much fanfare from the South Australian premier, Mike Rann. [5]
The centre is open seven days a week; an entry fee is charged. [6]
Guided tours, lasting about an hour and a half, provide a narrative of the equipment displayed, the infrastructure on site and its social history as well as exploring amusing railway anecdotes and experiences. [6]
After the centre's opening, technical difficulties limited the availability of the planned sound and light show; but after considerable work to resolve the issues the show is now considered a huge success, operating most nights, dependent only on bookings. The sound and light show has contributed to an increase in the number of overnight stays in the town, which benefits the other tourist attractions and the town in general. [7]
The centre had accreditation as a rail-transport operator to run its motor inspection car, MIC 127, between the centre and the former goods platform in Peterborough yard, though this is rarely done. [8]
Today the centre is operated by a staff of volunteers sourced from the local community in conjunction with a paid manager and a receptionist.
Through a skills-development program run in association with the local high school, students assisted with the refurbishment of a sheep wagon and a miniature train. [9] One of these students, Ben Graefe, who also runs tours at the centre, won a Rotary Pride in Workmanship 2010 Award for his efforts. [10]
The centre was planned to be cost neutral to the Council within 7 years, however attendances to both tours and its Sound and Light show have been such that it as expected to break even within two to three years. It was expecting to achieve a visitation rate of 15000 by the end of the 2011-2012 financial year [11]
October 2010 the Centre won an Advantage SA award, in the Regional Tourism category for Yorke and Mid North Region During October 2012, the Centre won an Advantage SA award, in the Regional Tourism category [12] 2014 Steamtown won the SA Regional Award for Tourism 2015 Steamtown won the Hall of Fame Award for Tourism in the region of Yorke and Mid North
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. At the 2016 census, the locality had a population of 1,230, of which 1,131 lived in its town centre.
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.
Peterborough is a town in the mid north of South Australia, in wheat country, just off the Barrier Highway. At the 2016 census, Peterborough had a population of 1,419. It was originally named Petersburg after the landowner, Peter Doecke, who sold land to create the town. It was one of 69 places in South Australia renamed in 1917 due to anti-German sentiments during World War I.
The first railway in colonial South Australia was a line from the port of Goolwa on the River Murray to an ocean harbour at Port Elliot, which first operated in December 1853, before its completion in May 1854.
The Steamtown Peterborough Railway Preservation Society Inc. was a not-for-profit incorporated society that operated a heritage steam railway from Peterborough, South Australia, north along a section of the Peterborough to Quorn railway line, between 1977 and 2002. The society based its operations on the former South Australian Railways roundhouse at Peterborough and purpose-built sheds and yard at Peterborough West.
Orroroo is a town in the Yorke and Mid North region of South Australia. At the 2016 census, the locality of Orroroo had a population of 610 while its urban centre had a population of 537. The Wilmington-Ucolta Road passes through here, intersecting with the RM Williams Way which leads to the Birdsville and Oodnadatta Tracks. The Peterborough–Quorn railway line extended from Peterborough to Orroroo also in 1881 and Quorn in 1882, connecting with the new Central Australia Railway from Port Augusta. These railways have now been abandoned. Orroroo is situated near Goyder's Line, a line drawn up in 1865 by Surveyor General Goyder which he believed indicated the edge of the area suitable for agriculture.
The South Australian Railways 400 class was a class of 4-8-2+2-8-4 articulated steam locomotives built in France in 1952 and 1953 under licence to Beyer, Peacock & Co. Ltd, Manchester, UK. The locomotives mainly hauled ore on the 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge line from the SA/NSW border to smelters at Port Pirie until 1963, when they were replaced by diesel locomotives. They also operated on the lines to Terowie and Quorn. Some locomotives were returned to service in 1969 while narrow gauge diesel locomotives were converted to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge. Subsequently some were stored at Peterborough before being scrapped.
The WAGR W class is a class of 4-8-2 steam locomotives operated by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) between 1951 and 1972.
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.
The WAGR V class was the last class of steam locomotive to enter service with the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR). The class was part of the post war regeneration plan for the WAGR, intended for the heavy coal traffic between the Collie coal fields and Perth.
The NT class were a class of diesel locomotives built by Tulloch Limited, Rhodes for Commonwealth Railways for use on the Central and North Australia Railways between 1965 and 1968.
Black Rock is a hamlet in South Australia on the Black Rock Plains at the intersection of the south–north RM Williams Way (B80) between Jamestown and Orroroo and the west–east Wilmington–Ucolta Road (B56) to Peterborough, in the Mid North section of the state.
The 500 class were a class of South Australian Railways diesel shunter locomotives built at Islington Railway Workshops between 1964 and 1969.
The South Australian Railways T class was a class of 4-8-0 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways. Several were sold to the Tasmanian Government Railways; some others operated on the Commonwealth Railways.
Peterborough railway station is located on the Crystal Brook-Broken Hill line in Peterborough, South Australia.
Port Augusta railway station is a rail station located on the Adelaide-Port Augusta railway line in Port Augusta, South Australia.
The 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.
Hammond is a town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia located in the southern Flinders Ranges.
The Peterborough–Quorn railway line was a 3 ft 6 in railway line on the South Australian Railways network. Located in the upper Mid North of South Australia, it opened from Peterborough to Orroroo on 23 November 1881, being extended to Quorn on 22 May 1882.
Farina railway station was located on the Central Australia Railway, and later the Marree railway line serving the small South Australian outback town of Farina.