Tailem Bend | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Railway Terrace, Tailem Bend | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 35°15′18″S139°27′23″E / 35.25500°S 139.45639°E | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operated by | South Australian Railways 1886 - 1978 Australian National 1978 - 1997 Great Southern Rail 1997-1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | Adelaide-Wolseley Loxton Pinnaroo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance | 120.50 kilometres from Adelaide | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Structure type | Ground | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Closed to passenger services, now used as a museum | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1 May 1886 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | May 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | 7 October 1913 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tailem Bend railway station is located on the Adelaide-Wolseley line in Tailem Bend, South Australia. [1] It is also the junction point for the Loxton and Pinnaroo lines.
Tailem Bend station opened on 1 May 1886 as a station on the Nairne-Bordertown extension of what became the Adelaide-Wolseley line. [2] It became a junction station with the Pinnaroo line constructed in 1906 and the Brown's Well line in 1913. The Brown's Well line was eventually extended to Barmera in 1928, and had several branches with trains that operated back to Tailem Bend. Trains on the Peebinga, Loxton, Moorook and Waikerie lines all passed through Tailem Bend. [3] All were built as broad gauge lines. The current station was opened on 7 October 1913. [4] On 27 June 1926, locomotive servicing facilities were opened including a roundhouse. [5]
In 1995, as part of the One Nation program the Adelaide-Wolseley line was converted to standard gauge, and Tailem Bend became a break of gauge station until 1998, when the remaining broad gauge branch lines to Pinnaroo and Loxton were converted to standard gauge. [6] [7] [8] In May 1999, the station closed when The Overland, then operated by Great Southern Rail began operating on a new timetable that skipped multiple stations including Tailem Bend. [9] On 22 May 2005, it was restored and reopened as a museum. [10] The two remaining branch lines out of Tailem Bend, the Loxton and Pinnaroo lines closed in 2015 after grain train operations on those lines ceased. [11] [12] The Viterra owned grain silos and bunkers in Tailem Bend are still served by rail.
Tailem Bend is a rural town in South Australia, 85 kilometres south-east of the state capital of Adelaide. It is located on the lower reaches of the River Murray, near where the river flows into Lake Alexandrina. It is linear in layout since it is constrained by river cliffs on its western side and the Adelaide–Melbourne railway line is dominant on its eastern side. The town grew and consolidated through being a large railway centre between the 1890s and 1990s; now it continues to service regional rural communities. In the 2021 census, Tailem Bend and the surrounding area had a population of 1,705.
Adelaide railway station is the central terminus of the Adelaide Metro railway system. All lines approach the station from the west, and it is a terminal station with no through lines, with most of the traffic on the metropolitan network either departing or terminating here. It has nine below-ground platforms, all using broad gauge track. The station is located on the north side of North Terrace, west of Parliament House.
The Overland is an interstate passenger train service in Australia, travelling between the state capitals of Melbourne and Adelaide, a distance of 828 km (515 mi). It first ran in 1887 as the Adelaide Express, known by South Australians as the Melbourne Express. It was given its current name in 1936. Now operated by private company Journey Beyond, the train undertakes two return trips a week. Originally an overnight train that stopped at large intermediate stations, it now operates during the day, stopping less frequently.
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 Belair line is a suburban rail commuter route in the city of Adelaide, South Australia, that runs from the Adelaide station to Belair in the Adelaide Hills via the Adelaide-Wolseley line using diesel 3000/3100 class railcars. Prior to 1995, this part of Adelaide-Wolseley was a two-track broad gauge line. In 1995, Adelaide-Wolseley was converted to standard gauge meaning Adelaide to Belair is now effectively two separate single-track lines running in parallel: the Belair commuter line and the Adelaide-Wolseley standard gauge freight line.
The Mildura railway line is a heavy rail line in northwestern Victoria, Australia. The line runs from Yelta station to Ballarat station via the settlements of Mildura, Ouyen and Maryborough in an approximate south-southeasterly direction. Initial sections of the line opened from Ballarat in 1874 and the line reached Mildura in 1903.
The Bridgewater railway line is a former passenger railway service on the Adelaide to Wolseley line in the Adelaide Hills. It was served by suburban services from Adelaide. On 26 July 1987, the service was curtailed to Belair and renamed Belair railway line. In 1995, the Adelaide-Wolseley line was converted to standard gauge as part of the One Nation infrastructure program, disconnecting the abandoned Bridgewater line stations from the broad gauge suburban railway system.
The Melbourne–Adelaide rail corridor consists of the 828-kilometre (514-mile) long 1435 mm standard-gauge main line between the Australian state capitals of Melbourne, Victoria and Adelaide, South Australia, and the lines immediately connected to it. Most of its traffic is freight; the only passenger train along the entire route is the twice-weekly passenger service The Overland, operated by Journey Beyond.
The Adelaide–Wolseley railway line is a 313 kilometre line running from Adelaide to Wolseley on the Australian Rail Track Corporation network. It is the South Australian section of the Melbourne–Adelaide railway.
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 Pinnaroo railway line ran east from the Adelaide to Melbourne line at Tailem Bend to Pinnaroo near the South Australia / Victoria state border. The route continues into Victoria via the Victorian Railways line to Ouyen where it joined the Mildura line.
The Loxton railway line is a closed railway line in the northern Murray Mallee region of South Australia. It ran north-east from Tailem Bend to grain silos near Loxton.
The Barmera railway line was the second railway built to develop the Murray Mallee region of South Australia, in 1913. It followed the success of the Pinnaroo railway line in 1906. Both lines branched east from Tailem Bend to the north of the main Melbourne–Adelaide railway. The Brown's Well line was the more northerly, and extended into country which had not been developed much before the railway, partly due to the absence of any viable transport route for produce. The original terminus of the Brown's Well railway was at Meribah, not far from the Victorian border.
Monarto South railway station was located on the Adelaide to Wolseley line serving the South Australian town of Monarto South.
Elwomple is a locality in The Coorong District Council in the South Australian Murray Mallee, southeast of Tailem Bend. The northwest corner is the junction of the Mallee Highway which forms the northern boundary of Elwomple, and the Dukes Highway which forms the southwestern boundary. The Bend Motorsport Park was developed in Elwomple adjacent to this junction. In September 2017, before the facility opened, the boundary between Tailem Bend and Elwomple was adjusted so that The Bend Motorsport Park was officially in Tailem Bend, not Elwomple.
Cooke Plains railway station was located in the town of Cooke Plains, about 137 kilometres from Adelaide station.
Coomandook railway station was located in the town of Coomandook, about 153 kilometres from Adelaide station.
Coonalpyn railway station is located on the Adelaide-Wolseley line in Coonalpyn, South Australia.
Tintinara railway station is located on the Adelaide-Wolseley line in Tintinara, South Australia.