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.
Karoonda is a town in the middle of the Murray Mallee region of South Australia. The current boundaries include the former town of Lowaldie, which was the next stop on the railway line away from Adelaide.
The Murray Mallee is the grain-growing and sheep-farming area of South Australia. It is bounded to the north and west by the Murray River, called the "River Murray" in South Australia, to the east by the Victorian border, and extending about 50 km south of the Mallee Highway.
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 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.
Galga is a settlement in the northern Murray Mallee region of South Australia. The town of Galga was surveyed in 1915 after the Waikerie railway line from Karoonda to Waikerie was opened in 1914. The line was shortened to Galga in 1990, and closed completely in 1994. There is a small bulk grain silo at Galga, but it is no longer regularly used. Galga has an active Country Fire Service brigade with one fire truck.
Wanbi is a township on the Karoonda Highway in the Australian state of South Australia, about 160 kilometres (99 mi) east of the state capital of Adelaide and about 56 kilometres (35 mi) north-east of the municipal seat of Karoonda. Situated on a ridgeline covered by mallee trees, it has a one-street layout common to many South Australian townships. A hotel, advertised as being "in the heart of the scrub, stumps and sand", was built in 1932, when commercial activity was increasing and a general store, cream depot and several houses – most housing South Australian Railways employees – were present.
The Pinnaroo railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. It 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 Yinkanie railway line was a 50.6 kilometres (31.4 mi) railway line on the South Australian Railways network. Named the Wanbi to Moorook Railway in its enabling Act, it never reached its intended destination on the River Murray. The railway ran from a junction with the Barmera line at Wanbi northwards to Yinkanie, opening on 7 September 1925 and closing on 1 May 1971.
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.
The Peebinga railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. It opened on 28 December 1914 from a junction with the Barmera line at Karoonda and ran generally eastward through the Murray Mallee terminating at Peebinga, two kilometres from the Victorian state border. It closed on 7 December 1990.
Tailem Bend railway station is located on the Adelaide-Wolseley line in Tailem Bend, South Australia. It is also the junction point for the Loxton and Pinnaroo lines.
Monarto South railway station was located on the Adelaide to Wolseley line serving the South Australian town of Monarto South.
Monteith railway station was located in the locality of Monteith, about 110 kilometres from Adelaide station.
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.
Karoonda railway station was located at the junction of the Peebinga railway line, Waikerie railway line and the Barmera railway line. It served the town of Karoonda.
