| Waikerie railway line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | Karoonda Waikerie | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Continues from | Barmera line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System | South Australian Railways | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | South Australian Railways Australian National | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 23 September 1914 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | Galga-Waikerie:14 March 1990 Karoonda-Galga: 4 March 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 119.0 km (73.9 mi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Waikerie railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network.
The Waikerie railway line branched from the Barmera railway line at Karoonda, which was also the junction for the Peebinga railway line on the other side of the main line. It extended north, north-east, and north again to Waikerie, on the cliffs above the Murray River. [1]
Before construction started on the Waikerie railway, there was active discussion about where it should branch from the Barmera or Adelaide-Wolseley line. Eventually, the decision was made that it should branch from Karoonda at the 30-mile siding from Tailem Bend. Other possible branching points at that stage included the 40-mile (Borrika) and 58½ miles (Mindarie) from Tailem Bend. [2] There was also a proposal to branch from the 20-mile mark (Wynarka). [3] [4] The line opened on 23 September 1914. [5]
The Waikerie line was part of a significant expansion of the railways in South Australia in the early part of the 20th century to facilitate greater development of the rural areas of the state. The estimated cost of the 74 miles (119 km) Karoonda-Waikerie line, including rolling stock, was £251,350, with expected revenue of £10,000 per annum, working expenses of £10,820, and interest costs of £10,054. It was anticipated by the Railways Commissioner that the loss here would be £10,874 per annum. The area to be served was estimated at 956,000 acres (387,000 ha). [6] The contract for the first 19.5 miles (31.4 km) was accepted for £16,220 in January 1914. [7] The Galga to Waikerie section closed on 14 March 1990, followed by the Karoonda-Galga section on 4 March 1994. [5]
Tailem Bend is a town on the Murray River in South Australia and the home of The Bend Motorsport Park. It is located less than 100 km south-east of Adelaide. It is located on the cliffs above the east (left) bank of the Murray River close to where the river empties into Lake Alexandrina.
Karoonda is in the middle of the Murray Mallee region of South Australia. Karoonda takes its name from the Aboriginal word for "winter camp". 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 bounded to the north and west by the Murray River, 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 horse-drawn tramway from the port of Goolwa on the Murray River to an ocean harbour at Port Elliot in 1854. Today the state has 1,600 mm broad gauge suburban railways in Adelaide, a number of country freight lines, as well as key 1,435 mm standard gauge links to other states.
Loxton is a town on the south bank of the River Murray in the Riverland region of South Australia. It is located on the lands of the Erawirung people who occupied the area before European colonisation.
Paringa is a small town in the Riverland of South Australia. Paringa is famous for its vineyards, almond, citrus and stone fruit orchards, and the steel bridge with a span that can be raised to allow houseboats and paddlesteamers to pass underneath and across the Murray River to Renmark. At the 2006 census, Paringa had a population of 946.
Mindarie is a small town in the Murray Mallee of South Australia between Karoonda and Loxton. The town was gazetted in 1912. The name Mindarie is believed to originate from the Dieri Aboriginal language, and possibly means "festival to invoke peace".
Wynarka is a very small town in South Australia 120 kilometres (75 mi) southeast of Adelaide on the Karoonda Highway (B55) and Loxton railway line in the Murray Mallee. Wynarka lies within the District Council of Karoonda East Murray.
Alawoona is a town in the Murray Mallee region of South Australia. At the 2006 census, Alawoona had a population of 250. It lies on the Karoonda Highway and Loxton railway line where they both change direction from easterly to continue northwards for 35 km to Loxton.
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 town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia located about 157 kilometres (98 mi) east of the state capital of Adelaide and about 56 kilometres (35 mi) north-east of the municipal seat of Karoonda.
Paruna is a town in eastern South Australia. The town is located on the Browns Well Highway, where it crosses the former Barmera railway line, 237 kilometres (147 mi) east of the state capital, Adelaide.
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.
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.
Mantung is a town and a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's south-east about 140 kilometres (87 mi) east of the state capital of Adelaide, and about 58 kilometres (36 mi) north-east and about 48 kilometres (30 mi) south-west respectively of the municipal seats of Karoonda and Loxton.
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.
