Wolseley | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Former Great Southern Rail regional rail | |||||||||||||||||||||
General information | |||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 36°21′55″S140°54′13″E / 36.3653°S 140.9037°E | ||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 108m | ||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | South Australian Railways 1886 - 1978 Australian National 1978 - 1998 Australian Rail Track Corporation 1998 - present | ||||||||||||||||||||
Operated by | South Australian Railways 1886 - 1978 Australian National 1978 - 1997 Great Southern Rail 1997 - 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | Adelaide-Wolseley | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance | 307 kilometres from Adelaide | ||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 2 (1 island) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||
Structure type | Ground | ||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Closed and partially demolished | ||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 30 August 1911 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | May 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Previous names | Tatiara | ||||||||||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Wolseley railway station was located at the junction of the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line and the Mount Gambier railway line. It served the town of Wolseley, South Australia.
Wolseley railway station, originally known as Tatiara, was located on an extension of a narrow gauge railway line from Naracoorte, which later formed the Mount Gambier railway line. The first section was opened on 21 September 1881 from Naracoorte to University Block, later known as Custon. [1] [2] The line was opened through Wolseley to Bordertown on 31 March 1883. [3] [4] On 19 January 1887, Wolseley became a break of gauge station with the arrival of the broad gauge Adelaide-Wolseley railway line through to Serviceton. The line opened in stages: on 14 March 1883 from Adelaide to Aldgate, on 28 November 1883 to Nairne, on 1 May 1886 to Bordertown and on 19 January 1887 to Serviceton. [5]
As a break of gauge station, Wolseley had a substantial station yard, including a wooden station building attached to a signal box on an island platform, and goods facilities including a shed, crane and platforms that enabled the trans-shipping of goods between the broad gauge and narrow gauge lines. [6] The goods facilities were lengthened in 1909 to cope with increasing goods demand. [7] In 1924, servicing facilities for the narrow gauge locomotives were built at Wolseley, enabling the narrow gauge line to be truncated from Bordertown to Wolseley. [8] [9] A new wooden station building was built in 1938, measuring 33m (108ft) in length compared to the previous building which was 15m (50ft) long. [10] In 1946, workers privately contracted with the trans-shipping of goods between broad and narrow gauge trains were involved in a dispute with their employer, stopping work for 2 days as the contractor intended on reducing their break times. During this period, 800 to 1000 tons of non-perishable goods were delayed at Wolseley, and station staff helped to move perishable goods. [11]
Over the 1950s, Wolseley ceased to be a break of gauge station, following the opening of the broad gauge extension to Naracoorte on 1 February 1950, and to Mount Gambier on 23 June 1953, resulting in the removal of the narrow gauge line in 1959. [12] [13] [14] In 1951, the interior of the yardmaster's office was damaged by fire. [15] Operations at the station were significantly scaled back as trans-shipping was no longer required, as goods could now move through Wolseley to the South East without needing to change trains. [8] During the 1960s, concrete grain silos were built, allowing grain to be loaded onto trains without the need for bagging. [8] In 1977, the wooden station building and signal box were replaced by a besser block construction, with the relay building being built around the brick base of the signal box.
In 1978, the station and all associated infrastructure was included in the transfer of South Australian Railways to Australian National. In later years, the station was used by the Bluebird railcar passenger service to Mount Gambier, known as the Blue Lake. It was also used by The Overland which travels between Adelaide and Melbourne. The Blue Lake was withdrawn completely with the cessation of all AN intrastate passenger services on 31 December 1990. [16] In May 1999, the station was closed to passengers completely when The Overland, then operated by Great Southern Rail began operating on a new timetable that skipped multiple stations including Wolseley. [17] The station building was demolished in February 2006, but the adjoining relay building was retained on the platform. The 1550m crossing loop remains in use, as do the Viterra grain silos which are still served by rail, mostly by Aurizon trains. [18] The former goods facilities, including the shed, crane and platform remain disused. In June 2024, Viterra announced a $35M upgrade of the Wolseley grain site, including works such as new grain bunkers, a rail loop, and fast rail loading bins, bringing down the current loading time from 8 hours to under 2 hours. [19] The works are expected to be complete by September 2025. [20]
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.
Bordertown, formerly Border Town, is a town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's east near the state border with Victoria about 250 kilometres (160 mi) east of the state capital of Adelaide. It is where the Dukes Highway and the railway line cross the Tatiara Creek between Adelaide and Melbourne, the capital of Victoria.
Wolseley is a small South Australian town near the Victorian border. It is five kilometres south of the Dukes Highway and 13 kilometres east of Bordertown. It was first proclaimed a town in 1884.
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.
Frances is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located about 291 kilometres (181 mi) south-east of the state capital, Adelaide and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north-east of the municipal seat of Naracoorte in the state's Limestone Coast region and adjoining the border with the State of Victoria.
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.
Mount Gambier railway station was the terminus of the Mount Gambier railway line and the junction for the Beachport and Mount Gambier-Heywood railway lines in the South Australian city of Mount Gambier. It was last used in 2006, and has since been transformed into a public community space.
The Mount Gambier railway line is a closed railway line in South Australia. Opened in stages from 1881, it was built to narrow gauge and joined Mount Gambier railway station, which was at that time the eastern terminus of a line to Beachport. It connected at Naracoorte to another isolated narrow gauge line joining Naracoorte to Kingston SE, and to the broad gauge Adelaide-Wolseley line at Wolseley, at around the same time that was extended to Serviceton to become the South Australian part of the interstate Melbourne–Adelaide railway. It was closed in April 1995.
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.
Naracoorte railway station was located on the junction of the Mount Gambier railway line and the Kingston SE railway line. It served the town of Naracoorte.
Penola railway station was located on the Mount Gambier railway line in the South Australian town of Penola.
Keith railway station was located on the Adelaide-Wolseley line in Keith, South Australia.
Kalangadoo railway station was located on the Mount Gambier railway line. It served the town of Kalangadoo, South Australia.
Wirrega railway station was located on the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line in the town of Wirrega, 273 kilometres from Adelaide railway station by rail.
Cannawigara railway station was located on the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line in the locality of Cannawigara, 282 kilometres from Adelaide railway station by rail.
Brimbago railway station was located on the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line in the locality of Brimbago, 261 kilometres from Adelaide railway station by rail.
Glenroy railway station was located on the Mount Gambier railway line. It served the locality of Glenroy, South Australia.