Balaklava-Moonta railway line

The Balaklava-Moonta railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. It ran across the top of the Yorke Peninsula.

Balaklava-Moonta railway line
Dual gauge track at Wallaroo, March 2008
Overview
System	South Australian Railways
Status	Closed
Locale	Yorke Peninsula, South Australia
Coordinates	34°02′46.0″S 137°55′55.9″E
Termini	Balaklava Moonta
Continues from	Hamley Bridge-Gladstone line
Operation
Opened	Balaklava-Port Wakefield: 14 March 1876 Port Wakefield-Kadina: 9 October 1878 Kadina-Wallaroo: 15 January 1880 Wallaroo-Moonta: 2 November 1891
Closed	Balaklava-Paskeville: 4 April 1984 Wallaroo-Moonta: 23 July 1984 Paskeville-Kadina:14 March 1990 Kadina-Wallaroo: 3 March 1993
Operator(s)	South Australian Railways Australian National
Technical
Line length	109.4 km (68.0 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Old gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map Moonta Yelta Cross Roads Parramatta Wallaroo Wallaroo Mines Kadina Brinkworth–Kadina railway line to Snowtown and Brinkworth Green's Plains Paskeville Melton South Hummocks Port Wakefield Bowman's Saints Balaklava Gladstone railway line to Hamley Bridge and Adelaide Halbury Hoyleton Gladstone railway line to Brinkworth and Gladstone [1]

History

The first part to be built was a horse-drawn tramway between the port at Wallaroo and mines near Kadina in 1862, followed by mines near Moonta in 1866. This was originally constructed as 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge.

A separate isolated horse-drawn tramway[2] was constructed to deliver grain from the plains east of Port Wakefield in the areas of Balaklava, Halbury and Hoyle's Plains (now Hoyleton) to that port. It opened in 1869.[3]

The 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge line from Port Wakefield reached a new junction with the Kadina-Brinkworth railway line at Kadina and opened on 9 October 1878. It continued to Wallaroo on a new track adjacent to the older broad gauge track.[4] The line from Kadina to Barunga Gap had started construction from the Kadina end in 1877[5]

On 1 August 1927, the line was converted from 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) to 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge.[6][7] A junction at Kadina connected the Brinkworth-Kadina line. The section from Kadina to Wallaroo was converted to dual gauge broad and standard gauges on 2 December 1982 after the Adelaide-Port Augusta line was converted to standard gauge.[7]

The section from Balaklava to Paskeville closed on 4 April 1984, followed by the Wallaroo to Moonta section on 23 July 1984. The broad gauge section from Kadina to Wallaroo also closed on 23 July 1984, but the standard gauge line remained open until 3 March 1993. The Paskeville to Kadina section closed on 14 March 1990.[7] After the railway closed, part of it was used by the Lions Club of Yorke Peninsula Railway for heritage tourist services, but this ceased operations in 2009.

The line between Wallaroo and Kadina has since been pulled up and replaced with a rail trail and retail stores on both ends.

References

1. South Australia. Chief Engineer for Railways; Vaughan, A. (Alfred); South Australia. Surveyor-General's Office (1910), Map shewing lines of railways in South Australia, Novr. 1910, Surveyor General's Office, retrieved 25 February 2016
2. "PORT WAKEFIELD RAILWAY". The South Australian Advertiser. XII (3385). South Australia. 21 August 1869. p. 2. Retrieved 24 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "THE PORT WAKEFIELD AND HOYLE'S PLAINS TRAMWAY, AND THE DISTRICT THROUGH WHICH IT PASSES". The Express and Telegraph. VI (1, 808). South Australia. 27 November 1869. p. 2 (SECOND EDITION). Retrieved 24 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "THE PORT WAKEFIELD AND KADINA RAILWAY". South Australian Register. XLIII (9953). South Australia. 8 October 1878. p. 6. Retrieved 24 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "THE KADINA AND BARUNGA RAILWAY". The Express and Telegraph. XV (4, 301). South Australia. 23 May 1878. p. 2 (SECOND EDITION). Retrieved 24 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
6. Callaghan, WH (2002). "Horse and Steam, Wheat and Copper". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin (January, February, 2002): 9–27, 46–63.
7. Quinlan, Howard; Newland, John (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 56–58. ISBN 0 909650 49 7.

External links

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