Barossa Valley railway line

The Barossa Valley railway line is a railway line with several branches, running from Gawler into and through the Barossa Valley. The original terminus was at Angaston. A branch was built from Nuriootpa via Stockwell to Truro, and a further branch from that to Penrice. The Angaston and Truro branches are closed and removed; the line to Penrice remains but has not been used since 2014.

Barossa Valley railway line
Overview
Status	dormant
Locale	Barossa Valley
Termini	Gawler Angaston, Truro, Penrice
Continues from	Gawler line
Operation
Opened	8 September 1911 (1911-09-08)
Closed	25 June 2014 (2014-06-25)
Technical
Line length	44.2 km (27.5 mi)
Number of tracks	single track
Track gauge	5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm)
Route map 92.3 Truro 83.4 Stockwell North Para River 84.0 Penrice quarry freight only closed 2014 Angaston Nuriootpa triangle 77.0 Nuriootpa 70.2 Tanunda 56.9 Lyndoch out of use end of suburban network 42.2 Gawler Central 41.4 Gawler Oval Morgan line 39.8 Gawler Gawler line 0.0 Adelaide Detailed diagram 92.3 Truro Sturt Highway 83.4 Stockwell North Para River 84.0 Penrice quarry Penrice Line freight only closed 2014 Penrice Road Angaston Road Angaston Adelaide Brighton Cement works Stockwell Road Research Road Angaston Line 77.0 Nuriootpa Nuriootpa Triangle Barossa Valley Way Seppeltsfield Road Barossa Valley Way Magnolia Road Hobbs Street Basedown Road 70.2 Tanunda Bethany Road dirt road Barossa Valley Way Barossa Valley Way Lyndoch Valley Road 56.9 Lyndoch Gilbert Street Williamstown Road Barossa Valley Way Murray Street out of use end of suburban network 42.2 Gawler Central Bridge Street Howard Street Victoria Street 41.4 Gawler Oval South Para River Morgan line to Morgan Overway Bridge Road 39.8 Gawler Gawler line 0.0 Adelaide

History

The Angaston line opened from Gawler through Nuriootpa to Angaston in 1911.[1]

The line from Nuriootpa to Truro opened on 24 September 1917.[2] Before it had been built, there was public discussion about it continuing to Dutton, Steinfeld and Sedan.[3] The Truro line had also at various times been proposed to be extended to the Murray River at Blanchetown,[4] but this was rejected in 1923.[5]

By November 1950, a branch line from Light Pass on the Truro line to Penrice Quarry was built. The Truro line closed to passengers on 16 December 1968. Some freight trains and special tours by the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) used the line to Truro until 1979 when Australian National declared the line unsafe. In the late 1970s the Truro line became the branch line and the Penrice line the mainline. The last ARHS special to operate past Penrice Junction was on 20 September 1981, when Rx 207 worked to Stockwell.

From 1987, the line beyond Stockwell was used to store surplus rolling stock. It was later removed and the track between there and Truro lifted. Remaining rollingstock between Penrice Junction and Stockwell was cleared during February 1990; with that section of line also being closed and later taken up. The line past Penrice junction was officially declared closed during 1992. Some relics of the line remain today. In 2010, the track between Angaston and Nuriootpa was lifted and a shared bike and pedestrian path was put in place.[6]

Bulk cement was transported by rail from the Adelaide Brighton Cement works adjacent to the railway line east of Stockwell Road on the western side of Angaston until the mid-1990s.

Since the cessation of the Penrice Stone Train to Penrice Quarry in June 2014, the line has been booked out of use.[7][8][9]

Services

Regular passenger services ceased in the 1970s. In November 1996, TransAdelaide introduced a trial Sundays only service to Nuriootpa.[10] Later, the heritage Barossa Wine Train ran from Adelaide to Tanunda with Bluebird railcars. This ceased in April 2003.[11] Commuter passenger services were earlier withdrawn on 16 December 1968.

In March 2015, it was revealed that a consortium were seeking to resurrect the Barossa Wine Train and had an option to purchase three Bluebird railcars.[12]

Stations

There were a total of 7 stopping places on the line between Gawler and Angaston.[13]

• North Gawler (now Gawler Central railway station)
• Sandy Creek
• Lyndoch
• Rowlands Flat[14]
• Tanunda
• Nuriootpa
• Angaston

On the Truro branch:

• Stockwell (4 miles (6.4 km) from Nuriootpa)[15]
• Truro (9.5 miles (15.3 km) from Nuriootpa)[15]

References

1. "Following the Iron Road". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 9 September 1911. p. 15. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
2. "The Truro Railway". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 26 September 1917. p. 10. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
3. "Sedan Railway Movement". Kapunda Herald. SA: National Library of Australia. 23 August 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
4. "Truro to Blanchetown Railway". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 29 July 1921. p. 6. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
5. "Truro-Blanchetown Railway". The Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 13 October 1923. p. 52. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
6. "Angaston-Nuriootpa Bike Path" (PDF). Barossa Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
7. Penrice soda ash plant at Osborne closing ABC News 25 June 2014
8. "Penrice stoney and SBR iron trains cease" Railway Digest August 2014 page 19
9. "Signaling & infrastructure" Railway Digest February 2015 page 15
10. "Barossa Valley Tourist Trains" Railway Digest February 1997 pages 15-16
11. Wine train plan derailed The Advertiser 10 November 2006
12. Wine train dream back on track InDaily 10 March 2015
13. "Angaston Railway". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 September 1913. p. 7. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
14. "The Angaston Railway". The Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 14 September 1912. p. 14. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
15. "The Truro Railway". Daily Herald. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 6 January 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 24 October 2014.