Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways (SAR) was the organisation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Australian National, and its Adelaide urban lines were transferred to the State Transport Authority.
The SAR's tracks were built to three rail gauges: 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge; 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge; and from the 1980s, when gauge standardisation at last commenced, 1435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge.
The first railway in South Australia was laid in 1854 between Goolwa and Port Elliot to allow for goods to be transferred between paddle steamers on the Murray River and seagoing vessels. The Goolwa station was built on the Wharf precinct, alongside the River Murray.
The next railway was laid from the harbour at Port Adelaide, to the capital, Adelaide, and was laid with Irish gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) track. This line was opened in 1856. Later on, branch lines in the state's north in the mining towns of Kapunda and Burra were linked through to the Adelaide metropolitan system. From here, a south main line extended to meet the horse tramway from Victor Harbor to Strathalbyn, and towards the South Australia/Victoria Border.
The metropolitan lines were built to broad gauge, but the mid north and south-east of the state were laid with 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge track. These systems were closely based on British practice, as was the broad gauge system prior to 1926. Locomotives and rolling stock were bought from the United Kingdom and United States, from builders such as Beyer, Peacock & Company, Dübs and Company, North British Locomotive Company, and Baldwin Locomotive Works.
In 1922, after the SAR's worst financial deficit, the government appointed American railroad manager William Webb, from the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad as Chief Commissioner. When Webb arrived in Adelaide with his young family, he found a railway system unchanged since the latter decades of the 19th century. The locomotives and rolling stock were small, wagons and carriages were of wooden construction, the track and bridges were unsuitable for heavy loads, the workshops had antiquated machinery and the signalling system was inflexible. These attributes drove up the ratio of operating costs to revenue.
Webb introduced a rehabilitation plan based on American railroad principles of large, standardised locomotives and steel-bodied freight cars, with automatic "knuckle" couplers (replacing hook-and-chain) to enable a significant increase in productivity. Lightly patronised passenger trains were replaced by self-propelled railcars, enabling faster, more frequent and more efficient services. He recruited young engineer Fred Shea as his chief mechanical engineer and had him prepare specifications for this new equipment. This resulted in orders being placed for 1200 freight cars of four types from American Car and Foundry and 30 locomotives based on American Locomotive Company designs but built by Armstrong Whitworth & Co in the United Kingdom. These were of the Mountain, Pacific and Mikado wheel arrangements, 10 of each type, which became the 500, 600, and 700 class locomotives. At the same time, 12 petrol-mechanical railcars from the Service Motors Corporation, Wabash, Indiana were ordered, to provide services more cheaply than by locomotive-hauled trains.
To carry the heavier trains, the rehabilitation plan included the strengthening of track and bridges, and the conversion of the Mid North narrow gauge system (the Western division) to broad gauge. The antiquated Islington Railway Workshops were demolished and replaced with a modern railway maintenance and manufacturing works; a large new roundhouse was built at Mile End, near Adelaide; and several 26 metres (85 feet) turntables were installed throughout the state to enable the much larger locomotives to be turned. Efficient train operations were facilitated by the adoption of American train order working on country lines, and Adelaide railway station was replaced with an imposing new building, opened in 1927. This grand building has been partially taken over by the Adelaide Casino.
Hub AI
South Australian Railways AI simulator
(@South Australian Railways_simulator)
South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways (SAR) was the organisation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Australian National, and its Adelaide urban lines were transferred to the State Transport Authority.
The SAR's tracks were built to three rail gauges: 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge; 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge; and from the 1980s, when gauge standardisation at last commenced, 1435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge.
The first railway in South Australia was laid in 1854 between Goolwa and Port Elliot to allow for goods to be transferred between paddle steamers on the Murray River and seagoing vessels. The Goolwa station was built on the Wharf precinct, alongside the River Murray.
The next railway was laid from the harbour at Port Adelaide, to the capital, Adelaide, and was laid with Irish gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) track. This line was opened in 1856. Later on, branch lines in the state's north in the mining towns of Kapunda and Burra were linked through to the Adelaide metropolitan system. From here, a south main line extended to meet the horse tramway from Victor Harbor to Strathalbyn, and towards the South Australia/Victoria Border.
The metropolitan lines were built to broad gauge, but the mid north and south-east of the state were laid with 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge track. These systems were closely based on British practice, as was the broad gauge system prior to 1926. Locomotives and rolling stock were bought from the United Kingdom and United States, from builders such as Beyer, Peacock & Company, Dübs and Company, North British Locomotive Company, and Baldwin Locomotive Works.
In 1922, after the SAR's worst financial deficit, the government appointed American railroad manager William Webb, from the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad as Chief Commissioner. When Webb arrived in Adelaide with his young family, he found a railway system unchanged since the latter decades of the 19th century. The locomotives and rolling stock were small, wagons and carriages were of wooden construction, the track and bridges were unsuitable for heavy loads, the workshops had antiquated machinery and the signalling system was inflexible. These attributes drove up the ratio of operating costs to revenue.
Webb introduced a rehabilitation plan based on American railroad principles of large, standardised locomotives and steel-bodied freight cars, with automatic "knuckle" couplers (replacing hook-and-chain) to enable a significant increase in productivity. Lightly patronised passenger trains were replaced by self-propelled railcars, enabling faster, more frequent and more efficient services. He recruited young engineer Fred Shea as his chief mechanical engineer and had him prepare specifications for this new equipment. This resulted in orders being placed for 1200 freight cars of four types from American Car and Foundry and 30 locomotives based on American Locomotive Company designs but built by Armstrong Whitworth & Co in the United Kingdom. These were of the Mountain, Pacific and Mikado wheel arrangements, 10 of each type, which became the 500, 600, and 700 class locomotives. At the same time, 12 petrol-mechanical railcars from the Service Motors Corporation, Wabash, Indiana were ordered, to provide services more cheaply than by locomotive-hauled trains.
To carry the heavier trains, the rehabilitation plan included the strengthening of track and bridges, and the conversion of the Mid North narrow gauge system (the Western division) to broad gauge. The antiquated Islington Railway Workshops were demolished and replaced with a modern railway maintenance and manufacturing works; a large new roundhouse was built at Mile End, near Adelaide; and several 26 metres (85 feet) turntables were installed throughout the state to enable the much larger locomotives to be turned. Efficient train operations were facilitated by the adoption of American train order working on country lines, and Adelaide railway station was replaced with an imposing new building, opened in 1927. This grand building has been partially taken over by the Adelaide Casino.