Mount Gambier railway station

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Coordinates: 37°49′50″S 140°46′33″E / 37.83064°S 140.77594°E / -37.83064; 140.77594
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Mount Gambier
Mount Gambier-Heywood
Distance221 kilometres from Adelaide
Platforms2 (1 island)
Construction
Structure typeGround
Other information
StatusClosed; repurposed as a community park
History
Opened20 May 1879
Closed31 December 1990 (passengers)
12 April 1995 (freight)
28 June 2006 (tourist)

Mount Gambier railway station was the

Mount Gambier-Heywood 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.

History

In 1879, a narrow 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge line opened from

Adelaide-Wolseley line
.

On 28 November 1917, a

broad gauge line opened from Mount Gambier to Heywood near Portland. In the 1950s, the narrow gauge lines were converted to broad gauge.[2]

Mount Gambier had an extensive goods yard and a locomotive depot with a roundhouse.

Following the

standard gauge in 1995, the lines closed. There are regular calls for the line to be reopened.[3][4][5]

In the late 1990s to mid 2000s, the

Redhen railcars. However, due to increased insurance costs, the service ceased 1 July 2006, with the last service being a train to Tantanoola on 28 June 2006.[6]

In 2013, the old yard was lifted and covered with grass.[7][8][9] The station building was then operated by radio station Lime FM.

In 2015, after over a year of work, the Railway Lands was completely transformed into a public community space. 20,000 square metres of turf covered the entire former-industrial site. The grand opening in November saw thousands of residents come together to utilise the area. A "back to nature" playground, wheelchair-accessible barbecues, a pond with a creek, native plants, a labyrinth, plus many more features for the community to use. Mount Gambier City Council plan to use the area for a number of annual events, but encourage local community groups to also activate the area. This, in turn, permanently disconnects the Heywood line from the Millicent and Naracoorte lines except for a two track easement through to give right of way for any future standardisation.[10]

In 2018, the roundhouse was demolished after being damaged by fire in 2014.[11][12] Timber from the roundhouse was reused at a different roundhouse in Peterborough during its restoration from 2021 to 2022.[13]

In 2020, the station building was restored to original condition by the City of Mount Gambier Council.[14]

Services

Mount Gambier station was served from Adelaide by an overnight mixed train until October 1985 and then by a service using Bluebird railcars until December 1990.[15] Today, Mount Gambier is connected to the Victorian rail service via a V/Line coach service to and from Warrnambool.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "MOUNT GAMBIER AND RIVOLI BAY RAILWAY". South_Australian_Register. Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia. 20 May 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  2. ISBN 0-909650-49-7
    .
  3. ^ New push for Mount Gambier railway The Border Watch 17 July 2008
  4. ^ Penola rail pledge confirmed The Border Watch 18 July 2008
  5. ^ Portland railyards given the shunt Portland Observer 13 February 2008
  6. ^ Masson, John. "FINAL DAYS OF THE LIMESTONE COAST RAILWAY". Johnny's Pages : Old S.A.R. Shunter's Memories. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ Breathing Life into the Rail Lands Archived 23 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine City of Mount Gambier
  8. ^ Old Mount Gambier rail corridor demolition begins Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine The Border Watch 14 October 2013
  9. ^ Mount Gambier rail lands project takes shape ABC South East SA 4 June 2014
  10. ^ Masson, John. "MOUNT GAMBIER OLD MARSHALLING YARD". Johnny's Pages : Old S.A.R. Shunter's Memories. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Engineers assessment report for the Mount Gambier Roundhouse". Department for Infrastructure and Transport. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Roundhouse demolition begins". The Border Watch. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Timber to be donated to National Trust of SA". City of Mount Gambier. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Railway Station exterior returned to former glory". City of Mount Gambier. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  15. ^ Masson, John. "MOUNT GAMBIER MARSHALLING YARDS IN THE 1970 and 80's". Johnny's Pages : Old S.A.R. Shunter's Memories. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. ^ "Mount Gambier - Melbourne via Warrnambool & Geelong". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 4 December 2019.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mount_Gambier_railway_station&oldid=1214467795"