Morgan railway line

The Morgan railway line or North-West Bend railway was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network.

Morgan railway line
Railway over the Gawler River bridge near the beginning of the route (2012)
Overview
StatusDormant
TerminiGawler
Morgan
Continues fromGawler line
Service
SystemSouth Australian Railways
Operator(s)
History
Opened
  • Gawler–Kapunda: 13 August 1860 (1860-08-13)
  • Kapunda-Morgan: 23 September 1878 (1878-09-23)
Closed
  • Eudunda-Morgan: 2 November 1969 (1969-11-02)
  • Kapunda-Eudunda: 11 March 1994 (1994-03-11)
Technical
Line length129.0 km (80.2 mi)
Track gauge1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Route map

 Morgan
 Eba
 Mount Mary
 Bower
 Sutherlands
 Robertstown
 Point Pass
Robertstown line
 Eudunda
 Hampden
 Hansborough
 Bagot Well
 Kapunda
 Fords
 Freeling
Peterborough line
 Roseworthy
to Gawler Central
via Barossa Valley line
 Gawler
Gawler line
 Adelaide
[1]

History
Bridge over the Gawler River (2012)

The first section of the line opened from Gawler. It was built to service the copper mining at Kapunda, opened on 13 August 1860.[2] It was extended to Morgan on 23 September 1878[3] to provide a more efficient freight and passenger connection between the Murray paddle steamers and both the city of Adelaide and Port Adelaide for ocean transport.[4][5]

The Eudunda to Morgan section closed on 2 November 1969, followed by the Kapunda to Eudunda section on 11 March 1994.[4][6] The Gawler to Kapunda section theoretically remains open but has not been used for some years.

Route
Railway bridge over Light River at Hansborough (2010)

The Kapunda railway was the first extension of the line from Adelaide to Gawler. It passed through Roseworthy from where the Peterborough line later branched and Freeling to Kapunda. The extension continued through Eudunda then across the plains adjacent to what is now the Thiele Highway to Morgan. The Robertstown line branch opened in 1914 from Eudunda to Robertstown.[4][7]

Possible extension

There were proposals to extend the line to connect to Wentworth, New South Wales,[8] and even to Hay to provide a more direct rail route to Sydney.[9]

References
  1. Chief Engineer for Railways. "Map showing lines of railways in South Australia" (Map). Johnny's Pages. South Australian Railways. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  2. Opening of the Kapunda Railway South Australian Advertiser 14 August 1860
  3. "Opening of the North-West Bend Railway". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide. 2 November 1878. p. 9. Retrieved 3 September 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. Quinlan, Howard; Newland, John (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 55. ISBN 0 909650 49 7.
  5. The Formation of the South Australian Railways National Railway Museum
  6. Railways Visit Morgan
  7. "Robertstown Railway". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 10 December 1914. p. 9. Retrieved 23 September 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Public Works". South Australian Register. Adelaide. 14 June 1879. p. 3 Supplement: Supplement to the South Australian Register. Retrieved 3 September 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Hay to Morgan". The Maitland Weekly Mercury. NSW. 10 June 1922. p. 3. Retrieved 3 September 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
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