Mount Pleasant railway line

The Mount Pleasant railway line is an abandoned South Australian line. It was opened between Balhannah and Mount Pleasant in September 1918 and ran until March 1963[1] as a freight and passenger service.[2] Part of its trackbed is now the Amy Gillett Bikeway rail trail near to Adelaide.[3]

Mount Pleasant Line
Overview
LocaleAdelaide, South Australia
TerminiAdelaide
Mount Pleasant
Stations
History
Opened1918
Closed1963
Technical
Line length33.8 km (21.0 mi)
Number of trackssingle track
Route map

km to
Adelaide
45.8
Balhannah
Balhanna Junction
48.1
Oakbank
Mappinga
Riverview
53.4
Woodside
Kayannie
57.8
Charleston
Muralappie
65.4
Mount Torrens
Milkappa Road
71
Birdwood
Crane Road
Narcoonah
79.8
Mount Pleasant

History

The line[4] opened on 16 September 1918 between Balhannah, 10 kilometres east of Mount Lofty, and Mount Pleasant. The line had six stations and a number of halts, typically the halts were located near level crossings. The six stations were Oakbank, Woodside, Charleston, Mount Torrens, Birdwood, and Mount Pleasant. The seven halts were Mappinga, Riverview, Kayannie, Muralappie, Milkappa Road, Crane Road, and Narcoonah.

The line was closed on 4 March 1963, and the way between Balhannah and Oakbank has mostly returned to private landowners.[3]

Rail trail

This former railway is in the jurisdiction of the Adelaide Hills Council, which in 2003 commissioned a feasibility study into the best use of the land. The report recommended it be converted to a rail trail, which the council agreed with but considered it beyond their means to do so. However, since that time, the development of a rail trail lead to the opening of the Amy Gillett Rail Trail in 2010, named in honour of the late Amy Gillett, a South Australian born Olympic Cyclist who had died in 2005.[3] As of 2015, the conversion had reached from Balhannah to Mount Torrens.

Line guide

Station Image Opened Additional information
Mount Pleasant 1918 Terminus; closed 1963
Birdwood 1918 Closed 1963
Mount Torrent 1918 Closed 1963
Charleston 1918 Closed 1963
Woodside 1918 Closed 1963
Oakbank 1918 Closed 1963
Balhannah 1883 Former branch station; formerly part of the Adelaide-Wolseley line. Closed 1963

References

  1. "Balhannah to Mount Pleasant Railway | Mount Pleasant Community". mountpleasant.sa.au. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  2. Adelaide Hills Rail Trail - History Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Rail Trails news article Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  4. The Mount Pleasant Line Callaghan, W.H. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, October, 1994 pp274-281
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