SAR Peterborough-Quorn

Junction for  Junction for  Symbols: Loco Coal Stage Loco Diesel Fuel Point Loco Water Tank Passenger Stop Loco Shed Loco Turntable Goods Facility Grain Storage or Processing Stockyard Oil and Fuel Terminal Passing Loop Turning Triangle or WYE Wool Bales   Line History: Opened:  1881-1882 Closed:  1987-1988 Length:  130km Built as a narrow gauge (3' 6" - 1067mm) line from Peterborough to Orroroo in 1881, it was extended to Quorn in 1882 where it joined the SAR Main Northern Line (narrow gauge) from Port Augusta to Maree which eventually became the Central Australia Railway to Alice Springs by 1922. When the standard gauge (4'8.5" - 1435mm) Transcontinental Railway from Port Augusta to Kalgoolie was completed in 1917, the Peterborough-Quorn Line became the route for all Transcontinental and Central Australia rail traffic until 1932 when a more direct line from Port Pirie to Port Augusta was completed. During the 1940s many of the passing loops on the line were significantly lengthened to handle the longer troop and military freight trains. The Central Australia Railway was converted to standard gauge and bypassed Quorn in 1950 and the original narrow gauge line from Port Augusta was terminated at Hawker in 1956. The line from Port Pirie to Broken Hill was converted to standard gauge during 1969-1970 which isolated the Peterborough-Quorn line from the rest of the narrow gauge network. The line from Eurelia to Quorn was closed in 1987 followed by the closure of the line from Peterborough to Eurelia in 1988. The last scheduled services on the line were grain movements from Orroroo in 1988. By 2008 most of the line had been lifted with the original track preserved in only a few places of significance. Passenger Services: The planners believed that the new line would attract many new settlers, industries and businesses to the region and would generate significant passenger traffic. As a result many of the stations were built in a "grand style". The reality never lived up to the expectations. In the 1890s 6 return passenger services a week were timetabled - all were mixed services with a passenger car attached to a freight train. The journey time from Peterborough to Quorn was just over 4 hours. In the 1952 timetable only 3 return passenger services were provided each week, again all mixed, and the travel time had increased to nearly 6 hours.