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Line History:
Opened: 1875-1888
Closed: still in operation
Length: 127km (Gladstone to Paratoo) of 390km total length
Built as a narrow gauge (3'6" - 1067mm) line from Port Pirie to Gladstone in 1875, it was extended to Cockburn on the South Australia - New South Wales border in stages by 1888 where it joined the Silverton Tramway to Broken Hill. The main purpose of the line was to transport the mineral ores from the mines at Broken Hill to the smelters and port at Port Pirie, a function it still performs today.
Several narrow gauge branch lines were added at Gladstone (to Wilmington), Peterborough (to Quorn and Terowie) and to mines between Paratoo and Cockburn. A broad gauge (5'3" - 1600mm) line from Adelaide (the state capital) was extended to Gladstone in 1894. The narrow gauge line from Peterborough to Terowie was converted to broad gauge in 1970, providing a second broad gauge line to Adelaide.
During 1969-1970 the entire Port Pirie-Broken Hill line was converted to standard gauge (4'8.5" - 1435mm) as part of a continuous single gauge transcontinental line to replace the multiple different gauge links that had existed. The conversion closed many of the locations along the old narrow gauge line. By 1990 all the connecting narrow and broad gauge lines were also closed. The line is now part of the standard gauge Transcontinental railway from Sydney to Perth.
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