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Line History:
Opened: 1879-1891
Length: 81km (Woolshed Flat to Hawker section)
Closed (in sections): 1956, 1972
Reopened (in sections): Port Augusta to Quorn 1974-2001 as a Heritage Railway
Built as a narrow gauge (3ft6in - 1067mm) line from Port Augusta to Oodnadatta. It reached Quorn (39km, 24mi) in 1879, Marree (372km, 231mi) in 1883 and Oodnadatta (770km, 478mi) in 1891. Originally known as the Northern Line , it was transferred from the SAR to the Commonwealth Railways (CR) in January 1911. The SAR continued to operate the line until 1926 when the CR took over. In 1926-29 the line was extended to Alice Springs (1241km, 771mi) near the centre of the continent and then became known as the Central Australia Railway .
Despite crossing some of the driest parts of the continent the line was often damaged by severe flooding. It was not unusual for trains to be stranded for days by flood waters and track washouts. But even during dry times delays and late running were common. It was often said that a calendar, not a watch, was a better "on time" running guide.
The route of the line in its southern section had more to do with politics than good practice. The route from Port Augusta to Quorn took it through the Flinders Ranges via the Pichi Richi Pass which required steep grades and tight curves. The route of the northern section was largely dictated by the availability of reliable water sources. The economics of the line was so poor that in the early 1900s it was frequently considered for closure.
The most famous of the passenger trains on the line was "The Ghan" which ran, originally, from Port Augusta to Alice Springs. The Ghan still runs today but as a modern luxury express service from Adelaide to Alice Springs and on to Darwin on the northern coast of the continent.
In the 1950s a new standard gauge (4ft8½in, 1435mm) line was built from Port Augusta to Marree which bypassed the Flinders Ranges and Quorn. Passengers and freight to Oodnadatta and Alice Springs changed trains from standard gauge to narrow gauge at Marree. Today, the entire track to Alice Springs is standard gauge on a completely new alignment up to 300km west of the previous routes (both narrow gauge and standard gauge) bypassing Marree and Oodnadatta.
In 1956 the sections of the original narrow gauge line from Hawker to Marree and from Port Augusta to Quorn were closed leaving the section from Quorn to Hawker (the Hawker Line ) still operating. Occasional excursion trains from Peterborough continued to use the line from Quorn to Summit in the 1960s.
Prior to the closures, the line between Quorn and Hawker saw several workings each day. In the working timetable for the 1950s this had been reduced to just two return freight services each week. In the 1960s that was reduced further to just a single weekly return freight service, with an additional service that only ran "if required". The only commodity that kept the line open was the mineral traffic, barytes (barium sulfate) ore, from Hawker to Quorn where it was crushed and bagged for shipment.
There were no passenger services apart from the occasional tour excursion train from Peterborough. The line was eventually closed in 1972.
The Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society was formed in 1972 and was operating steam and heritage diesel trains from Quorn to Summit by 1974, and then onto Woolshed Flat by 1979. The track used to restore the line to Woolshed Flat was taken from the Hawker Line.
The line from Peterborough to Quorn was closed in 1987.
By 2001 the Pichi Richi Railway had restored the entire narrow gauge line from Quorn to Port Augusta. They now operate steam and diesel hauled heritage passenger services between Quorn, Woolshed Flat and Port Augusta.
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