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Major manned station and junction on the Hawker Line and the Peterborough-Quorn Line and until 1932 a vital part of the Transcontinental Railway from Sydney to Perth.
Multiple Loops and sidings for station, goods, grain and fuel depot plus loco servicing facilities.
From the 1880s Quorn was the junction between the Great Northern Line (Port Augusta to Oodnadatta) and the Peterborough-Quorn Line, both operated by the SAR. In the 1920s the Great Northern Line was transferred to the Commonwealth Railways and was extended to Alice Springs. It then became known as the Central Australia Line .
In the 1950s the Central Australia Line was converted to standard gauge (4ft 8.5in, 1435mm) on a new alignment away from Quorn and most of the original narrow gauge line, except for a section from Quorn to Hawker, was closed. This eliminated virtually all traffic passing through Quorn and significantly reduced the traffic on the Peterborough-Quorn Line.
The Peterborough-Quorn Line closed in 1987.
In 1972 the Hawker Line was closed and in 1974 Quorn became the operations centre for the Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society, a narrow gauge steam preservation railway. The Pichi Richi Railway is still in operation on the restored narrow gauge line between Quorn and Port Augusta.
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