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Distance from Gladstone: 65½ kms, 40¾ miles
A major manned station, servicing depot and junction on the narrow gauge (3ft6in - 1067mm) Port Pirie-Broken Hill Line , Peterborough-Quorn Line and the Peterborough-Terowie Line .
Multiple loops and sidings for the station, goods, grain facility and two stockyards. Two loco servicing facilities, including a major maintenance workshop, both with turntables.
From the 1880s to the late 1970s Peterborough was the busiest railway hub in South Australia. It was the headquarters for the Northern Division and responsible for train control and maintenance. The maintenance centre employed over 1,000 workers to service and maintain over 100 train movements each day.
The Port Pirie-Broken Hill Line was converted to standard gauge (4ft8½in - 1435mm) during 1969-1970 and the Peterborough-Terowie Line was converted to dual gauge by the addition of broad gauge (5ft3in - 1600mm) in 1970. The Peterborough-Quorn Line was left as a narrow gauge line making Peterborough a triple gauge location until the closure of the non-standard gauge lines in 1988.
Peterborough is now just a crossing loop. The main loco depot is now a static museum for the Steamtown Peterborough Railway Preservation Society and most other facilities have been removed. The railway station has been retained and until a few years ago was serviced by the luxury Indian-Pacific passenger train running between Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. That service no longer stops at Peterborough and there are no other rail passenger services.
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