Penfield railway line, Adelaide

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Penfield railway line is a defunct railway in northern Adelaide which was used mainly for industrial purposes in the World War II years. It started just north of the Salisbury railway station on the Gawler line. The line then went north west and then turned north through DSTO in Edinburgh. It serviced four stations; Hilra, Penfield 1, Penfield 2, and Penfield 3. It was double track for the whole length. The line had a balloon loop for trains to go the other way. The line was closed and dismantled in 1991.

[edit] History

The line opened in 1941 to service various World War II armaments factories at Penfield. As it was built for industrial purposes, sidings branched off both the up and down tracks at many locations. The largest siding went as far as the RAAF base at Edinburgh. During the war years this branch line was used by many passenger trains carrying workers to the munitions factories in the area. This was necessary because Salisbury was still a semi-rural community at the time and most of the workforce had to be brought in from other districts.

A more limited peak hour service to Penfield continued after the war, serving staff at the government Weapons Research Establishment later to become the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO).

The ballon loop was closed in 08 June 1983 after a train comprised of Redhen railcars; 319,870,318,330,869,331 derailed while traversing it. Services continued to Penfield 3 on the down and returned on the up using a crossover located just south of Penfield 3. The up track beyond Hilra was closed on 14 April 1984 along with most of the slidings. The remaining slidings were closed in 1986.

The remaining peak-hour trains were withdrawn from the Penfield branch in January 1991, due to low patronage and the need to fund an upgrade of the worn-out track. The track was dismantled in the same year but around about 100-200m of the track was kept so that the Salisbury trains can reverse on it.