Southern and Silverton Rail is an Australian regional rail operator providing rail freight haulage, hook and pull, terminal and shunting services, maintenance and first response/recovery services. It is accredited to operate in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia,[1] and is today an operating division of Western Australian company South Spur Rail Services, in turn part of the Coote Industrial Group.
Contents |
The company was formed in 1886 as the Silverton Tramway Company to build and operate the Silverton Tramway, a 56 kilometre long 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge railway running from Cockburn on the South Australian state border to Broken Hill in New South Wales. Gauge standardisation in 1970 made the line redundant, and the company moved on to service the mining industry in and around Broken Hill.[1]
The 1990s saw the company continue to change, relocating the majority of rail operations to Parkes, and purchasing 98 surplus diesel locomotives for the purpose of refurbishment with the sale of FreightCorp and National Rail. In 2004 Silverton operated 28 locomotives, two in Broken Hill, two in both Sydney and Melbourne and the balance out of Parkes, along with 450 freight wagons.
The company took the form it is today when Western Australian company South Spur Rail Services purchased Silverton Rail in February 2006.[2] The locomotives and rolling stock were sold to the Allco Finance Group.[3] In June 2010 Coote Industrial Group sold the company (along with South Spur Rail Services) to P&O Trans Australia for $26.5 million, including payment for additional rolling stock rebuilt or to be refurbished by Coote Industrial's rolling stock maintenance provider, Gemco Rail.[4]
Locomotives that have seen use with Silverton Rail include New South Wales (former State Rail Authority) 442 class, 80 class, 45 class, 44 class, 48 class and Victorian Railways C class diesel locomotives.[5] The company also uses 600 class locomotives (from South Australia) and the new RL class locos.