Bridgewater railway line

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Bridgewater Line
Railways in Adelaide - Trams in Adelaide
Railway Line Overview
Route
Starting Point Adelaide
Major Stations Goodwood
Mitcham
Blackwood
Belair
Mount Lofty
Aldgate
Terminus Bridgewater
Line Length 37.3 km
Track Quadruple Track to Goodwood
Single Track to Belair
(formerly double track)
Closed from Belair
(formerly single track)
History
Opened 1883
Re-sleepered (Concrete) 1995 (standard gauge)
Closed 1987
Adelaide Railway Lines
Belair Line
Gawler Central Line
Glenelg Tram
Grange Line
Noarlunga Centre Line
Outer Harbor Line
Showground Central Line
Tonsley Line
This box:

The Bridgewater line is a former passenger railway service in the Adelaide Hills. It was a single broad-gauge track extension of the twin broad-gauge Belair line, the service being withdrawn in 1987.

It ran through the suburbs of

It serviced eleven stations;

and the terminus Bridgewater (demolished).

In 1995 the Melbourne–Adelaide railway line was converted to standard gauge under the One Nation infrastructure program,[1] disconnecting these stations from the broad gauge suburban railway system.

History

The line from Adelaide to Belair/Bridgewater opened in 1883. The Bridgewater line departed from the main Belair line east of Belair, and headed east, parallel to the northern side of Belair National Park. The line then turned south through the national park and then turned east again, where the National Park station used to be. It continued east past Long Gully and Nalawort stations to the Upper Sturt station, 28.9 km by rail from Adelaide Railway Station. 500m later the track turned north east and continued to Mount Lofty station, 31 km from Adelaide. After that it turned south and reached Heathfield station (33 km), just after the line turned north east. It reached the village of Aldgate just as it passed the Madurta station, then the track reached the Aldgate station (34.5 km). The line continued east, passing the Jibilla and Carripook stations and finally, the line terminated at Bridgewater station, 37.3 km by rail from Adelaide Railway Station.

The Bridgewater line had a fairly steep grade for most of the journey, sometimes resulting in derailments due to the tight bends. Services from Adelaide to Bridgewater usually took an average of one hour (stopping all stations), and about 50 minutes (express). Only one train per two hours operated during off-peak and weekends (most trains terminated at Belair) and no more than two trains per hour in either direction during peak-hours. This was because the line was single track (which is still the case today) with crossing loops located at Belair, Long Gully, Mount Lofty, Aldgate and Bridgewater.

Services

Services on the Bridgewater line were mainly Redhen railcars, but the 2000 class railcars occasionally used the line every week.

On special occasions after 1987, such as the Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival held every Easter weekend at Oakbank, trains went further east to terminate at Balhannah station, however this service ceased prior to the standard gauge conversion (in 1995) due to the expense of operating the line.[citation needed].

Closure of the line

When the more direct South Eastern Freeway opened in the 1960s, patronage to Bridgewater declined heavily, as more people had access to cars and the car journey was much quicker and shorter. On Sunday 26 July 1987, passenger services to Bridgewater were withdrawn, attributed to high cost of operation and low passenger numbers. All stations beyond Belair were closed and all suburban trains now terminate at Belair.

In 1995 the main line from Adelaide to Melbourne was converted from Broad Gauge (1600mm) to Standard Gauge (1435mm). This prevented any restoration of local trains to Bridgewater or beyond, and also disconnected a number of the South Australian country broad gauge services from Adelaide.[2] Between Goodwood and Belair, the former double track route became two parallel single lines – one Broad Gauge for suburban railcars, the other Standard Gauge for interstate freight.

Along with this conversion, stations on the Belair line at Mile End Goods, Millswood, Hawthorn and Clapham were closed. The other Belair line stations; Unley Park, Torrens Park, Lynton, Eden Hills, Coromandel, Glenalta, Pinera and Belair each had one platform closed.

Stations

Bridgewater Line
Broad Gauge (Red), Standard Gauge (Blue)
Legend
0.0 km Adelaide [3]
Adelaide Junction Gawler, Grange and Outer Harbor Lines
ARTC Mainline (Standard Gauge) to Crystal Brook
Adelaide Parklands Terminal
5.0 km Goodwood
Glenelg Tram
Goodwood Junction Noarlunga and Tonsley Lines
Belair line
21.5 km Belair Current end of Broad Gauge and suburban services
Crossing loop until 1995
Sir Edwin Avenue
No. 6 Tunnel
25.4 km National Park (Closed 1987)
26.7 km Long Gully (Closed 1987) – Crossing loop until 1995
No. 7 Tunnel
Nalawort (Closed 1950s)
28.9 km Upper Sturt (Closed 1987)
No. 8 Tunnel
31.0 km Mount Lofty (Closed 1987) – Crossing Loop
Avenue Road
33.0 km Heathfield (Closed 1987)
Cricklewood Road
33.7 km Madurta (Closed 1987)
34.5 km Aldgate (Closed 1987) – Crossing loop until 1995
Mount Barker Road
Yatina Road
35.6 km Jibilla (Closed 1987)
Kalin Avenue
36.2 km Carripook (Closed 1987)
Bridgewater Road
37.2 km Bridgewater (Closed 1987)
ARTC Mainline (Standard Gauge) to Melbourne
 To Victor Harbor and Mount Pleasant lines

There are also closed stations beyond Bridgewater, on the Adelaide-Melbourne line:

The line forked at Mount Barker Junction. There are also closed stations on the Victor Harbor line:

  • Littlehampton
  • Mount Barker
  • Bugle Ranges
  • Gemmells
  • Strathalbyn
  • Sandergrove
  • Finnis
  • Black Swamp
  • Currency Creek
  • Goolwa
  • Middleton
  • Port Elliot
  • Victor Harbor

See also

References

  1. ↑ "ARHS Railway Museum: History 1950 – now". www.railwaymuseum.org.au. Retrieved 2008-03-29. 
  2. ↑ Disconnected services included, for example, Mount Barker to Victor Harbor and Wolseley to Mount Gambier – see Rail transport in South Australia for a detailed list.
  3. ↑ Universal Press (2002), UBD on Disk Adelaide
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