Peebinga railway line
The Peebinga railway line was a branch railway in the Murray Mallee region of South Australia. It branched from the Barmera railway line at Karoonda and ran generally eastward towards the border of Victoria, terminating at a locality named Peebinga, 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Pinnaroo, and only about 2 miles (3.2 km) short of the border to Victoria.[1] It opened in December 1914 and closed in 1990.[2]
Route
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The railway ran easterly from Karoonda then northeasterly, serving to open up for agriculture the lands between the Pinnaroo line which had opened in 1906 and the Barmera railway line which was still under construction when approval was granted for the Peebinga line. The Peebinga line was 69 miles (111 km) long and construction estimated to cost £207,000 plus £56,690 for rolling stock. The net operating loss was forecast as £11,804 per annum however this was considered acceptable for making agriculture possible on 621,000 acres (2,510 km2) of previously undeveloped land.[1]
Towns were established along the route with railway stations and schools however none of these have survived as towns.[3]
- Nunkeri
- Yurgo
- Marama (1930 hall remains on Karoonda-Lameroo road)[4]
- Kulkami (bulk grain silos on Karoonda-Lameroo road)
- Mulpata
- Wirha (adjacent to Billiat Road)
- Gurrai (bulk grain silos)
- Karte
- Kringin (adjacent to Peebinga Conservation Park)
- Mootatunga (adjacent to Peebinga Conservation Park, 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) west of Browns Well Highway)
- Peebinga (bulk grain silos 5 km east of Browns Well Highway)
Possible extension
Consideration was given in 1927-28 to a suggestion of extending the line from Peebinga across the state border into Victoria and northward to Morkalla to connect with what became the Morkalla railway line which at that time terminated at Meringur.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "RAILWAY EXTENSION.". The Register (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 21 December 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
- ↑ Bromby, Robin (2006). Ghost Railways of Australia. Sydney: Lothan Books. pp. 74–75. ISBN 0-7344-0923-0.
- ↑ "Property Location Browser (Government Towns layer)". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
- ↑ Google (8 October 2014). "Street View of Marama Hall". Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
- ↑ "THE MAN ON THE LAND.". The Argus (Melbourne: National Library of Australia). 24 August 1928. p. 16. Retrieved 16 January 2015.