Semaphore railway line

Map of the Line Route

Semaphore railway line was a railway in the north-west of Adelaide servicing the suburb of Semaphore and Exeter. It had two stations: Semaphore and Exeter. The line opened in 1882 and closed in 1978.

Description and remains

The line branched off at Glanville station and ran along the centre of Semaphore Road, until it terminated right next to the Esplanade. Semaphore station was located east of Esplanade Road. Exeter station was located to the east side of where Swan Terrace and Woolnough Road intersect. The original stations have been demolished and practically no evidence of the stations remains. The original rail track has since been dismantled, with only some remnant evidence of the road bed remaining.

The large median strip along Semaphore Road remains as a result of the line. In 2006, the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council made a proposal for a light rail network to be constructed in the North West suburbs, which included a branch along the route of the former Semaphore Line.^[1]

The South Australian State Government in its 2008 State Budget announced that a light rail network would be constructed, and that a light rail branch was expected to be constructed to Semaphore in 2018.^[2]

History

The Semaphore line was extended from the port on 7 January 1882 by South Australian Railways to serve the new overseas shipping jetty at Semaphore. In 1917 when the Semaphore to Rosewater and Albert Park tram line was opened there was an unresolved dispute over the tramline crossing the railway line near Exeter station.

The Railway Commissioner disallowed trams to cross over the railway line. Trams continued to operate with one isolated tram service between the crossing and Largs, with passengers having to walk across the railway line to use the remaining tramline. After a short period of time, the Municipal Tramways Trust continued full service along the line regardless of not having the rail commissioner’s consent. In response to this rail workers threatened to cut the tramline off by dumping a load of sleepers on the tramway tracks.

An agreement was eventually made to allow trams to cross the line on the condition that a signal cabin be installed and a signal man was to cut off power to trams when a train approached preventing trams from proceeding over the railway tracks.^[3] This system nearly caused a disaster when a tram happened to be using the crossing when power was cut off. The tram was nearly stranded on the railway line and an accident was barely avoided.^[4] The switches for cutting of power was then removed and replaced by a system of traffic lights. The line closed on 29 October 1978. This was partly because traders on the north side of Semaphore road claims of losing business.^[5]

Stations

Semaphore Line Suburban Services
Legend 0.0 Adelaide Belair, Seaford & Tonsley lines River Torrens Gawler line 13.8 Glanville Outer Harbor line Semaphore Road 14.2 Exeter(closed 1978) Woolnough Road Military Road 14.9 Semaphore(closed 1978)

Semaphore railway station was 14.9 kilometres from Adelaide station and on the end of the Semaphore line. The station was located in the middle of Semaphore Road, and next to the Esplanade, and the station platform was level with the northern part of the road. The station closed with the rest of the line in 1978.^[6]

References

• Thomas Wilson, The Relationship Between a Transport Link and Land Use Development between Adelaide and Port Adelaide South Australia, Adelaide, 1965
• J.C. Radcliff. C.J.M. Steele, Adelaide Road Passenger Transport 1836 - 1958, Libraries Board of South Australia, Adelaide, 1974