Central Australia Railway

Central Australia Railway The Old Ghan

1243 Alice Springs abattoirs 1241 Alice Springs 1237 Heavitree 1232 Macdonnell triangle 1231 Start of preserved line 1231 Macdonnell 1224 Mount Ertiva (Mount Ertwa) 1224 End of preserved line 1208 Ewaninga 1192 Pohill Siding 1175 Ooraminna 1163 Deep Well 1163 Deep Well triangle 1141 Rodinga 1125 Maryvale 1099 Bundooma 1076 Engoordina 1060 Mount Squire 1044 Rumbalara 1044 Rumbalara triangle & stockyard 1028 Musgrave 1014 Finke (Aputula) 1012 Finke Stockyards 997 Crown Point 981 Duffield 965 Wall Creek 962 Northern Territory South Australia border 945 Abminga 945 Abminga triangle 929 Bloods Creek 908 Ilbunga 895 Mount Emery 876 Pedirka 859 Mt Rebecca 841 Mt Sarah (Stevenson Creek) 825 Macumba 811 Alberga 804 Wire Creek 792 Todmorten 771 Oodnadatta triangle & sidings 770 Oodnadatta 744 North Creek 729 Mount Dutton stock yards 729 Mount Dutton 728 Mount Dutton triangle 715 Algebuckina Bridge 714 Algebuckina 698 Peake Creek Siding 683 Warrina Siding triangle 682 Warrina Siding 666 Edwards Creek triangle 666 Edwards Creek 666 Edwards Siding 650 Duff Creek (Weedina) 632 Boorthana 616 Box Creek 600 Anna Creek 588 Douglas 574 William Creek 573 William Creek Triangle 554 Irrappatana 537 Strangways Springs 525 Beresford 501 Coward Springs 501 Coward Springs Triangle 489 Margaret Siding 473 Curdimurka (Stuart's Creek) 453 Lake Eyre 440 Bopeechee 425 Alberrie Creek 407 Wangianna 387 Callanna 373 Marree SG-NG i/change & stock yards 372 Marree 359 Mundownda Witchelina Siding 339 Wirrawilla 320 Farina triangles 320 Farina 294 Lyndhurst Old Mine loop 271 Telford End of Leigh Creek Line Telford Cut Mine 262 Copley Leigh Creek 247 Puttapa 232 Beltana 212 Nilpena (Black Fellows Creek) 196 Parachilna fettler cottages 195 Parachilna 183 Commodore (Meadows) 173 Brachina Siding 163 Edeowie Moralana 137 Mern Merna Cotabena 124 Hookina (Wonoka) Neuroodla 105 Hawker 89.6 Wilson 73.0 Gordon Wilkatana 57.5 Willochra Depot Creek 40.1 Peterborough–Quorn Railway 40.0 End of Pichi Richi historic railway 39.8 Quorn 38.8 Pichi Richi workshops 32.4 Summit 29.6 Pichi Richi 23.6 Woolshed Flat 18.2 Saltia Goods Yard 6.8 Leigh Creek Line underpass 6.5 Stirling North 4.1 Port Augusta Racetrack 0km Port Augusta

Remains of the line laid on sand in the bed of Lake Eyre South

Map showing the separate routes

The former Central Australia Railway was originally a 1241 km^[1] narrow gauge (3'6") railway between Adelaide and Alice Springs and sometimes referred to as the The Ghan or Great Northern Railway. A standard gauge line replaced the southern section from Port Augusta to Maree in 1957 although utilised a new nearby route. The current standard gauge Adelaide-Darwin railway (Ghan), however uses an alternative route up to 200 km to the west. A small southern section of the original line between Port Augusta and Quorn has been preserved as the Pichi Richi Tourist Railway. A small section just south of Alice Springs has also been preserved

Naming

Officially named the Central Australia Railway, it has often been referred to as the Great Northern Railway ^[2] in the 1890's and into the twentieth century.

The most southern part of the line between Port Augusta and Quorn is now referred to as the Pichi Richi Tourist Railway.

The Ghan passenger train

It is suggested that The 'Ghan name is in recognition of the Afghan Cameleers that plied their trade in the area well before the railway; however, see The Ghan (Etymology) for alternatives. This colloquial term for the railway appears to have been widely in use from at least the early 1930's;^[3] it may have been in use prior to this.

The new Adelaide-Darwin railway initially used the The New Ghan as a trading name. It has now reverted to The Ghan, relegating the original line name colloquially as The Old Ghan.^[4][5]

History

Construction in the 1870s was by South Australian Railways as a 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge railway.^[6][7] The final part of the line closed in 1980 when the standard gauge line opened on a new alignment from Tarcoola to Alice Springs.^[8]

Oddnadatta to Alice Springs

The Northern Territory Act (Cth 1910) required the building of a North-South railway although no date was specified. Two unballasted routes were shortlisted with aStandard gauge line from Kingoonya to Alice Springs estimated at 4.5m pounds and the 1.7m pound narrow gauge extension from Oodnadatta to Alice Springs. The 270 miles 65 chain extension was passed after a number of debates in Federal Parliament.^[9]

Railway workers were paid 5 pounds, 8 shillings a week and a request for this to be raised to 6 pounds per week was refused by Sir John Quick in the Federal Arbitration Court on 11 March 1927.^[10]

Concerns were raised regarding local Aboriginals with media reporting ""It is intended to ask the State and Federal Governments to endeavour to keep the wilder natives and especially those from the Musgrave and Everard ranges in their fastnesses for a few years." ^[11]

The first train consisted of 12 carriages including Mail and Fruit vans. There were 60 first class and 60 second class passengers and left on 5 August 1929 however an official ceremony to be attended by the Prime Minister was cancelled due to the cost of running a special train ^[12][13]

Timeline (including the Northern railway)

• 18 January 1878: South: Construction from Port Augusta starts
• 1879: South: Quorn reached
• 1883: South: Marree reached
• 1883: North: Construction of the North Australia Railway from Palmerston (Darwin) starts
• 1888: North: Pine Creek reached
• 1891: South: Oodnadatta reached, and known as the Great Northern Railway
• 1910: First promise by Federal Government to complete the line in the Acceptance Act (but no date given)
• 1926: Line acquired by Commonwealth Railways
• 1926: North: Katherine reached
• 1929: North: Birdum reached, terminus at Larrimah, and known as the North Australia Railway
• 6 August 1929: South: Alice Springs reached, and officially renamed the Central Australia Railway, but popularly known as The Ghan. The northern and southern parts are not connected.
• 1957: South: Standard gauge line from Stirling North (near Port Augusta) to Marree opened replacing line via Quorn
  • Some sections of the narrow-gauge line remain in operation as the Pichi Richi Railway
• 1976: North: line closed
• 1980: South: line closed, replaced by Tarcoola-Alice Springs line

Flooding and damage

Flooding occurred on a regular basis with a number of significant closures including...

• 1936
  • A works train engine dived nose-first into Camel Creek near Rodinga with a fireman sustained a broken leg after the 30 foot Camel Creek bridge was undermined. The train was an engine and three carriages and was repairing tracks from recent floods. The driver also sustained unspecified injuries.
  • 16 Passengers and railway engineers were stranded at Finke River will "have to remain there for some days" with water 'four feet over the line'.^[14]
• 1937 Reports of flooding delaying trains for at least 3 days
• 1939 Reports of six weeks of disruptions and headlines of "Train Weeks Late". Food shortages in Alice Springs after the train was delayed 34 days.^[15]
• 1963 (May) 114 of the 140 Ghan passengers were airlifted to Alice Spings on five special flights after a week of delays. The floods "were the worse since 1938" and bread was dropped to the train.^[16]
• 1967 The track was closed for approximately 27 days after the track was breached in more than 32 places including destroying the Finke River Bridge. A "minor Berlin airlift" was required for Alice Springs. There were three proposals to improve the line were mentioned by the Commissioner of Commonwealth Railways. This included
  • a new route from Tarcoola to Alice Springs which the current Adelaide–Darwin railway may be based on,
  • Extending the Standard gauge from Marree to Alice Springs
  • Improving the existing narrow gauge line.^[17]
• 1974 All roads cut around Alice Springs

List of stations

• Narrow Gauge Map (OpenStreetMap)
• Standard Gauge Map (OpenStreetMap)

The route on a signboard at Quorn station

Conditions

The tortuously curving narrow-gauge line between Marree and Alice Springs was notoriously prone to delays, often caused by flash floods washing away bridges and tracks.^[18] Some track was laid on sand without ballast, and wood sleepers were used, serving as food for termites, causing unstable tracks.^[19]

Film

Shortly before the closure of the narrow gauge line in 1980, BBC Television filmed an episode of the television series Great Railway Journeys of the World featuring the original route of the Ghan (and the infamously slow speed of the train).

Communities after closure

One major change with the building of the new line (and resulting closure of the old) was that Oodnadatta and other communities along the route of the original line lost their railway service.

Heritage trail

The old railway route is now a heritage trail ^[20]

See also

• North Australia Railway

Notes

Further reading

External links

• History of the Adelaide-Darwin Railway
• Tarcoola to Alice Springs Railway Act 1974
• Weekend Extra film on the last original Ghan Australian Broadcasting Corporation 1980