RAILWAY REFLECTIONS QUORN "prior to Pichi Richi takeover" At a distance by rail via Peterborough of 234 miles from Adelaide,and nestling at the eastern side of the Flinders Range is the picturesque town of Quorn, a one-time flourishing S.A.R. centre from 1879 to 1926, being through this period the headquarters of the Superintendent of the Great Northern Division extending to the end of the line at Oodnadatta, also west to Port Augusta and south to Peterborough. In addition to the large staff of transportation and track maintenance officers and employees, Quorn boasted a large mechanical staff and workshops which covered maintenance and heavy repairs of steam locomotives in addition to passenger cars and wagon repairs and rebuilds. In fact, rolling stock (3'6" gauge) came from as far south as Port Wakefield for rebuild and painting, in addition to passenger cars from Peterborough. S.A.R Train Working orders for Quorn. "Quorn" - Engine repairs and coaling at: - Engineman are advised that the booking of repairs to locomotives at Quorn must be restricted to items that are absolutlely necessary, and thus avoid extra cost to this Department. This instruction also appLies to obtaining coal at Quorn, and Enginemen should only take sufficient coal at Quorn to enable them to reach Peterborough with safety, taking into consideration the class of train they are to work. In 1926 the S.A.R. activities with plant were taken over by the Commonwealth Railways and with few exceptions the transportation and mechanical staff, together with the permanent way staff, were transferred to other S.A.R. divisional centres, that is Islington Works, Mile End, Peterborough, Tailem Bend and Port Lincoln. The staff involved would have been some hundreds. Most have now retired, but it should be recorded that there are some well-known senior officers who have retired in latter years and who gained some of their early railway experience at Quorn and these are S. H. Watson, General Traffic Manager, retired 1952; F. B. Harvey, General Traffic Manager, retired 1959; H. G. Rosevear, Comptroller, retired 1967; A. W. C. Crossman, Chief Mechanical Engineer, retired 1971. Railways Institute Magazine, May-June, 1972 Page 28 - Pichi Richi Patter - Summer 1998 25 YEARS OF RAILWAY PRESERVATION Peter Homann In July 1973, a group of people met in a hall in Port Augusta with the common goal of preserving the disused narrow gauge railway line through the Pichi Richi Pass. Many at that meeting thought they were slightly crazy. The meeting agreed that a Society should be formed, and ratified the proposed constitution. In the afternoon, the members of the newly formed Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society travelled into the pass to inspect the railway they were going to preserve. Some members were optimistic,others conservative, all were enthusiastic, and pitched in feverishly to have the line operational within a mere 12 months, almost to the day. In those 12 months, the Society had acquired two operational locomotives from Western Australia, several carriages, and a collection of track maintenance vehicles and equipment. The Governor of the day, Sir Mark Otiphant, cut the ribbon to open the railway, and the crowd present has only been rivalled since by the 21st Birthday celebrations in 1994. 1998 sees the Society's 25th anniversary, with many advances made in that time. The length of serviceable track has been more than doubled, sheds with a roof area of several thousand square metres have been built, an impressive workshop facility has been established, and many high class restoration projects have been placed in revenue traffic. The Special Events Subcommittee was reformed in mid 1997, with the aim of holding an event during 1998 to commemorate the Society's 25'" anniversary. End of Item by Author Pichi Richi Preservation Sciety , continues to grow , with a track extention to Stirling North and plans are in hand to run the line into Port Augusta.