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Welcome to Riverton and South Australian Railways

Welcome to "Riverton" South Australia

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Riverton Walkabout
Riverton is a small Farming and Rural Centre about 60 miles north of Adelaide on the Barrier Highway and once
a busy Railway Station on the main Broad Gauge line through Burra , Terowie and Peterborough to Broken Hill...
South Australia
My Home State and the location of "My Station" , Plus a lot more information about this great State of South
Australia. This site also has links to most Tourist Centres and towns in South.Australia.
Quorn // Walk about
"Pichi Richi Railway" Preservation Society: Site http://www.prr.org.au/
Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society, is an entirely voluntary organisation dedicated to the preservation of the narrow gauge line through Pichi Richi Pass to Stirling North. This is the last remaining section of the Port Augusta
and Govenunent Gums line begun in 1877. Tourist Trains are operated from Quorn using Steam locomotives or vintage diesel power, and historic rolling stock during school holidays and at other times on published schedules. Vacancies Exist Specialised Fields Quorn Show Special
Patron : His Excellency Sir Eric Neal, AC, CVO Governor of South Australia
President : Richard Atkinson / Vice President : Bryan Homann
Secretary : Phillip Mellors / Treasurer : Peter Homann
Correspondence may be addressed to - The PRRPS, Railway Station, Quorn, SA 5433
Membership enquiries may be addressed to -Dal & Val Phillips, Membership Officers PRRPS, 43 Scholefield Rd, Kingston Park SA 5049
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Current Projects

History
My project is a brief description and history of The Northern Railway devision of South Australia, which covers an area from Riverton and Clare in the south to Yunta and Quorn in the North . This railway system once used three different gauges , Narrow , Broad and Standard which carried a variety of freight , from Wool and Wheat to Coal and Copper from Burra and Lead Zinc ore from Broken Hill, some of this rail system is still used to day to carry Interstate Passengers on The Ghan and The Indian Pacific and Two ccompanies run Interstate Freight services between Sydney and Perth , lead and zinc ore is still hauled daily from Broken Hill to the Smelters at Port Pirie.
Location
Map of South Australia
This old historical map of South Australia and her Railways will help you understand the vast network of railways which made up The Northern Railway Devision..
Stations
Riverton Station South Australia 1992
This beautiful station which is located 53 kilometres north of Gawler , was offered for sale by the STA and tenders were called in 1992, The beautifull Station Building is now an Art Gallery and Museum and the owners live in the Station Masters residence. It was at Riverton Station in March 1921 where Mr Brookfield,a New South Wales State politician , met his end when he was shot by a Russian Imigrant , Tomayeff. According to Newspaper reports in The Advertiser , Mr Brookfield then member for Barrier, was one of five train passengers who faced a hale of forty shots. Somehow, three of the passengers survived. The Advertiser, of March 23rd, 1921 reported that Tomayeff started shooting at a crowd at the station, prompting Mr Brookfield to grag a gun from a policeman and fire two shots.
These missed Tomayeff who shot the MP before being overpowered by a bystander . He never stood trial and died in a mental asylum in 1948.
Extract from Railways of Australia Network 1992
Rail Cars
Designed and built entirely by the South Australian Railways , at its Islington Workshops, the Red Hen railcars were responsible for the eventual withdrawal of steam hauled Adelaide suburban passenger services. The SAR originally built a combined total of 74/300 class (single ended) and 37/400 class (double ended) railcars at Islington Workshops,between the years 1955 and 1971.
Restoration
As far as I am aware no restoration of the railway system is currently under way , a number of red hen cars have been converted to holyday cabins and some work has been done on the water tower and loco shed , three Red Hen power cars need urgent attention if they are to remain in running order.
Tracks
Only a small section of the original Broad Gauge tracks remain, these are the main line from Gawler to Burra. and a loop next to the main line adjacent to the Station.

Terowie : TEROWIE COAL TIPPLER

From the mid 1940s and throughout most of the 1950s the coal tippler at Terowie was busy Transhipping coal from narrow gauge to broad gauge wagons.The bulk of this coal came from the Leigh Creek fields and was destined for the Osborne Power Station in the Adelaide suburbs. Double headed T class locomotives would haul trains of up to 660 tons from Quorn to Terowie where they would be placed in the sidings ready for transshipment. The tippler shunting locomotive, usually a Y based at Terowie, would take about three of the fully loaded wagons at a time and, in the case of the bogie wagons,shunt them one at a time onto the tippler. Three four wheel wagons could be handled on the tippler in one go.

Before the tippler rose cables were attached to hold the trucks otherwise they would fall off. Two large cables would then be wound up to lift the base of the tippler and the truck to an angle of about 135 degrees where the coal would fall out and make its way down the chute to be deposited into waiting broad gauge wagons. It took about seven minutes to complete each
tip and afterwards the wagon would be nudged off the tippler by the loco and it would run under its own momentum down the track. Once the empty trucks were stationary a team of oilers would have to refill the oil boxes every time as oil would escape while the truck was upside down. There were usually a lot of oil drums lying around. The Y would then position the trucks ready for the return journey to the coalfields.

The tippler was situated on the Adelaide side of Terowie station past the goods shed and sidings. It had its own power house and was quite a landmark. Leigh Creek coal traffic peaked in the mid 1950s and then rapidly declined. After some years of disuse the tippler was demolished in 1968. Very little remains today apart from a few Concrete footings.
Extract from "S.A.R Narrow Gauge Journal" No2.

These days, in the new millenium only a small part of what was , remains, this includes a few small shops , a post office , "Primary" School. and two Hotels ,one of which "The Terowie Hotel" is to be reopened this month , most of the original houses still remain and many are inhabited , I would like to see the old Railway Station and remaining broad gauge track restored and used as a tourist attraction , an old restored broad gauge Red Hen could take tourists on the 1.5 Klm track which is still mostly intact, as of May 2000 . The old Site with its army Jail brings back Memories to many Passengers and Soldiers who traveled through Terowie over the years , General Douglas MacArthur made his famous speech:" I came out of Bataan and I shall return." There is a plaque at the railway station which commemorates the event.

Gladstone :

This piece of Railway Heritage with its Historic Crane and Track needs restoring , being situated in The Mid North of South Australia Gladstone was an important Marshalling centre in the main grain growing area of the state, With large Wheat storage Silos and a Passenger Terminal , with a large Station , which is now in a state of decay after years of neglect.
Three gauges of railway were used . Narrow , Broad and Standard. A railway line to Port Pirie used primarily for the transportation of wheat was opened in 1877. Today, ore trains carrying lead and zinc concentrates from Broken Hill pass through on their way to the smelters at Port Pirie. Gladstone railway Yards will hold the train enthusiast's attention as one of the world's few junction points of the three different gauges - narrow, standard and broad, all laid together in one Siding .
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Riverton Gallery // In "jpeg" Format

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Contact Information

Electronic mail address
stationmaster@ozemail.com.au

Web address
http://www.trainweb.org/mystation/

Office phone
886 362546

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Comments and Suggestions

Let me know what you think : stationmaster@ozemail.com.au

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Copyright: Robin Stirling.
Last revised: December 22, 2005. :

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